We are moving in just over two weeks from today. Crazy, I know. I have hardly anything upstairs packed at all. We have a plan to gradually move things that are packed into the garage so that our house slowly empties, and we can clean rooms that we don't use much up earlier than the rest of the house. In other words, the basement and study and the extra bathroom that houses our recycling until I make time to bag it all up and bring it to the recycling depot (can I tell you how excited I am about curb side recycling pick up? I'm very excited). This should just leave our bedrooms, the kitchen, the living room (ie - toys) and the main bathroom to pack in the last week.
But here's the thing. We have a lot of junk. I don't beleive how much stuff we've accumulate in just 6 years living here. Many wonderful people have given us extra furniture and kids' clothes which we have used well. But we won't need the extra furniture, and we won't need a lot of the stuff I've accumulated from yard sales, and we don't need to drag around three year worth of boys' clothes that don't fit Aaron anymore, and we don't need all our baby gear anymore, and we don't need the mosquito net tent (with no poles) that was given to us, or the old couch from someone else's basement. Our wardrobes won't fit in our new house (which is ok because they're Canadian tire particle board things), so they're going to go, and the boys' drawers were $20 second hand and are falling apart, so they need to be thrown out. And we have a lot of broken cardboard boxes, deflated balls, and decimated plastic bins (thanks, rowdy boys) that we just need to throw out. So I have spent most of my time sorting. What to keep, what to throw away and what to give away? This is what has occupied my time more than how I"m going to get everything packed.
And all that stuff, it has emotional signifigance to me. The reason its still around is because on some level it is sentimental. I think, "But we got that table (with the leaf that doesn't come up anymore and that really needs refinishing and won't fit in our space) in our first apartment in Chilliwack "(never mind that we inherited it from the guy who lived there before us who had died) or "I got that for a great price at a yard sale and painted it myself". Or, "I was planning to make an awesome quilt with all those old clothes one day". Its been a big emotional job getting rid of all this stuff. I feel like I'm shedding skin or losing weight or something. It needs to go, but boy is it a hard process.
Fortunately, I'm almost done that part. I need Dave to borrow a truck so we can make a first big trip to the Salvation Army and a first big trip to the dump. Then I will be able to get down to the actual putting-things-in-boxes stage of packing. Which will be much easier and faster, I hope. Because I'm starting to run out of time.
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2 comments:
I understand what you mean about emotional attachment to things. I knew I was but I didn't realize how bad until I lost my sippy bottle. I had it with me through the last parts of my pregnancy, and while I was in labor and it was the first thing Thomas drank from. I KNOW I can just go get another one, but it's not the same. Good luck with the continued shedding of stuff, and packing and moving. Hope things go smoothly as possible, and hope we get to see you guys!
Ya know, I can relate to you on feeling some kind of emotional sentiment for so many things. I've moved in the past year 3 times and it breaks my heart to think I'd have to let go of that old radio I've had since I was a kid, or those shoes I'll never wear again, but that I once wore and so on. I think moving is not just costly in terms of time and money, but it's also costly mentally as well. And then, there's always the thing about not having enough cardboard boxes or moving boxes available, especially if you have a large home. Good luck with your move :) All the best.
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