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Tag: New Year

Fresh Start

Fresh Start

I hate New Year’s Eve but I love the start of a new year. There’s something powerful about endings and beginnings. You can cast away the past and look ahead. I don’t make resolutions. They never last. I try to prioritize. But also to give myself a break when I make mistakes.

2013 was a year of transition. I moved (and got rid of ½ my stuff). I got new toys to make my life simpler. I regrouped. I started a speaking career on the side. And I got closer to my goal of building StashWall into a world-class company.

I try to spend new year’s at the beach. I drive up to my favorite spot in Malibu and walk barefoot on the sand with the water lapping at my feet. This year, while watching the waves, several schools of dolphins and a whale swam by. There’s something about the ocean that always balances me. It helps set the reset button.

I can’t wait to take on this new year. I’ll try to share more of my journey along the way (but that’s not a resolution…)

Walk the Talk

Moving Van

I woke up a month ago and realized that I was a phony. Here I was building a company where I’m preaching simplicity and decluttering and yet, I’m living in a 2200 sq. ft. house with 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a library, 6 closets and a garage. And it’s just me.

And while I was pretty much paperless having scanned my documents and photos earlier that year, I still had a lot of stuff. Books, clothes, kitchenware and countless objects in the garage that were just sitting there. Waiting for what? And so I embarked on a mission.

  1. Find a new place where I’d actually use the entire space. The reality was that I rarely used my library, guest room or back yard. Those fabulous dinner parties I was planning to host on my spectacular dining room table never really materialized. I pretty much lived in my office and bedroom. And occasionally watched TV in the living room.
  2. Get rid of ½ my stuff. That was the other thing. I never wore half my clothes (too many closets) and never really went back to read a book on my shelves (plus I now read everything on my iPad). And since I rarely (OK, never) cook, all those kitchen platters, bowls, utensils and gadgets were just taking up space.
  3. Sell as much as I could (something I never attempted before) by using Craigslist, eBay, consignment etc. and donate the rest.
  4. Move as little furniture as possible so I can buy new furniture to suit my new place. In the past, I always looked for new homes based on my existing furniture. This time I was going to fall in love with the place first and then figure out what to move.

And so while I’m still drowning in boxes (the move was yesterday) I am happy to report that I accomplished my goals. I lost 1,000 sq. ft., donated 2,000 books (I allowed myself to keep 100), sold 80% of my furniture and even my outdoor plants, and gave away or consigned ½ my clothes, shoes and purses. I donated my kitchenware and almost everything in my garage. And since I’m not a hoarder it was all in great shape, just waiting for a new home. I even lost 5 lbs. packing up and getting rid of stuff.

The best part. I feel free. I only kept those things that meant something to me. Art, collectibles, books, furniture that I actually cared about. Rather than accumulated. Instead of the 2 moving trucks it took to move me 6 years ago, this time it was one truck and it wasn’t even full. And it was fun to buy new furniture to suit the new place (from the money I received selling the old stuff) and my fresh start.

So mission accomplished. Now I need to get back to those boxes.