This post is not just my story but also highlight many lessons only if only one wishes to pay enough heed.

I used to buy a lot of clothes and matching shoes back in Pakistan. My closet was always full and sometimes I would have two shoes with the same color. I clearly recall that soon after my wedding, one day there was a loud thump in my bedroom. Upon checking, it was revealed that the clothes hanging rod came down for carrying too much weight :/ I was unstoppable. I would not only buy things which were needed (in-my-imagination) but would keep a lot of things for the next season or bus aesay he :O)

I always had a justification for my shopaholic nature and sometimes, I would just say that shopping makes me happy. I didn’t know the meaning of ‘travel light’ either. I would carry two extra clothes always. With kids, this habit even worsened. The whole car trunk will carry all my kids stuff whenever I used to travel inter-city. Husband was not an exception. Although, he is not a shopaholic but would never travel light. We both used to carry a house on each our trip.

Everything was about things until Australia happened and we got a baggage limit of 100 Kgs in total. Woah! A person weighing 100 Kg would look so fat my friend but a 100 Kg for your luggage is just not even there from where the counting begins 🙁

I had a full house to carry and nothing seemed to be fitting in. I do the packing always so I had to ask hubby what he needed to take. My kids stuff were on the priority followed by my husband’s things. And when my turn came, we were already sitting on 134 Kg 🙁

We had no plans of booking a cargo. It was meant to happen wisely and diligently! Can you believe that I did my packing three times just to create extra space. Nothing seemed to be working out. I ended up giving up all my things that I once thought were too important and close to my heart.

I gave up 36 pair of shoes, 12 unstitched dresses, 30 almost-new clothes and a couple of untouched perfumes and lotions. All of a sudden, nothing was looking important enough to be getting priority over my kids’ and husband’s stuff and only during that time, it dawned upon me how meaningless my shopping mantra was.

I still recall that our friends and family started flooding in for the farewell and our packing was still not done. It was a lot of chaos. None of the rooms were in order. Heaps of things everywhere and I was so much in panic. And then there were gifts – more gifts on the farewell.

I didn’t want to leave anything behind unattended for I didn’t know back then when I was going to visit Pakistan again. It was a point blank mission clean-up :!

It was a baggage full of emotions that I had to deal with. It made me feel sad about giving up things especially when I realized that nothing mattered. I ended up carrying very little stuff for myself. Bought a fewer items to begin life here in Sydney and still managing to keep my desires tamed. Initially it was a torture for a person like me but then it turned out to be the only prudent way to live life actually.

The reason I decided to put down my packing story is to render a great piece of advice. Do not accumulate stuff you don’t need. Run this ‘100 Kg’ exercise with your stuff once a year and give out everything. Keep your wardrobe light. Life is too unpredictable to pile up things for the next season. Trust me, if you will get a chance to pack the ‘utmost-necessary’ stuff for your upcoming journey, you will be amazed to know that the empire you have built is actually not really needed.

With this minimalistic approach, husband and I have decorated our new house and trust me, the new look is ever so heart-warming. The house is child-friendly and everything seems to be breathing naturally. The cabinets are limited but still carry a lot of room. I’m buying only what is needed. I still like a lot many things but ever since I have come here, I ask myself whether I need a particular thing. When the answer comes out to be “No”, I move on.

We have a lot of support system back in our country. We get so much help in sorting out stuff but here, since we have to do everything by ourselves (housekeeping and cleaning) – carrying unnecessary stuff is a headache than a blessing. To spice things up, I have also realized how cleanliness freak I am – I like things in place and this has now landed me into keeping those things which are absolutely necessary.

And honestly speaking, I’m loving the new shape of my life. It is more clean and clear. I think straight now 🙂 I really wish to stay this way and yes, I survived my first ever Boxing Day Sale rather gracefully!

Feel free to be proud on the new me and please clean up your houses once in a while as well. This will make your life clutter-free both literally and metaphorically.

Until then, have a great day 🙂