My time in Chicago: Seven years. Six apartments. Six moves.

That last bit usually draws an adverse reaction. “Six moves, really? I hate moving… why would you do that to yourself?”

I won’t argue that the habit is extreme. I actually blame it on my lingering case of the Goldilocks Syndrome. An internal itch to explore Chicago’s different neighborhoods to find the one that fits “just right.”

While I still maybe on that quest, there is a more subtle reason for each move. The simple question of; what is important?

Materials things pile up. A free water bottle here, another pair of jeans there, the countless items expand to fill the apartment. It’s Parkinson’s Law applied to space.

That is until moving time. An exercise that requires a thorough review and agonizing packing of those material things. Suddenly, the old fraternity t-shirts or third coffee machine don’t seem like must-haves. Do they?

Moving becomes about importance. Do I really need this? Is it worth the effort to move it? These questions foster a lean mentality, but even more so lead to an improved upstream mindset at the time of purchase; Will I really want to move this one day?

Cheers. NH.