#8 The hardest part of purging

This post isn't very light hearted and I think I'm being redundant since all I talk about is getting rid of stuff.  I also think I'm beginning to stress a bit.  Isn't the whole purpose of this adventure to de-stess?  So far not working.  It seems time passes quickly and I feel like I'm going to run out of it.  Then there's now when it passes like molasses waiting for things to happen.  We've had a few people look at the house...no takers yet.  One couple seems really interested but no offer.  We have good prospects coming this afternoon and more this weekend, so, fingers crossed.  No moving forward until the noose called a house is sold.  I've been told to be patient.  I'm more like a kid wishing Christmas would hurry up and get here.  I want to write about our travels!

So in the meantime I keep asking "Are we ever going to get on the road"?  This adventure is waiting and we are stuck in limbo.  Stomping my feet like a three year old because I wanna go and I wanna go NOW!  Like that really helps.  Makes me feel better though.

So we wait.  And wait.  And wait.  And as we do  I continue to go through "stuff".  It's a much longer process than I imagined.  I have no problem getting rid of everyday stuff.  That's the easy part.  It's the stuff that I treasure I am having the most difficulty with.

A friend of mine posted an article about how no one (family) wants your stuff when you're gone.  While the article made sense, it makes me sad.  For my whole life I have treasured items that belonged to my family, including heirlooms from those long ago.  I enjoy looking at old pictures of relatives I never met...they are a part of me.  I like holding those little treasures knowing it belonged to a loved one.  It's sad to know that this and future generations no longer care about those things.

With that in mind, what do I do with it all?  Throw it away?  Keep it and store it?  To what end?  I have decided I will check with the kids first.  Maybe they aren't the norm and will enjoy having things that belonged to relatives past.  I have a cowbell and .22 rifle that belonged to my great grandfather.  They are over 100 years old!  Seems a shame to just dump them.  Surely our son would want those.  I have my great grandmother's hair comb.  It, too, is over 100 years old.  I have pins and broaches from my other great grandmother.  Those, too, are very old.  Surely our daughter will want those.  My dad's favorite belt buckle; model planes he built from scratch.  Wouldn't the kids want a remembrance from their grandfather?  And that's just the tip of the iceberg.  But it's important to remember the kids aren't me.  So in the end, if they don't want it, maybe someone else in the family does.  If not..guess I'll  be filling up that storage unit.

I also have pictures galore.  It seems in this digital age no one cares about those anymore.  I hope my kids are different.  If not...they'll just have to dump them when I'm gone.  I don't have the heart to do it.  Some of those pictures are older than me!  I thought about gathering them all up in to piles.  These go to Jeff...these Rachelle... these other family members, these we keep.  But then we circle back around.  Do they even want them?  Good Gravy this is hard.  A lot harder than I thought it would be.

We have made some progress, though.  LJ sold his side by side atv and his atv trailer.  Still working on selling the Toy Hauler.  Almost all the furniture has been spoken for.  Once the house goes into escrow things should move quickly.

Taking forever it seems, but again, it will be so worth it in the end.  As each decision is made, the weight on our shoulders gets lighter and lighter.  Keep our eyes on the prize.

Any suggestions you all have out there, to help us get through this part of the process, is welcomed.  In the meantime... where's the vodka...

#7 Things just got real...

Well we did it!  The house is finally on the market.  While we wait we will still purge and pack.  But for now it's mostly a waiting game.  I find myself getting impatient.  As each day passes I look more and more forward to this new chapter in our lives.  Funny how important possessions really aren't all that important any more.  We just wanna get this show on the road.

It's a little bittersweet since once again this was going to be our forever home.  I hadn't quite finished putting my touch on this place, but that's okay.  I'll get over it.  Now the whole U S of A will be our home.  But in the meantime we wait.  Some say the house will go fast.  Others say it will take awhile.  Either way is fine with us.  If it takes awhile, we will have an easy time packing and purging.  If it goes fast, that's ok too.  The move out will be a bit more stressful but worth it because we will be on the road sooner.

Now LJs kicking around getting a motorcycle to take with us instead of the atv.  I'm ok either way.  The motorcycle will be used more and he can always rent an atv for those few rides.  Funny how things change as you go along.  Heck, we haven't even figured out which trailer will be home yet.  My thought was it doesn't matter.  I'm ok with being truly homeless.  That's what friends, family and hotels are for.  We can always live in our current trailer, if it hasn't sold, until we find the right one.  Don't want to make the wrong decision since this will be our home for at least two years, so patience is the key...as long as it doesn't become procrastination.

The bad thing about selling our place is you have to keep it spotless.  I'm ok with that, except I'm married to the adult version of Pigpen.  It's like he leaves a trail in case he gets lost.  And he doesn't do it on purpose.  He is just who he is.  For example.  Ask any of his friends...when he gets done eating I swear there is more food on the table and floor than he actually ate.  Ok...I exaggerate but not much.  It's not so much food as it is salt, pepper and crumbs.  And I have watched to see why.  Can't figure it out.  It's like it just appears.  It's no wonder he uses so much salt and pepper.  Ninety percent doesn't make it to the food.  Of course he says it's because I don't season anything.  And sadly he's right.  He didn't marry me for my cooking, lol, hence the sign over our stove.  But when I do, he does need copious amounts of seasoning because I prefer bland.  Then there's clothes and shoes.  Is it possible you can hang that up?  Yes I know you are going to need it in five minutes but the tour might come through.  Did you make the bed?  You were the last one up.  Clean up the shower?  You were the last one in it.  Put your dishes in the dishwasher? Did you, would you, could you?  Pooooor LJ.  He hates this part, lol.

