Decluttering & Forging a New Normal

Just like I don't have a comprehensive plan for my year of traveling the world, I don't have much of a plan for the preparation.

I'm pretty freaked out about all the things I need to do before I leave in February, including:

• Figure out which vaccinations I need and how to get them
• Figure out which visas I need and how to get them
• Figure out all the gear I need and where to get it

Do you see a theme here?

I think it's the "figuring out" portion of all these to-do items that scares me. I've pored over dozens of travel blogs and bookmarked valuable links and bits of advice about everything I need to do, so it's not that the information is tough to find. There are just so many choices involved, so many decisions to make.

And wherever there's a decision to make, there's also the feeling that I could easily make the wrong one.

I know that feeling is irrational, but it's there, and I'm giving myself some time to organize my life and breathe a bit before I jump into the really important stuff.

After all, everything I knew to be normal a few weeks ago is now gone. I used to be a girl who spent her days proofreading at an ad agency and her nights and weekends training for a marathon. Then I quit the job, ran the marathon and found myself faced with a blank slate of a life. It's time to forge a new normal.

That starts, apparently, with making my bed.

I've never been a bed-maker (sorry, Mom), so forgive the wrinkles and that weird dent in the comforter. I quickly figured out that I needed an up-and-at-em routine to get myself out of bed now that I no longer have a cubicle to slink into at 8 a.m.

It includes jumping out of bed when my alarm rings, immediately making the bed (so I won't crawl back in), then flinging open my black-out curtains to let in a glorious flood of morning light.

Then I'd like to eat a quick breakfast, exercise (go for a run or hit the gym), shower, get dressed like a real human being and work on travel preparations. Oh, and eat some more.

I'm also making a conscious effort to appreciate all the luxuries that I won't have for much longer, like my super-comfortable bed, my private room and all the familiar furniture. I probably won't miss any of it while I'm out adventuring (well, except for the bed), but I think it's good to be grateful regardless.

I rent a townhouse in Seattle with two roommates, and it's by far the nicest place I've ever lived as an adult. My parents were extremely relieved to tour the place and find that, unlike the residences of my college years, it could not be described as a "condemned structure" or "complete shithole." I'll be a little sad to leave it.

Our lease runs through January, which explains my February departure, and I have some stuff to get rid of before then. And by "some stuff," I mean all the clutter that has built up over the course of this year thanks to my "throw it anywhere" method of organization.

My desk and its top shelf are a magnet for random mail and papers that I deem semi-important, but don't want to deal with right away. This weekend I turned on some festive Christmas music, spread everything out on the floor and went through it piece by piece. I recycled most of it, filed away a few essential items and left a small selection of relevant materials on the shelf (Meet, Plan, Go checklists, travel guidelines, etc.).

I also relegated old trophies, a few stuffed animals and most of my books to a bag bound for Goodwill.

I still can't keep all this stuff — some of it I intend to sell or give to friends, and some of it just needs to hang around a little longer before I can part with it (my childhood bear...) [edit: I'm keeping the bear!]. I plan to declutter in a few stages, and the final stage will be utterly ruthless.

The toughest things to get rid of so far have been notes and gifts from past boyfriends (sigh), and stubs from the five-figure bonuses I used to receive at my job. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I found those, and I may or may not have feverishly repeated, "I made the right decision, I made the right decision, I made the right decision!"

Moving on.

My dresser was another crap catchall, particularly for running gear and swimming stuff (from when I trained for my first triathlon). Many things seen here went to Goodwill or the recycling bin, and all my running accessories fit nicely into a little bag for easy access.

Much better! (The race bibs and medals ain't going anywhere for a while.)

My closet is a fun adventure. The middle section holds most of my clothes — a sea of plain tanks, tees and sweaters with a few stripes and prints thrown in for when I'm feeling adventurous — and my laundry hamper. Note the running shoe boxes, softball gear and Canon/Apple paraphernalia up above.

Judging by my friends' closets, I have very few clothes, and yet I still have still way more than I actually need or wear. I pretty much live in my favorite $8.50 Old Navy t-shirts.

I'm a simple girl. Feel free to make fun of me (for the t-shirts or the photos, or both), but I love those damn tees. And my commitment to inexpensive shirts has helped me save enough money to travel for a year, so there.

The left side of the closet: Coats, shoes, more running shoe boxes (I'm psychotic) and beach towels (for all the beaches in Seattle...).

The right side: Dresses and skirts I rarely wear, my college graduation gown, more boxes and God only knows what on the floor.

I only did a quick sweep of my clothes this weekend and ended up with an overflowing bag of items. I'll try selling them to local thrift stores, then donate the rest to Goodwill.

There's so much more to get rid of, and I haven't even peeked inside my dresser yet. I'm going to need many, many more bags.

So far, the decluttering process has felt cleansing. Very few things hold meaning for me, and luckily they're compact things, like photographs and race bibs. My goal is to end up with a few medium-sized boxes of stuff and a garbage bag of clothes to store at my dad's place for when I get back from my trip... whenever that may be.

I'll be selling all the furniture in January, so holler at me if you're a Seattelite with your eye on something.

With my bedroom clear of most visible clutter, it'll be a much more pleasant space to focus on things like vaccinations, visas and gear to cram into the backpack that will become my life (which I still need to buy).

I know one thing for sure: At least a few of my favorite tees will be along for the ride.

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