Field Trip Notebook – Page 2 – Former teacher, traveling full time and taking notes.

A Countable Number of Things

No Side Bar just published a piece I wrote called Transforming Stuff Into a Countable Number. Many thanks to the editors there! I’ve found a lot of wisdom on that site and appreciate having my writing alongside pieces I’ve admired. Go see why I put an image of the ocean here, then come back to comment if you’d like.

Thanks for reading, and by the way, I love comments. Bookmark fieldtripnotebook.com for more on travel, minimalism, books, public transportation, and hikes. For daily postcards from, well, wherever we are, subscribe to launaatlarge.substack.com.

Snakes (and other needs for courage in my nomadic life)

We’ve been full time nomads for 2 ½ weeks now, which makes us nomad infants, squinting at our new lives. We’re goofy with joy, given to big grins at each other. In our tent in one of the beautiful national parks we visited, we gestured grandly at the nylon roof and exclaimed, “Honey! Right now, this is our HOUSE!”

We feel as proud as artists whipping the tarpaulin off our marvelous new work, this handcrafted, crazy thing we’ve labored to create: our new nomadic lives.

And We’re Off

The stuff is sold off or given away. The U-Box is packed and shipped with the few possessions we still own. Our carry-on suitcases are packed, the house is rented, the friends are hugged, the kids are grown, the two beloved, ancient little dogs have both lived out their long lives.

It’s time to go.

How to Let Go of Your Stuff in Just 33 Easy Steps!

1. Create a motivation and a deadline. Sell or rent your house, buy a non-refundable one-way airline ticket to Bulgaria, etc. Do not skip this step!

2. Clear some time on your schedule. More time that you think.

Decluttering? Start Big

We’ve been selling and giving away our things for over a year now, and we’re almost done. The renters for our now too-big house will be here soon, and the few possessions we have left will fit into a small storage container.

The Slow Art of Letting Stuff Go

We’re giving away our things, and it’s taking time.

So much time.

*Regarding having no possessions, this sloth is way ahead of me.*

Six Reasons to Travel

*At the U.S. Botanic Garden, Washington, D.C., February 2023.*

My travel partner turned to me recently on one of our long walks and asked,

“So, why do you want to travel?”

Beliefs About Stuff that I’m Letting Go

Many thanks to No Side Bar for publishing my piece today on the beliefs I’m uncovering (and letting go) as I unload possessions.

You can read it here.

And, let’s admire this lovely empty closet. Beautiful, right?

Travel Book Review: Joan Frank’s Try to Get Lost

I tell everyone that I’m not teaching anymore so my husband and I can travel. That is absolutely true, and it is also true that I’m not teaching so I can have more time to write and read. Travel, reading, writing: the triumvirate for happiness. This puts travel writing–such as this collection of essays with a great title by Joan Frank–squarely in my happy place.

On the Gravitational Pull of Things

The plan is to travel. Our children are grown, and we’re coming up to our last day of working full time. To get out there, we’re renting out this house and unloading its contents, ready to step into the next season of our lives with lighter luggage.

So, we must deal with things.

I walk through the rooms of our suburban house and inventory the objects, organize them into stacks, plot their disbursement. Sometimes, in a burst, I’ll unload a great deal at once. Sometimes, objects persist.

For example, this gargoyle.