And then there's Scooter.  Love that dog.  He's very smart but refuses to put his toys away.  He leaves them strategically placed throughout the house in case I walk by and want to stop and play.  Damn dog.  And he likes to lay on the decorative pillow in his room, which squishes it down.  I have to remember to fluff it when we are rushing out the door so potential buyers won't be turned off.  Because, you know, a slightly squished throw pillow will sway a buyer.

And then there's me.  The cleanup nazi.  Don't leave that there! The dish towel has to be on the counter a certain way...Over the sink, angled slightly.  Yes I'm serious.  Who moved that pillow?   The throw must be on the chair perfectly placed.  New rules.  Shower time and bathroom breaks are before 8:30am and after 7pm because there might be a tour group.  Crap!  Showing in 4 hours.  Hurry! Must vacuum, mop, dust, wipe everything down, fluff and stuff before we leave.  Yes I know we just did that this morning.  I can't help it.  I'm my mother's daughter.

Fortunately this isn't the first house we've sold so our marriage should survive.  LJs used to it.  But I'm thinking it's gonna be a bit stressful while waiting for this thing to sell.  Blame that on me.
But then.....FREEDOM and the open road.

#6 Will It Never End?

Rich, Kandi, LJ and I on the cruise to panama

To be honest, I'd rather be cruising again with our besties, but too much to do.  So we've spent the last week going through the stuff in the garage and house, and we still aren't done.  38 years of stuff to go through!!

LJ took a trip to Sacramento with the neighbors trailer.  It was full of outside tools and garage stuff for Jeff.  I packed up a lot of my collectibles and memorabilia.  LJ asked what could possibly be that important I have to save it.  So I showed him the flattened cowboy hat from my time showing horses as a child.  And my 4H trophy and basketball trophy, along with my Camp Fire Girls vest with the beads I earned (I was seven and apparently not very good at it judging by the number of beads).  I also have letters from my long deceased grandmother and others.  And, of course, being the sentimental fool I am, there is so much more.  Fortunately it all fits in one box.  I even had a couple things that belonged to him, including cufflinks and a pen set given to him personally by then governor Ronald Reagan.  So being a smart ass, I asked if he wanted those in the "out it goes" pile. Judging by the look on his face I'm guessing that would be a no..keeping it.

So I'm thinking he gets it now.  He rented a small climate controlled storage place for the things we are keeping.  It was fairly cheap, a very clean place, and we agreed to revisit this at the end of our first year.  I can only keep what fits in the unit.  Shouldn't be a problem.  Better I think to hold on to important irreplaceable things than regret it later.

Since the house is actually on the market later this week, we started purging the clutter.  There is so much stuff set aside for the garage sale.  Thank goodness he cleared out the garage making room for sale boxes.  The entire one car side of the three car garage is garage sale central.  The timing is off, though.  Our neighborhood does a community garage sale that is heavily advertised with a lot of traffic.  It's in June.  If the house sells quickly, no problem.  Everything we have will be out there.  But if it doesn't, then a lot of nice stuff will just be donated.  We can't undecorate the house and expect top dollar our real estate friend tells us!  With any luck our abode will be in escrow just before garage sale day.  Fingers crossed.

We gave our neighbors our outdoor furniture.  They needed it and we no longer do.  That felt good.  but it feels like we still have so much more to do.  Still loads of stuff in the linen closets.  Gave away our fall and Halloween decor to a friend with little kids.  Nice to see someone continue to enjoy the witches, mummy and Frankenstein I made during my crafty days.


Spent the weekend going through the ridiculous amount of Christmas stuff I have.  Wouldn't be so bad if I didn't over decorate.  I mean 9 themed trees....9.   The memory tree, wine tree, dog tree, snowman tree, victorian tree.. well you get the picture.  Oh it's pretty but good grief.  Just going through all that took a full day.  Rachelle wants a lot of it.  I wish it wasn't so expensive to ship to the U.K. but since it is she is limited on what she gets. She only gets light weight stuff.  I love her but not enough to fully fund the post office for the next year with my shipping fees.  These photos don't even begin to show how much holiday spirit I have lol.  And this doesn't include the stuff I have up in the garage attic.  Are you sensing a theme here?

 Now I'm in my craft room.  Some of my craft tools and stuff I'm hanging on to, but not much.  A little will go in the trailer for something to do when I get bored.  The rest is just too expensive to replace should we get another house some day.  I will always have a craft room... call it my woman cave, lol.  My sanctuary.  I had oodles of fabric so the neighbor across the street got lucky.  She sews so it will be used and she was very appreciative.  I took my hundreds of patterns and bagged them up in sections for the garage sale.  I have to let them go.  I only held back my favorite few.  I'm still overwhelmed with the amount of crafty crap I have collected over the last several years.  Garage sale or donations.. someone, somewhere will be happy.

Next...the kitchen.  OMG I dread the kitchen.  That's tomorrow.  Oh yippee!  That will be a story in and of itself.  I'm starting to think I'm either a pack rat or a hoarder, albeit a well organized and neat one lol.

But I'm keeping my eye on the prize.  And so far, as each section gets done I feel more and more free.  Tired.  Cranky.  But free.  I get more and more excited each day.  I didn't realize how much the accumulation of "things" can weigh you down or just how freeing mentally and even physically letting things go can be.  This is a good thing.  Better than therapy!