Minimalism: Moving

Last Friday I boarded a one-way flight from Toronto to New York to start a new career and new adventure. Usually by my age, you’ve accumulated a lot of stuff. “What will you do with all your stuff?” is one of the most common questions I received when I told people about the new move. Truth is, since I finished university, I’ve never lived in a space more than 1000 sqft. so I’ve never even had the option to gather things – no room!

The idea being, that the things you do keep, you really love. Whether that’s clothes (I’m in a spot now where I could blindly grab any shirt from the closet and I’ll feel confident in the fit and look that it creates), kitchen supplies, pictures, or other odds and ends.

My minimalism showed itself in a big way during this move. I cam to New York with just two suitcases (thanks to Air Canada status, these flew for free), a laptop bag, and a small duffel bag – check out the picture.

I’m pleased to report that after a week living here, I have hardly missed anything that I left behind or that I sold. I was able to get a bed on day three from a mattress store just around the corner, I picked up toiletries and supplies from the drug store on my block, and I’m slowly but intentionally adding furtniture and kitchen supplies to my tiny apartment.

As I build it into the living space I want to be excited to come home to, I’ll keep sharing pictures, but for now, this has been a great reminder that most things we own aren’t essential, and at the end of the day, I wasn’t moving to Outer Mongolia.

Special shout-out to Danielle Rombough who helped me efficiently pack these suitcases for a seamless journey.

Thanks for reading,

Mike