Foreplay (Joe)

Sometimes a journey of 3000 miles from Sacramento to Miami Beach beings with a single step. And sometimes it begins with a 3-week detour to Arcata, CA to dog-sit for a friend before you take that single step.

Willits, CA: Our overnight stopover, about halfway between SF
and Arcata. Try the Old West Inn (They have theme rooms, and we got the
Livery Stable room. Draw your own conclusions).

4 step process for really and truly cleaning out your closet (Monica)

I've been working on this project for 4 years now. Every time I do this, I review each article of clothing, decide to keep or throw away. I've tried several methods from living simple books such as turning hangers backwards and in 6 months throwing out all things that are still hanging backwards and therefore must not have been worn. I still had too many things hanging around that I didn't wear but I couldn't seem to part with.

So, I invented my own strategy which I must admit I think is brilliant Of course this may be obvious to other people and perhaps I'm not the first one to think of it. But, in case you haven't thought of it, hear goes:

My 4 step process for really and truly cleaning out your closet.

Step 1) Decide on your outfit categories.

This is what types of outfits you need in your life. Mine were: casual (lunches out, shopping), very casual (hanging around the house, going to the beach), work warm weather, work cold weather, yoga, cycling, and dressy (going out).

Step 2) Decide how many outfits of each category you think you need.

For Miami (6 months) I decided I needed 6 casual outfits, 6 very casual, 2 yoga, 2 cycling, 6 warm weather work, 4 cold weather work and 4 dressy outfits.

Step 3) Build your outfits from your closet.

Lay out the outfits in different parts of the room. dressy on the bed, casual on the sofa, etc. Make sure you are building entire outfits. If the same pair of pants can be paired with two different tops, that is great - but count it as 2 outfits. Start with your favorite outfits and then continue until you have the number you decided you needed. Leave all the clothing that doesn't go with outfits needed. I cheated a bit here because I found that I had 6 dressy outfits and I wasn't going to part with any of them. Fine! I left it that way.

Step 4) Cull the clothes left in the closet.

I wish I could say I gave away ALL of the clothes that were in the closet after making my outfits. I did not. But, I gave away over 1/2 of them and this was a huge amount compared to what I'd been able to give away at any one time before. The other clothes that I just couldn't part with, I decided to take photos of, box up and they will go into storage. If I haven't missed them after Miami or some time down the road, they will be a lot easier to let go of.

Ah.... no! (Monica)

Renting a furnished apartment has its challenges.

Avoiding the state of always moving (Monica)

I don't want to ALWAYS be moving. If you think about your past moves, how long does it take?

You have to prepare to move, then you move, then you get moved in. I don't know about you, but in my past moves, this has easily taken 6 months in order to complete the process. Most of the time is spent 'moving in', with boxes still unpacked from the April move to Sacramento.

So, If we are moving every 6 months, then this could mean that we'd always be moving. Not something I'm interested in.

Working to avoid the always moving status will lead me to several of the keys to our "doing a 180" plan:

1) I must live more in the moment. I can't say to myself: "I'm moving in 1 month, so what is the point in meeting someone new, or checking out that new biking group". No, I must make the most of today. Isn't this something we all should be doing anyway?

2) I must minimize my stuff. I have to think more about what is important to live with, and question new purchases to determine if they really will be worth carrying through this life. The benefits of this are immense.

3) I must minimize my life processes, automate bill paying, reduce the number of accounts. Simplifying these mundane, repetitive life tasks leads to more free time. This can be done whether you are moving or not. But, the moving requires it. The internet allows for all of this.

4) I need to leverage other people's time where possible. I should not be shy about using people that stand to benefit in helping us move. In order to find an apartment in Miami, the plan is to get property managers in South Beach looking for the perfect place for us to live vs. us combing through 100s of on-line advertisements. (Unfortunately, this hasn't been easy so far as perhaps South Beach is so popular that property managers don't feel the need to return their phone calls and emails). I'll let you know if I find one that does a good job!

The Adventurous Life (Joe)

Back since the days when I carried a Franklin Planner, circa 1995, I've had this quote with me. I haven't had the planner since before Y2K, but somehow through a move from the midwest to Oregon to California and now on to Miami Beach and then Question Mark, it has always stayed with me. I wish you luck in your own Adventurous Life.