On Leaving Home

If the last three weeks have taught me anything, it’s that I shouldn’t commit to posting on a new blog every week while in the midst of several life changes!

So I hope you will forgive the fact that this post is three weeks late, and bear with me as I get caught up over the next few days. 🙂

On April 21, I left my apartment in Beaverton for the last time. I expected to cry (those who know me well know that I cry very easily about sad things). I expected to feel as I had for those few hours in March when I was home from house-sitting in Vancouver: as if I were home, in a place that was mine, that I knew inside and out. My nest, if you will, or my refuge.

But as I stood there on that final rainy Monday afternoon, looking around at the living room, bereft of all the things that had made it mine (puzzles on the walls, Christmas stuff tucked into the corner nook, my desk overflowing with papers in another corner of the dining room), I felt – nothing. No tears, no emotions, just an impatience to be done with the task at hand so I could run more errands.

Even so, it was surprisingly difficult to take my key off my key chain and lay it on the table next to the half-dozen spare keys I’d found while packing and cleaning. That tie-dye colored key has meant home, security, and refuge for a long time.

I think if I had been less stressed during my last week, the final leaving would have been more emotional. But as it was, I had 4 days in which to pack, sort, throw away, and donate all of my possessions. I took that Monday off to run some errands and help my boyfriend re-organize and clear a space in the storage area for my stuff. It’s a good thing we did, too – all my stuff fit into the storage area, with a little bit of a walk space right down the middle.

Rather than give a blow-by-blow of the packing, let me summarize by saying that I donated to Goodwill at least as much as I packed into the storage area. I got rid of all kinds of things – bedding (who needs 4 sets of sheets?), books that I liked but weren’t worth hauling in and out of storage areas, clothing, furniture, VHS tapes (but not the VCR itself). In fact, I packed the closet and half the floor of the 3rd bedroom with stuff for Goodwill.

But even with all the stuff that I put in the “to Goodwill” pile, there is still an incredible (to me) amount of stuff still in the storage area.About 30 boxes in all, most in the book box or small box variety. Surprisingly, what took up the most space are the 4 or 5 boxes of memorabilia that I own.

Photo albums, pictures, little souvenirs – it’s amazing how hard it is to get rid of that stuff. I know several people who live this nomadic lifestyle long-term have pared down their possessions each time they come back to the storage area, so perhaps over time I’ll pare down what I have left, as well.

Here’s a slideshow of some of the pictures taken from moving weekend. I had intended to take pictures of the boxes as they were prepped for the Uhaul, but there just wasn’t time.

In a nutshell, then, all of my life’s possessions are now hanging out in a storage unit in downtown Portland, waiting for me to come back. The fact that I’m homeless still hasn’t hit me yet, but I’m expecting it to – one of these days. Maybe when I fly home from vacation and realize that “home” no longer means going back to that apartment in Beaverton.

Before I sign off, I want to say a big thank you to Dael and Tim for helping me move stuff into the storage area and dropping stuff off at Goodwill. I could not have made this transition without you!

And a special thank you to Nancy, who let me stay in her guest bedroom for my last 2 nights in Beaverton. It was so much better than sleeping on the couch! 🙂

Until next time,

~ Felicity