all what I own…

… is there… even after 7 years spent in Cambridge, MA, that is all I have gathered… well, I have trashed a lot of things too, bought and sold books:

If I had all my papers in pdf forms, and if I had digitized my data (movies, pictures)… If I were to move further away (still in Cambridge… I am moving again in a month though), I would obviously not take with me the mirror, the laundry detergent, the hangers, the sheets and pillows (actually, I am thinking of going to the camping store… to check on light gears… to camp indoor ;), the papers/books I have to give back, all my painting and papers, my printer, fewer pairs of shoes (is that possible?)… You might tell me… with all these “if” we could put Paris in a bottle, as the French say (I could argue that Duchamp did put Paris in a bottle… Air de Paris (Ready Made); YSL captured its essence)… Anyway, here is what my load would be:

I have so many of these “important” papers to keep (medical, taxes…). I had read somewhere that we had to keep bank statements for 10 years (well I get them electronically!). Too much for me to carry… In case of long distance travel, I would have sent my books through UPS.

I find the plastic boxes very useful to organize and store. I’d love it if Muji (it means “no brand” in Japanese) was here in Boston; they have the best storage boxes ever! Next time, I’ll have a wall of storage boxes… maybe no suitcases anymore: everything ready and organized to take away and put in another place. It just reminds me what KB told me last time: “I have reduced my moving time—packing, moving, and unpacking— [same urban area] to 4 hours.” He uses beverage crates (what is the name for it?) as standardized storage units. He also uses these as book shelves.