Random thoughts on moving, packing, and stuff

In anticipation of the move to our new home, I started packing this tiny apartment in which we have crammed so much stuff and I remember thinking when we moved in that we need to stop collecting… stuff.

And it is all just stuff, right?  And while I admire the minimalist lifestyle, I also love some of the little things that I admire not just for their beauty, but more for the memories they help me recall.  

I know I’ve posted previously about stuff.  But I have been pondering the “where will it land” for all of the stuff and am having serious thoughts on how much of this stuff we really want to keep.  We are parents to millennials that do not necessarily want our stuff.  Lord knows I had to deal with my mother’s stuff and in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that much.  I remember telling my grandmother years before she passed how much I loved her cookie jar.  I got it and featured it in our last kitchen.  For almost 3 years now it’s been packed away in storage.  I will probably keep it on our hutch. 

We donated and purged so many things when we sold our home 3 years ago.  It felt good then, but now I’m missing our dining room table and chairs.  I don’t want to buy a new set, so I scoured FB Marketplace for a set.  I couldn’t believe it when a couple of weeks ago I saw the set that was exactly like the one we donated—and we bought it.  The couple we bought it from were so kind and were delighted to know that we had the same set before.  They were so nice that they allowed us to borrow a tarp; turns out, he works down the street from our apartment.  We met up with him later that afternoon to return the tarp.  I am over the moon.  The set shows some wear (ours did, too, when we donated it), but it’s in fairly good shape.  

I was thinking about purging some fabric.  

The 401(k) mentality I have about not just my fabric but all of my sewing and quilting supplies begs me to keep everything but I also think about the “if you haven’t used it in a year, it’s time to get rid of it” idea.  Retirement is just over 2 years away and I’m amazed at what I haven’t done this past year.  I recall when we moved into our last house 27 years ago; I don’t think I made any quilts that year. 

We will have floored attic space above the garage.  We never used the attic in our last home; everything was stored in the basement.  The new house is on a slab.  I’m thinking we will install shelves in the attic for seasonal items, etc.  I do not want to clog it up.  

We went through the new house Saturday and Sunday checking on things.  I texted this photo to my sister to let her know how far along "her room" was:

There are more updates on the house page; go take a look!

And now I must return to packing…if you hear anything from me over the next 4-6 weeks it will be about the house because I hope to finish packing the studio this week.  Go make!