I've always prided myself on my lack of emotional attachment to stuff. I prefer living in open, airy spaces with clean lines and minimal chatzkies. I've lived by the "if you haven't worn it in a year, get rid of it" rule. And, for every new pair of shoes I buy, another pair must leave the nest. Each time I move, I jettison a lot - either give to family or friends, or donate it.
The exceptions:
My books. I love my books. I love to see them standing tall on the shelf and feel their weigh in my hand. I believe the books people read shape them as a human being in a way few "things" can. Plus, they're a snapshot of who I was at the time I read them. Each time I've moved, we haul box after heavy box of books.
My framed pictures. More than scrolling through MBs of digital albums, the pictures I frame say "this moment (or person) is so important, I took the time to freeze it and keep in front of me".
My big, brown chair. Pre-baby, this was my favorite place to read. Post-baby, it went into M's room and was where I held him on long nights.
High school parafernalia. Yearbooks, graduation program, cheerleading uniforms ... all tucked away in a box. I'm not particularly sentimental about them, but it seems wrong to toss them out. And, periodically, the cheerleading uniforms come in handy as a last minute Halloween costume (yes they fit, but I'm genuinely horrified at how short the skirts are).
Things people made. I have a few invaluable items made and given to me by people I love, including a quilt my grandma made before she died when I was 14.
However, with an international move, one becomes very calculating about ones things. Does the value of this item offset the cost of shipping a container (literally) to the other side of the world?
Too often, the answer is "no".
So I find myself parsing up the things that have shared my space and my life as an adult. Some will go to storage, some will be given away to family and friends, some will be donated and some will be sold at a moving sale June 16.
I think it's the "sold" that bothers me most. I want to assess each potential buyer to determine if they will love this "thing" as I have loved it ... and, if not, deny them ownership. But I know that's not how it works. Dollar values will be attached that don't reflect my personal value and people will scoop up bargains without thought to a "thing's" history.
And that's how it should be, I guess. After all, it's just stuff.
