A Year After The Great Purge

In summer 2023, I finally got rid of my storage unit and closed a (long) chapter of my life.

What is home? A place or a feeling?

Hi Friends,

I had hoped to get this post out in August, which was the actual anniversary of the completion of the 2-month process of purging my storage unit and the closing of what I consider a significant chapter in my life (over 15 years!). However, current life got in the way and here we are in September. 

Since I started this journey of packing up my life into a storage unit and living (for the most part) out of a 27-inch suitcase, I’ve had lots of folks, in real life; online (instagram) and here on substack ask me how I began, emotionally, physically and logistically handling this admittedly big life change of not having a permanent home, traveling the world, and working remotely. I have written a bit about what I consider the beginning and I’ve also recorded some of the details on my audio journal series Life Off-Script but I have yet to dive into a major milestone in the process which was off-loading my storage unit and getting rid of most of my things.

My storage unit essentially housed my [former] life and was chock full of everything accumulated from over 20 years of said life: many rooms of furniture; art; clothes; kitchenware; journals; photos and oh so much more. And the 5 years since I put my former life in that storage unit, with no long term intention or plan, have passed swiftly and amazingly, leaving me a bit breathless when reflecting on all that has happened.

It was late 2022, while in Italy for my second winter, as I was contemplating what 2023 would bring, that a very strong message came through: it was time to get rid of the storage unit. Which meant unpacking a life and closing a door. A process that felt exciting and scary and a tad overwhelming.

I’m diving into all the details of this process so this story will be in 2 parts.

Part 1 will have us start with what I consider the origin story, taking us back to the beginning.

Origin Story

New Paths To Follow - Photo by Connor McSheffrey - Unsplash

In 2018 I had an epiphany of sorts on New Years Day. Even though from an outside lens everything in my life looked great, maybe even a bit glamorous: a good job, nice place to live, community, many trappings of “success” I was pretty unhappy. And I had been getting physically sick, a manifestation of my frustration, confusion, and unhappiness, combined with very real health issues (menopause being one).

It was on New Years Day 2018, as I was sitting in my little office space in my cozy home, with my elderly dog at my feet, staring at the blank page of my new journal I felt like I shouldn’t feel unhappy - I had a lot of good things in my life, safe things, and maybe the not so good things were just to be tolerated? 

And then this quote by F.Scott Fitzgerald that I had never seen before in my life popped up on my screen: 

“For what it’s worth... it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you’ve never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start over again.”

Reading this quote over and over, I had a shivery feeling. I suddenly realized that I didn’t have to settle for a job I dreaded going to every day (which is what I had been tolerating for 2 years), that other people’s definitions of success, while not wrong, didn’t have to be mine; and that I could reinvent myself as many times as I needed or wanted. The thought that repeated itself to me that day, and those following it, was a linear life is an illusion - there are no rules to this thing except the ones that YOU decide. It was in that moment, digesting that quote and copying it into the first page of that fresh journal, that I decided I was making a change. I didn’t know exactly what yet but I knew it was time. 

Some people may say that change doesn’t happen overnight but I will tell you that once I decided that I was going to change [many] things in my life, well, they did happen very quickly. 2 months later I left that job I dreaded going to without having another (even though I was interviewing and I was offered a job 2 days following my exit that I thought I wanted.  I turned that new job down because my inner voice was very loudly saying “no” and I was determined to listen to that voice). In less than a month following my exit I had 2 consulting clients lined up. 

I was still trying to figure out what these changes would mean for the long-term but I was enjoying my freedom in a way I never had before - without fear or expectation. I felt light in a way that I hadn’t in some years so I wanted to enjoy it instead of boomeranging to something else to feel “safe”. This took less effort than I would have thought. 

Less than a month later, in the spring of 2018, the lease on my townhome was coming up for renewal and I was pretty much done with that space but because I wasn’t working for an employer my first thought was “I have to re-sign my lease”. Just as quickly an inner voice (that was getting louder) said “there are lots of other ways to live, you will figure it out”. So, I let my landlord know that I would not be renewing my lease and gave my notice without another place to live. 

Oddly, I was elated instead of being stressed. I felt confident that I would figure something out. 

So, I began the first round of purging my life. 

I had slightly edited down my belongings a few years earlier when I moved from a large house to a townhome. That large house had drained a lot of my resources (purchased right before the 2008 financial crash) and was 100% representative of what societal norms defined as success rather than what I would define as success. Mostly because I never gave a thought then to what my unique definition of success might be. That situation was a harsh lesson to learn when I lost over $70K in cash I had put into the downpayment on that big house and had to off-load it at a major loss. But I survived and learned a lot from it, including not seeing it as a failure.

