How Martha and John Miller quit their jobs, gave away their stuff, and moved to Rome

Martha Miller and her husband John had a big dream to move to Italy from their home in Houston, Texas. They quit their jobs, gave away their stuff, and moved into a little apartment in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood. Here’s their story: Friends wanted to know how we did it, and the truth is that my husband and I became really good at saving money in order to make it happen. We aren’t trust-fund babies or self-made millionaires. We started with a dream to move overseas for 21 months while John went to school, and thirteen months after we got married, we were on the plane to Rome. It was surreal and exciting. When we visited Rome the previous spring to evaluate the school, we were unexpectedly shown four apartments to choose from. We had no problem agreeing on the one we chose. It was a small apartment up three flights […]

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Why perfection can’t make you happy – but this will

Our culture of perfection is bringing up more insights for me. You know, we’re supposed to have perfect hair, perfect bodies, perfect kitchens, perfect homes, perfect relationships, be fabulous foodies and cooks, and we’re even supposed to have perfect thoughts. You’re probably like me in that you hardly notice what’s going on because we’re swimming in this culture. For me, once I started paying attention, I realized I was telling myself stuff like this: “If I just exercise more, I’ll have a perfect body. If I take some cooking classes I’ll be able to be a foodie, too. If I get more spiritual, I’ll have more perfect thoughts,” and so on. Our consumer culture feeds this stuff to us constantly and it’s hard to ignore. We’re being told all of the time that we can do more and be more. We’re inspired by blog posts about the latest exercise routine, […]

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It’s hard to let go

Last post I wrote about the banjo I hadn’t used but couldn’t give up. It sits back in its original place at home, propped up against the wall, still collecting dust, but still bringing a little smile to my face for whatever crazy reason. But now I’m having a hard time giving up even more stuff I don’t use – haven’t used. I thought I had it all together in the getting-rid-of-stuff department. Thought I was the expert in letting go, the expert in simple living, the one with all the answers about getting rid of what you don’t love and use. Hmm. I’m having a hard time. After my banjo, it was my grandma’s old amber glass cocktail set. I’d been storing a few boxes of these lovely things for years and never used them. But I kept them, thinking one day I’d bring them out and have a […]

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Purging stuff is like falling in love

I decided that purging stuff is like falling in love, and I just had my own experience. About ten years ago I bought a banjo because I am a huge bluegrass music fan. I imagined how fun it would be to be able to play banjo and join music jams and stuff. I took about two lessons and then life got in the way. Years passed, and I never picked up my banjo. But I also never tried to sell it. Nor did I fall out of love with bluegrass music. More years passed. The banjo was getting in my way and collecting dust. Finally I told myself I’d had enough. I wasn’t taking lessons. I wasn’t even picking up the banjo. It was definitely getting in my way, and I decided it was time to sell it. So one day, emotionless, I took it to a great place that […]

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