Wednesday, July 11, 2012

In which

the archaeological dig continues and it becomes abundantly clear that I have not spent nearly enough time dusting.  You have dust bunnies?  I have dust dragons.

The more time I spend packing, the less inclined I am to save things.  Yesterday we read each wedding card and then dropped it in the recycling.  When we come to the baby cards we will do the same thing.

We have two storage units that are nearly full.  When it comes time to unpack I will wonder why I thought some of those things were worth saving, and the purge will continue.

Often when cleaning in the last 32 years I would tell myself I had to put away, throw away, or give away at least 10 items every day until. . .

well that was the problem.  Until I got tired of it.  Which happened all too soon.  I used to tell myself that if we were moving there was no way I would save such-and-such.  But we weren't moving, so I did save whatever-it-was.

Now we are moving, and I think of my friend Lisa.  She moved from Kauai to Northern California.  She certainly couldn't fill up two storage units with things to haul across the ocean.  Every time I feel overwhelmed I think of Lisa.  Moving five miles down the road with no actual deadline is NOTHING compared to traveling halfway around the world with no turning back. It would be somewhat freeing to know for sure that I just had to get rid of EVERYTHING.  Less is more is sounding better and better.

We signed and signed and then signed some more yesterday, so the deed is done.  We will have a new address soon.  

8 comments:

Connie said...

I know exactly what you are talking about. We moved several times when we were younger which helped weed out some of the things we didn't need, but we have now lived in this house for 12 years, and we just have accumulated too many things. If we are ever to move again, which we do hope to do in a few years, I feel like we have to start NOW in order to even be able to get through everything. It's so difficult when sorting through to know which things are the most important to save. I wish you good luck as you continue to sort and pack. It's exciting to move, but I know it can be an overwhelming task.

ladydi said...

Thank you, Daisy! I may post a few photos of the things I unearth.

Lisa Boyer said...

Yay, Diana! You can do it! Having less stuff is so freeing! Now that I'm here and my house is still mostly clean space, I'm keeping it that way. I used to collect fabric, yarn, and little porcelain objects. Now, I collect airflow. I hoard space to create in. I guard every drawer and closet from things that want me to take care of them. Really...people don't need that much stuff to live. Remember the 60's? I had some clothes and a clock radio and a toothbrush...and every day was full of possibilities instead of maintenance.

Okay...pep talk over except for this: YOU GO, GIRL!!!

ladydi said...

You have been an inspiration to me, Lisa! I love the idea of collecting airflow, and each day filled with possibilities instead of maintenance. I hope you are loving California. Kauai would be hard to give up!

Liz said...

Congratulations Diana!!! I can't wait to see your new "Home Sweet Home"!! :)

ladydi said...

I am excited for you to see it, too, Liz! We hope to start the moving in process this weekend.

Suzanne said...

Good luck with the move. I have never been much of a collector of stuff until my present home, now I know I have too much.
That's why I never minded moving so much it really was a great way to declutter.
Less stuff is really a great way of freeing your mind, I am forever donating to friends, but alas I have a problem I then just go and buy more. OOPS.

ladydi said...

Suzanne, I have been the fortunate recipient of other people's de-clutter efforts, and have been given bags and bags of fabric over the years. Now it's my turn to make someone else feel lucky!