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The joy of getting rid of stuff

14 January 2009 14 views 4 Comments

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Yesterday we donated 7 bags of baby clothes. We can get rid of a lot more books than we thought since we’re going to get an e-reader sometime this year (maybe the Kindle 2 when it’s released). It feels really good to just get rid of stuff. Makes me, the prodigal packrat, look at things in a new way. I always wondered how the hell people had really spare & zen living spaces and I just might *get it* now. Get rid of anything that isn’t needed or used.

Hopefully today’s productivity will also entail

packing a barrel
translating, reading & signing our lease (legal docs in Costa Rica need to be in Spanish)
ordering some documents (birth certificates, etc) that we need for residency
figuring out the bank transfer action

As I learned in my high school French class, Petit a petis l’oiseau fait son nid.

Little by little the bird builds its nest. The only way to get all of our packing & prep done is to just do it bit by bit.

4 Comments »

Susan said:

Don’t forget you’ll need sheets! Unless you’re gettting furnished. And at this time of year, blankets. I had my wool socks on last night!

# 17 January 2009 at 3:16 pm

Arp (author) said:

We are definitely bringing sheets – actually buying new ones. We have found a furnished rental, but our own sheets would be good.

You’ll be happy to know that it was 2F when I woke up this morning

# 17 January 2009 at 4:20 pm

Sarah said:

Isn’t it liberating to get rid of stuff? I am not a packrat but I still enjoy cleaning house once in awhile and donating all the girls’ clothing. We won’t have much stuff to get rid of when we move to Costa Rica. It’s as if we were never meant to settle here, because we never really did. We got a call on our house last night even though it hasn’t been advertised in months. Old publication. The person sounded very interested, especially when I told them the price was no longer 189k, but 175k now! Ah, the joys if being a seller right now. We decided we’re going for it, moving to Costa Rica for sure now. We’ll be building a home in Playa Avellanas. Dry tropical forest, lovely beach and many families, mostly expats, with kids our age. We can build a sweet house for 70k so we’re borrowing the money from my dad at 4-5% interest. Not bad. Sure beats owing 160k on a rapidly depreciating asset in a city losing jobs and population! It feels good to finally make the decision. The American dream doesn’t exist anymore. People everywhere here are tied down in bondage to homes that are losing value and will not gain any for many years to come. That isn’t a dream, that isn’t freedom, and don’t get me started on the 21st century “career opportunities!” Low wages and no benefits, and forget retirement. If that’s how it’s going to be, I’d rather be on the beach. Hubby has a job opportunity at a luxury hotel opening down the street from our land, so things are looking pretty good. One more family leaving the IOUSA for Costa Rica.

# 19 January 2009 at 11:26 am

Arp (author) said:

That’s great! I hope it goes through for y’all. I think we will eventually build too.

The American dream is more like the Matrix, with people trapped by credit, wage slavery, materialism and media addiction. I took the red pill some time ago:

Morpheus: I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he’s expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?
Neo: No.
Morpheus: Why not?
Neo: ‘Cause I don’t like the idea that I’m not in control of my life.
Morpheus: I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know, you can’t explain. But you feel it. You felt it your entire life. That there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there. Like a splinter in your mind — driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I’m talking about?
Neo: The Matrix?
Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is?
(Neo nods his head.)
Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere, it is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, or when go to church or when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. A prison for your mind. (long pause, sighs) Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself. This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back.
(In his left hand, Morpheus shows a blue pill.)
Morpheus: You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. (a red pill is shown in his other hand) You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. (Long pause; Neo begins to reach for the red pill) Remember — all I am offering is the truth, nothing more.