And so we are moving to another flat with few days notice of the landlady as she would give it up for some personal reasons. We'd transfer to her another unit. The thought of it gave me a relief because it would be cheaper there although farther from my favorite spot in the soul of the city. The airconditioning system would perhaps be better and there would be no bed bugs and cockroaches.
The best thing in relocation is it gives you a wake-up call about the things that you hold and what you must let go. I have many stuffs that I have kept for more than a decade. To name few, books, papers, old clothes, kitchen items, office supplies, printers, gifts, containers that I could not dispose of for sentimental value as they were from important people in my life, etc.
I had to seek the help of my friends and pay the movers AED300 to move things from a place ten minutes away to another. Well, yes, "No man is an island. No man stands alone. We need one another."
This is the challenge when you are alone. My flatmates have their spouses or their family members who went on undertime and spend some nights and weekends packing things and moving things together. Men do most of the hard, dirty and heavy jobs. I would freak out if I would think of it so I told myself, "Calm down. Eassssyyyy."
Because there were bed bugs in the room, my packing of things got more tedious. I had to clean all bags either by vacuum cleaning or washing items by hot water and dishwashing liquid or detergent powder, then sealed all with plastic bags.
My breaks to recharge my 'battery' I spent watching Youtube videos on minimalism.
I remember my former British boss who used to have a heavy duty shredding machine near his table and immediately shredded papers he did not need anymore. He had only one (1) light blue polo which he wore every day, weekday or weekend if we had a meeting. He was like Mark Zuckerberg wearing only one (1) grey T-shirts most of the time. I haven't purchased new dresses for long time but I have kept my old ones for many years. My daughter reminded me to just donate them and not send them home anymore but I think my other daughter could reuse them so I would be sending them by sea cargo soon.
Went to a thrift shop to buy some packaging tapes and plastic rolls, and asked for some free boxes. It is important to label all boxes so it would be easier for me to find and sort things properly.
The organizing job could be overwhelming but thinking that I could finish it all one box or bag at a time, was somehow comforting to a weary mind and body. I had lots of important things to do, and this relocation thing came unexpectedly. It happens. Unexpected things happen. We must embrace the change we never expect and be like water, fluid. We move from one place to another. Fine. Fine, it is not a relocation due to natural calamity or whatever bad reason.
I threw the old pink luggage bag which was gifted by my first boss. I had kept it since I bought it in 2005 until few days back. It was damaged. Old people say it is not good to keep damaged things. Is it? I threw my garment steamer, damaged also. This one I redeemed for my Airmiles points earned.
The Pakistani helper broke the handle of the other suitcase which I plastic-wrapped all over. No, I could not throw it this time as it was full of some items, and it was just a handle, anyway. Well, in my relocations how many items did the helpers damage as they carelessly moved things and attention could not be at all people and things when in a rush to move? Laptop whilst it was at rest in its bag, just near the boxes. Framed paintings. Kitchen items. Etc.
I forgot my aloe vera plants at the back of my window. Hope I can get them back. They grew fast when I cool-watered them.
From this time onward, Self, passionately master minimalism and do more strategy games and brain teasers so as not to forget things. Scrabble mattel online, anyone? I first look at TW (triple word) or TL (triple letter) boxes, then look at my highly valued letters so I can place them there. It is like relocation. Every single tile has a value so put the valued items only on valued places. A landlord in commercial space renting puts it at AED1,500 for 5x4 square feet tiles -- so?
Most stuffs are destructions. Many unnecessary stuffs stop us from doing things. Yeah, clear things, clear mind.
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Photo credits: Pixabay
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