Back in 2018 I looked around at my things and realized I had been carrying a lot of “stuff” from my former life that could, and should, likely go. 

It makes me laugh now because I thought I did an ‘amazing job’ at purging back then. I did donate and dispose of a few things that I knew I didn’t want to store but you would be surprised (as I was) what I decided to box up and put into that large storage unit. But what I would say is this: baby steps are ok. Listen to your gut and do what feels right. 

My mindset at the time, in late spring of 2018, was that I would find a temporary space for me and Bee (my 15 year old dog) for summer/autumn and then would likely have a clearer vision of next steps for my future and would unpack the storage unit in a new space. Part of that vision would prove true but not all or in any way I would have imagined at the time. 

This particular editing process would take the full two months I had left in my townhome - taking my time - picking away at it while I started working with consulting clients, making things up as I went. I started editing down by making lists of what had to go - what no longer fit my life but I was just carrying around like a snail with its house on its back. Things that made the list were clothes I hadn’t worn in a (literal) decade and patio furniture that I had squeezed onto my postage stamp sized outdoor space; dinnerware for 16 (no joke - I used to throw huge dinner parties) and much more. This purging process was freeing but also emotional. For these “things” held memories that were dear and also represented a version of me that I knew was likely fading to make room for something or someone new. I went through a lot of different emotions and took my time with this purging process, being thoughtful, even though I would find in the unpacking of the unit in summer 2023 that some of the things I stored away struck me as ODD but it made sense to me at the time.

As I made piles of things to donate, I started looking at where to donate and Goodwill was my go-to back then (not so much in 2023). I listed a few items on Craigslist to sell but most things I was off-loading I was happy just to donate or give away. But I would say, if you are considering a purge, start to gather resources for selling-donating-disposing of different items as early as possible as a good plan. We will dig into more detail on these options when we get to part 2 and the 2023 purge. 

I rented a large (ish) storage unit near my soon to be old townhome, as I didn’t have new living situation determined yet, and secured some movers. I was lucky because one of my neighbors that I had been friendly with (as in chatting up when we ran into each other while I was out walking Bee) had an independent moving biz and he gave me an amazing price for my move.

Here is a hot tip: engage with your movers to have conversation and a plan for your storage before the move. For example, I told my movers that I would need to get in and out of the unit for specific things and they planned where furniture and boxes went for easy access. We even made of floor map of sorts. I labeled my boxes with marker and large letters: “Winter Clothes: Up Front” and “Important Papers: Up Front”. Things like garment bags with pillows or linens that I might need went up front. This would become essential for me as I would end up having this storage unit for 5 YEARS and living in many different locations and needing to access different items. 

So, I suggest that no matter how short you think the storage time may be, plan for what you might need to access for a year at least and arrange your unit accordingly.

Because it was not easy to move the unit in its entirety to try to access or find things. When the movers and I finished the storage process in the summer of 2018, everything inside was pretty tightly, but thoughtfully, packed.

Finding my living space: it was at this time that I started considering Airbnb as an option for short-term, furnished lets but nothing presented itself, as in 2018 the site wasn’t set up for those kind of rentals like it is today. I also explored Craigslist (oof - this was a little scary but there were some legit options even though very few and far between) and put the word out to friends. I found my space in the most random of ways with just 3 weeks left of my lease. You can hear the full story of how I found my summer/autumn space in more detail here on Life Off-Script - it is kind of wild and felt a bit magic.

Once I had the new living space secured, I decided that I would only take with me what I felt was “essential” to my new house, which was fully furnished as it was a second home for the owner. I laugh at what I thought was essential then! I had a fully loaded Prius when I moved and some of the essentials included vases, a case of Riedel stemware, my own bath mats, some art, an outdoor table, 2 outdoor chairs for the deck (which had its own furniture)…other real essentials included 2 suitcases with clothes and shoes, laptop and electronics of course; boxes with my cooking knives and other items the house didn’t have, 3 different dog beds for my sweet old gal, a storage container of journals and writing pads….the list goes on.

Still, all in all, that first purge felt pretty fantastic and by the time I turned the key on the lock of the storage unit, everything packed away for safe-keeping for the next few months, I already felt lighter and that life was full of opportunity and potential. 

Those feelings of opportunity would prove to be so true because later in 2018 things that I [literally] could not have imagined would present themselves and adventure would unfold. If you would like to dive into those details right now, I invite you to give a listen to Life Off-Script (episodes are only 15 minutes) as I talk about them in detail.

Coming Soon: Part 2 - Resistance is REAL: the final purge of an old life summer 2023.

Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed Part 1 and were entertained or inspired or both. Do let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.

Until next time.