I am in shock over the amount of stuff we have collected in the last 28 years. Not only am I shocked but I am also overwhelmed. I didn't realize we had so much stuff.
When we moved out of state back in 1984 we packed all of our stuff in the back of a 1980 Ford pickup ourselves and two small kids in the bench seat of the cab. At that time we only had only been married for 8 years and had not really gotten established yet home wise. We did sell all of our furniture before the move but only because we were not really attached to any of it. Now all these years later things are entirely different. I do not believe that even 10 pickups could hold all we want to take with us. I am thinking we made need a semi to move everything.
But alas we cannot afford to rent a semi so what is our recourse? Simple. Get rid of more stuff. That is not easy to do for some one like me who is a pack rat and collector by nature. Nor does it help when I decide to get rid of something and my husband says not to because I will just collect it again after the move. He has become a serious hindrance in my effort to reduce the amount of things to take we with us. And the funny thing is that none of it is his stuff. It's all mine.
Every time I walk in to the room that I am storing all the packed boxes and tubs in I become even more over whelmed. Over half of the 12 x 10 foot room is stacked floor to ceiling with boxes and tubs packed and ready to move. And that does not include the furniture we are taking with us. Then when I think of the fact that we are moving from a 1900 square foot home into a smaller 1200 square foot home I know there is no way it is all going to fit. I know I need to reduce the amount we are taking even more and I still have not gotten all the things we really need to take with us.
Some times I get so over whelmed I just think about saying "Screw it. We will stay where we are". But knowing that the hard winters we have here in Michigan are to hard on my husband I start packing again.
I refuse to leave my furniture behind this time. It has taken me a long time to collect the antiques I have and I may not be able to replace them. I am not like a lot of women. I don't care much for new furniture. I prefer the older stuff that was made when people took pride in their work. When things were made to last. Made of solid wood and not pressed and glued together wood chips. I don't care if my furniture matches or not as long as the piece speaks to me and tells me of a time when things were a little simpler, a little less fast paced. A time when companies were out to make things that would actually last for a long time. They may not have had the big profits that companies today have but they had pride in the quality of what them made, not the amount of money.
Any way since I am feeling so over whelmed I have decided to go through every one of the boxes and tubs and sort through them again. It is my intention to reduce the amount of what is already packed to moved by at least a half and get rid of what I don't have to have. Most of them are nothing but dust collectors any way. They have no real purpose other than to sit pretty and be admired. I would rather I be admired for having a clean house and my skills then how my home is decorated or all the pretty shiny objects scattered through out our home.
I have done the over cluttered house routine for to long. I think now is the time I need to try a minimalist approach to living. I think it will be easier on me and give me more time to enjoy the things in life I do not have a lot of time for. Like gardening, canning and learning the skills of our ancestors.
It's time to see if an old dog can learn new tricks. :)
Prepping Granny
When we moved out of state back in 1984 we packed all of our stuff in the back of a 1980 Ford pickup ourselves and two small kids in the bench seat of the cab. At that time we only had only been married for 8 years and had not really gotten established yet home wise. We did sell all of our furniture before the move but only because we were not really attached to any of it. Now all these years later things are entirely different. I do not believe that even 10 pickups could hold all we want to take with us. I am thinking we made need a semi to move everything.
But alas we cannot afford to rent a semi so what is our recourse? Simple. Get rid of more stuff. That is not easy to do for some one like me who is a pack rat and collector by nature. Nor does it help when I decide to get rid of something and my husband says not to because I will just collect it again after the move. He has become a serious hindrance in my effort to reduce the amount of things to take we with us. And the funny thing is that none of it is his stuff. It's all mine.
Every time I walk in to the room that I am storing all the packed boxes and tubs in I become even more over whelmed. Over half of the 12 x 10 foot room is stacked floor to ceiling with boxes and tubs packed and ready to move. And that does not include the furniture we are taking with us. Then when I think of the fact that we are moving from a 1900 square foot home into a smaller 1200 square foot home I know there is no way it is all going to fit. I know I need to reduce the amount we are taking even more and I still have not gotten all the things we really need to take with us.
Some times I get so over whelmed I just think about saying "Screw it. We will stay where we are". But knowing that the hard winters we have here in Michigan are to hard on my husband I start packing again.
I refuse to leave my furniture behind this time. It has taken me a long time to collect the antiques I have and I may not be able to replace them. I am not like a lot of women. I don't care much for new furniture. I prefer the older stuff that was made when people took pride in their work. When things were made to last. Made of solid wood and not pressed and glued together wood chips. I don't care if my furniture matches or not as long as the piece speaks to me and tells me of a time when things were a little simpler, a little less fast paced. A time when companies were out to make things that would actually last for a long time. They may not have had the big profits that companies today have but they had pride in the quality of what them made, not the amount of money.
Any way since I am feeling so over whelmed I have decided to go through every one of the boxes and tubs and sort through them again. It is my intention to reduce the amount of what is already packed to moved by at least a half and get rid of what I don't have to have. Most of them are nothing but dust collectors any way. They have no real purpose other than to sit pretty and be admired. I would rather I be admired for having a clean house and my skills then how my home is decorated or all the pretty shiny objects scattered through out our home.
I have done the over cluttered house routine for to long. I think now is the time I need to try a minimalist approach to living. I think it will be easier on me and give me more time to enjoy the things in life I do not have a lot of time for. Like gardening, canning and learning the skills of our ancestors.
It's time to see if an old dog can learn new tricks. :)
Prepping Granny