Isn’t it hard to get rid of everything you own? (We’re selling everything to travel the world)

YES!

Oh wow, it’s so hard! SO much harder than I expected!

There are so many material things that I struggle letting go of.

My yellow desk, that has seen me grow as a writer year after year, reinvent myself several times — it’s become a reminder that I can become whatever I want as many times as I want.

My dance shoes, that have been the companions of endless salsa nights, dance rehearsals and shows in theaters — shoes that I have worn down, broken, glued, taped and worn again.

The kids Montessori furniture, that has seen me evolve as a mother, become more confident and patient — and have been the perfect background for my posts.

My blender, because there’s absolutely nothing better than a cold smoothie in summer and a hot soup in winter.

Somebody said to me the other day, “It’s just material stuff, you can replace it”.

But see, that’s not the point. Yes, it is just stuff, and yes, I can replace it eventually. But the whole point is: I don’t want to replace it, not for a long time. I’m getting rid of it to embrace a new lifestyle made of experiences over stuff, of minimalistic living, of close-to-zero consumerism, of maximum respect for what we have because it’s all we have.

I want this travel around the world to be so much more than just a travel to places, I want it to be a journey into ourselves, an experience of new ways to see life and people, to find happiness in ourselves and each other, not in a new vacuum cleaner or another dress for a wardrobe full of clothes.

And please, don’t feel judged by my words if you just got a new vacuum cleaner or another dress for your crowded wardrobe: that’s your life (and mine, up until a few months ago!), and I hope it makes you happy.

My life simply took a different route, one that I hadn’t seen coming and that brings a whole new level and meaning of happiness. This is the path that I feel I need to follow not only for myself, for ourselves, and our kids, but also for the environment and for what I believe in.

So yeah, getting rid of my stuff is hard, because most of it is so much more than just stuff, it’s memories and life itself. But sometimes we need to get rid of the past to be reborn from the ashes of our old self. It’s hard, a journey of its own, but it’s also so liberating and empowering.

One of my favorite quotes has always been:

”Past is like an anchor holding us back. You need to let go of who you are to become who you will be”.

I guess in this time of my life, this means to get rid of the things I thought defined me, to give my life and myself a whole new meaning. Wish me luck.

2021 update

We are happy. We have very little and we miss nothing (nothing material). Over time, we have become better at not buying anything superfluous or that we don't need, and we feel really happy – because after three years on this sustainability journey, I realized that the only way to really help our planet isn't to recycle, to choose better brands, to avoid plastic in the supermarket, to treat meat as luxury (even if this is all needed)… the only way to really help our planet is to drastically reduce the stuff we buy.

We need a lot less than we think.