Backpacks and lunchboxes get washed on the last day of school. Three weeks ago, we started stockpiling non-perishables. Why? Coronavirus. We are a family of five and we consume a lot; a little extra, just in case, is probably not a bad idea. We are concerned, not so much about getting COVID-19, but about the inevitable disruptions. We want to prepare, not panic. I grew up in Guyana in a time when scarcity was commonplace. I remember the lines for everything - food, cooking gas, toilet paper! I have vague memories of sitting for hours at a clinic, waiting for vaccinations and, I think, powdered milk, or maybe it was another place, another queue. The run on grocery stores that we are experiencing now in the U.S. gives me flashbacks. I presume that the majority of shoppers have never seen anything as widespread as this in their lives, not here in the U.S. anyway. As it happens, we were living in Lagos, Nigeria during the Ebola outbreak in 2014. Social distancing, increased...

Our family of five recently downsized from a four bedroom townhouse to a 1070 sq. ft. apartment and we have no regrets. We are committed to keeping only the things we need and love, and letting everything else go - a simpler life beckons. Our 1070 sq. ft. space We've sold, gifted and trashed a staggering amount of stuff this last year and our journey to a well organized, uncluttered life continues. Getting rid of things is not easy. Our best efforts to get started are typically thwarted by sentimental attachment, how much the item cost when we acquired it, what we perceive the current value to be, the thought of how much work is required to dispose of the items, and so on. We move a lot. My husband's job requires that we pack up all our worldly belongings every few years and move to a different country, possibly a different continent. Necessity propels us, motivates us, to start our cleaning out with the things that weigh the most or take up the most space. The ar...