On Thursday we moved back to the big smoke. We’re now in Sydney’s Northern Suburbs with housesits booked until December with a prospect into January in the wings. As a nomad, knowing where you’ll be living for a couple of months is very comforting.
Today we went shopping. We’ve become very proficient at moving (since we do it so regularly) and needed some containers for packing away our winter clothes as well as a few other useful items. The thing that struck me was how much stuff we DON”T buy. Being restricted in the amount of space we have available and the fact that we’ll soon need to pack up anything we buy has made me very conscious of my tendency to “stock up” on food or other items I’m sure we’ll need or is cheaper if we buy in bulk.
The other thing I realised was that since we no longer have a “permanent” residence I’m not looking at all the bits and pieces I need to fix things around the house. Have you walked down an aisle and bought that box of screws or set of hinges you need to fix the door only to have them sit in your garage for months until they eventually get buried under all the other bits you’ve bought to fix this or repair that? As housesitters we’re free of all those responsibilities and it’s proving to be very liberating.
Shopping has become a very different experience for us – we go with a specific list of the items we need and come away with our list complete but without all the extra things. While this might not be helpful for the economy it’s been great for us.