We got back to our (Atlanta) home around 8pm tonight, which left me just enough time to to pull together another bag of donation clothing before the charity pick-up later this week. After coming face-to-face with the difference in scale that we will be facing once we move, I’ve found the motivation to reduce even further what I plan to keep. So tonight, I managed to shed an additional:

• five pairs of shorts
• two pairs of sweatpants
• four pairs of pants
• eight shirts
• two t-shirts
• two pairs of socks, plus one stray that never found its mate

I also managed to pull off the shelves ten more books, which I will attempt to convert into one must-read title. That may not seem like a lot, but after 300 miles of driving, I’m calling it a success.

I’m thinking after the donation pick-up this week, the rest of the stuff I manage to sort through over the next few days will probably end up in our one-and-only yard sale, which I think I can pull off on this Sunday. The goal here isn’t to turn “trash into treasure”; ideally it will provide us with an opportunity to get rid of some larger items in our house without hauling them away ourselves.

It’s been an interesting balancing act over the past few months–there are days when “living simply” has meant focusing on contemplative practices. Other times it has been all about bathroom closets and basement clutter. I think as long as I make sure that one approach doesn’t undermine the other–or more accurately, I suppose: as long as I make sure each supports the other–I figure I am in good shape.