Take Your Own Eras Tour

Are you familiar with The Eras Tour? It was a concert tour undertaken by superstar singer Taylor Swift in 2023-24. It was, incidentally, the highest grossing concert tour of all time.

In Taylor’s lingo, each era referred to one of her albums. But we all have eras in our lives, and it’s always valuable to take our own eras tour through our possessions.

We may define our eras by the major milestones in our lives: childhood, college, single life, marriage, career changes, relocations, parenting, empty nest, retirement, etc. For many years, my husband and I have referred to events as happening B.E. and A.E. — Before Emily and After Emily, with Emily being our now-grown daughter. More recently, I’ve defined events occurring as pre-pandemic or post-pandemic. You probably have your own language to describe your eras.

Here’s what’s valuable about taking an eras tour through your possessions. Something that you used a lot during an earlier era may no longer fit your lifestyle. For example, I have clients who worked in an office  pre-pandemic but now work from home, necessitating a different wardrobe. Or perhaps you’ve had a complete career change, and the books and equipment that were useful in your old career are no longer needed.

We all have clothes that fit us in a previous era but no longer do. Even if they do fit us, they may be embarrassingly out of style. Perhaps you have a kitchen full of appliances that represented an ambitious cooking era of the past. You may have a lot of gear for a sport you no longer play. Are you a woman who used to love high heels but can no longer tolerate them? That era is gone, although the stiletto heels might still be lying around.

You might want to keep some memorabilia from each of your eras, but most of the stuff you no longer use is just living rent-free in your home — and in your brain. Take your own eras tour through your stuff and figure out what you can let go. Make space for the era you are in right now!