Job Discussion Forums

[danielita]

I have some really nice furniture in storage right now. It's been there for almost 2 years. I couldn't impose on any family member to store the contents of a 2 bedroom condo. Now, I'm fortunate because an apartment owned by my in-laws is becoming vacant so I'm going to put my stuff in there. It'll be a guest house for visitors and a place to call home when we come back for visits. It's the best of both worlds for everyone.

[jillford64]

I gave away or sold everything but my good turkish rugs, antique furniture, art work, and artesanias from trips past, which I still have stored in a 10x10-ft. temperature controlled (read expensive) storage unit in southern California. My Mom would have been more than happy to keep all of these things for me (mainly because she'd like to have them!) but she doesn't have the space. She did take one of my kitties into foster care while I was gone. After being back in the US for six months, I will finally be signing a lease on an apartment at the end of the month and I am looking forward to getting getting my stuff back. Well, and also to not forking over $200/month for storage.

[guatetaliana]

Getting rid of things is great! My husband and I did this, and we are so glad to be living simply now. Granted, we are at a pretty early stage of life (25-26 yrs old), so our acquisitions weren't much, but my husband's family also just moved to Mexico and sold their house, and my parents' house is quite small, so keeping things really wasn't an option.

Back in the US, my parents ARE storing a couple boxes - one of books that truly (I swear) could be useful in the future, and two others containing mostly wedding gifts, despite the "No Gifts, We're Leaving the Country" policy we laid out in the invitation. There used to be four boxes, but when I returned home for Christmas, I realized that there was a lot of stuff that was just pointless to keep, so I got rid of it. Living abroad can have that effect.

But I think the best part of all this is knowing that at any moment, we can move anywhere, and nothing is holding us down. If my parents really needed to, they could get rid of those three remaining boxes and I would be OK. Like Guy said, freedom.