Clearing The Decks

One of the challenges I've got before I go away is what to do with all my "stuff". While I've already had several good clear outs (many thanks to those who took things of my hands), I still have a fair amount of "stuff" that needs to go.

The general plan is to set off in mid-November, with just the absolute minimum of stuff left to come back to (plus I need to store it while I'm away, so the smaller the collection the easier it will be).

This means clearing out the storage container (see the pic below) where the vast majority of the things I own currently reside. It's costing me £27 a week to store said stuff which is money I could spend next year, so I plan to have the mother of all clear outs in the next two or three weeks.

There's something very liberating about getting rid of "stuff". It's certainly easier when its junk - some of the personal stuff is quite hard to part with. It's only after its gone that it's true value comes to light - which in most cases is zero.

I went today to start the process of clearing out, carting off a pile of boxes to unpack back at the ranch. I'm going to try and give as much stuff away as I can, either to friends or charity. And anything which can't go to either will go to the dump. The things I really want to keep will be kept in my room until I go.

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I bought two more travel books today - both were from the "First Read This" series by Lonely Planet. They cover Africa and South America, adding to my now growing collection which includes "First Read This: Asia", and "First Time Around The World" by The Rough Guide.