Boxes and Boxes of Stuff

I just noticed it's been more than a week since I last posted.

a fraction of our many boxes

I've been busy sorting and then listing stuff on craigslist, and getting ready to list other things on ebay. It's definitely a process, and one that's taking longer than I would like, but I'm getting rid of clutter and making money from it. I'm trying not to overwhelm myself by trying to do too much at one time, but it does slow things down. However, if I wasn't going this slow it would be much more difficult to decide what to get rid of and I'd end up keeping too much stuff.

As I unpacked, the stuff that didn't have an immediate use/place to go got dumped in the library/guest room. It ended up very full of stuff. I've worked my way through most of it now, and am looking forward to finishing it.

Once I get rid of the things I listed on craigslist (and that are currently sitting in the front room and the play/craft room and library/guest room) we'll have room for the furniture that we're building.

Once the furniture is built I can organize the stuff we kept.

Once I feel organized, I can think about actually decorating. I've never really decorated any of the places we've lived- they were all rentals and our budget was way too tight to buy extras like decorations. We're still in a rental and we still have a tight budget, but I do at least have some creative juices back. Being gluten free has made a huge difference in the state of my brain- not having a perma-fog brain makes a huge difference in so many areas of my life- more creativity, more able to handle stress, more able to get things done.

I've already started a list of things I want to do, but I'm making myself wait till I get the sorting and purging done: further incentive to get it done quickly. I can't wait to get started making our house look like a home.

Applying "Simplicity Parenting" to Our Lives

I've got most of the boxes unpacked now, just a few non-book-filled boxes left, so now it's on to all the bins.  I've moved boxes, bins, and furniture back and forth across the screened-in porch, trying to sort and organize everything. Slowly making progress.

I've unpacked most of the pieces-parts (hardware, random pieces that got separated and packed in a different box, etc), so I've started listing a bunch of stuff on craigslist. I really hope it all sells quickly- I want an uncluttered space, and the money that will come in as a result (hello new camera for me!).

I've been reading Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, and it is quite interesting. I haven't had a chance to finish it yet, I've been too busy with the unpacking and organizing to do much reading lately. The author has worked with families and children for many years and makes a strong argument for "Less is More".

I've been wanting to de-clutter and simplify for quite awhile now. Two and a half years of not being able to find anything because it's buried in the pile of boxes out in storage or it's in a basket somewhere in our room but everything's so closely packed that I can't remember where I put it took a toll on me. Before we moved everything into storage I always tried to keep everything put away and clutter free. Now, I'm very committed to finding a place for everything and making sure we don't have more "stuff" than we need. No more hanging onto things because we "might use it someday". Mr. S and I both inherited that gene from our parents, and while it can be useful, it can also lead to a lot of clutter.

Once I finish unpacking and sorting all our stuff, my next move will be to divide LMS's toys. Right now, they're all unpacked and stacked on her side of the room that will be her toy room and my work room (sewing, crafting, etc). There's too many toys to have out all at once- she only ever plays with a fraction of them at one time anyway, so we'll be doing what so many others do: rotating toys.

I'll also be making time to finish Simplicity Parenting. I'd like to find out what else the author has to say simplifying our lives.

Has anyone else read this book? What did you think of it?

I'm still here...

Ok, so we've moved into our house and our internet finally got connected today, so I can start blogging again.

We ended up filling 5 Relocubes when we loaded everything up for the move. Two were delivered last Friday afternoon and we unloaded them Saturday morning (our first day in the house). The next two were delivered Monday afternoon and we unloaded them that evening. The last one was delivered Wednesday afternoon but we didn't unload it till last night since LMS has soccer practice (!) on Wednesdays.

that's her in the purple shirt

So all our stuff is in the house now, and I've started the daunting task of unpacking everything. Ok, that's not as daunting as the sorting- as I unpack I have to decide if we're keeping, chucking, or selling/donating it. We have way too much stuff, and now is the perfect time to scale back and simplify. I've made good progress, but it'll take at least a week to get through everything.

Once the unpacking and sorting is finished (and the listing on craigslist), we'll start building bookshelves and such to organize the things we are keeping.