The main contributing factor in the termination of my sock retention streak was a lack of concentrated sock storage. Beginning in the spring, I started to move my possessions in life 2000 miles across the United States from San Diego to Chicago. In the last few months, I have also visited family in Los Angeles multiple times (where my camper van currently resides) and family and friends in Minnesota. As of today, I have a significant amount of “stuff” in all of these places: San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis. To any who attempt a perfect sock run in the future, I would recommend trying to stay in one location as much as possible. 

I knew going into the summer that it would be a slow move to my new home in Chicago. My strategy beforehand – and my strategy now – is to simplify through minimization. I got rid of a lot of possessions in San Diego that I had no real use for in life anymore. As much as I tried to cut down, I still have like 6 large boxes of old Navy things that I couldn’t get myself to toss or give away. I figure they will be fun to look back on in the future and good touchpoints to share stories with people. 

So many clothes. I have no idea where all my clothes come from. I swear, I rarely buy clothes. Then I look at all the cloth and cotton and merino wool and polyester I have acquired over the years. No matter how fast I try to donate and pass off my clothes, my open closet space seems to always be shrinking. San Diego even afforded me the luxury of having no true winter clothes. My days of bright, sunny summers have made me blind to the realities of the closet space winter coats demand.  

I got all this stuff. Now, as I move across the country, I figure it is the perfect time to harshly assess whether this stuff is actually important and necessary in my life. I hold a mock tribunal in my head, evaluating the pros and cons of each item I own. Each article of clothing and material possession takes the stand and pleads their case. Some possessions argue on the basis of utility, others on sentimental value. The rare possessions argue uniqueness, as if inanimately existing like nothing else is a reward unto itself. But I am the judge, the jury, and the executioner. Sentimental drivel from my high school t-shirt is scoffed at. Four tape measurers band together in an attempt at solidarity. Verdict: pathetic, leave them all. A coin from a foreign land whispers how he can never be replaced. Verdict: cheap metal, discard. You get the idea. 

I tend to value utility more than sentiment, novelty, or any other reason for keeping something. But I really am trying to be conscious this summer of keeping things that provide a story to tell. What greater utility is there than having a tool to tell a great story? That is what life is all about. 

This post got a little ramblish (I am not sure if that is a word, but I am sticking with it). The point is that I have a lot of things in different places and I still have some decisions to make about what to do with all those things. While I do care, ultimately, I just want to best position myself to connect with other people and focus on things that matter. That has been the most fun part of traveling around everywhere this summer. I don’t particularly enjoy lugging suitcases around, packing, and unpacking. But I do love getting to spend quality in-person time with people in my life. 

And to my lost socks out there, I apologize. We had a good run.