Moving Day

So when is the last time you had to pack up all your worldly treasures and move? You know I have had two garage sales a year, each 3 days long for the past several years not to mention donating, my Etsy sales, Ebay sales and Craigslist items. I live in a small 1000 sq. ft house with a one car garage (so  what I was never able to park in it). I figured I would not have much to move, piece of cake. Where did all this crap hide?? Seriously did I keep it in every nook and cranny convincing myself I was doing great with my clutter problem? You think you live a simple life? Wanna bet!! Pack up your stuff and move. Then tell me you live a down to basic simple life. The kitchen gadgets alone!!! Someone told me yesterday as I was complaining about it that they literally keep their kitchen gadgets in three rooms besides the kitchen. I looked at my space in the new location yesterday and realized it wasn't all going to fit. Oh boy, I feel more garage sales coming on next year. Maybe those people who move a lot have the right idea. You move enough times you learn not to buy a bunch of crap you don't need. Live in your house over 10 years? Good luck. Now back to walking around my house trying to figure out where in the heck I am going to put all this stuff.

Swallowed Up.......by Stuff

I got a chuckle last week when I read that Oprah is letting go of her clutter. When she gets too much stuff she can just go buy another house to put it in. But can you imagine all the things people give her? What do you do with it all?

I have seriously been working on my clutter disease for several years. I call it Dis-ease because of the way it makes me feel - uneasy, swallowed up, heavy, unable to breathe. I once loved all this stuff. I collected so proudly and loved each and every piece I bought. I would proudly display these items. I lived in a fairly good sized house with an attic and basement and had room to store and exchange things for holidays. I kept buying craft stuff, knick knack stuff, flea market items, magazines and books by the hundreds. When I had the Tea Room and Gift Shop it was like heaven getting more stuff. From my past I need to include items from the floral business,  a millinery business, horse business and hobbies by the hundreds. When closing the Tea Room I had to make room for the items that we did not sell. I sold my house and moved into a house less than half the size. When Grandma died I had to make room for some of her things. And that is when I realized, enough was enough. It had to go. So with donations, two flea market booths, EBay and garage sale after garage sale, the items have ever so slowly been going to new homes.  Letting some of my things go was hard. Have I ever regretted something I let go? I might have but I don't remember now. Am I cured of buy- it- itis? No. I still go to Hobby Lobby and drool over all the cute items they try to tempt me with. I still fight my knick knack disease. But I am getting better. If I feel the need to buy,  I watch an episode of Hoarders or Peter Walsh on Oprah's network and then I am brought back to reality. Of course then I can justify "Oh I was not that bad". I still pick up a decorating magazine and look through the pages of the woman who have the most incredible homes chock full off gorgeous knick knacks and I am still very drawn to it all. I just have to leave it in those pages, to those woman who display there lovely things with finesse. I let my twinge of knick knack envy go and head off to listing more EBay items. Don't feel sorry for me. I'll get over it. I hope.