1. Consolidate.

My summer began two days ago, when Rachel, my dad, and I made the journey home. It will be a quick vacation for me--I return to Dordt's campus on June 1st--but I think it is much-needed.

From the moment I got home, my first thought was that I needed to get rid of things. If I learned anything from moving out of C5 during this last week, it's that I have far too much stuff. Most of what I own is comprised of t-shirts that I'll never wear and papers that heighten my nostalgia when I pull them out.

Basically, I own a lot of crap. And it's high time that I start purging myself of them.

Besides that, I'm a woman without a real home this summer. Half of my things are sitting in a corner of Southview 206, while a lamp and a bin of my things are in a friend's basement and my pompasan is in another friend's garage. That's not even including all the stuff in my parents' basement.

My roommates were shocked by how much I owned. My sister was appalled by my horrible packing skills. And so came my first rule of the summer.

1. Consolidation.

It's a slow process so far. I've filled up one trashbag full of my shirts, shoes, stuffed animals. I'm allowing myself two suitcases full of stuff to go back to Dordt. I even deleted a bunch of Facebook "friends" that I don't actually know.

My friend Heather said that everything she owns can fit into her little red car. She also knows of people who can fit all they own into a backpack. I don't think I'll ever be able to say that I can do that, but I'd like to try.