Stuffed

October 15, 2012 by The Minnesota Farm Woman

When we moved from Florida to Minnesota five years ago, we sold, gave away, or donated more than half of our possessions. We had lived in that house nearly twenty years, and stuff had begun to pile up. Not that we (or shall I say I) necessarily wanted to wanted to get rid of things, but we were moving to a smaller house and besides, the moving company was charging us by the pound, so out it went. We happily moved into our little country home with plenty of storage space…wonderfully EMPTY closets, cabinets, a basement, and a garage. We had never owned a home with a basement or a garage before. It only took me five years to fill it all up. I have to take the blame here. HE would be just as happy to live in a one-room cottage with only a few possessions: Giant, flat-screened TV, remote control, comfy chair, and a refrigerator within arm’s reach. The golf bag and fishing pole could be leaning in the corner. A simple man with simple needs. I, on the other hand, am a collector. I collect chickens, books, sheet music, Fire King, seeds, old magazines, and lots of other interesting stuff. I love going to garage and estate sales, and have the propensity to purchase something just because it is a good bargain and not necessarily because I need it. I feel the same urge if something is on sale at the grocery store. If crackers are on sale I feel like I need to buy three packages instead of one. Truckload sale on toilet paper? I’ll take two, please. I think I am a hoarder. There. I said it out loud, and it makes me feel better. HOARDER. I came to this realization while on vacation last week. I had no specific plans except to get the house in order and relax, so I started cleaning out the closets and cabinets, which were so wonderfully empty five years ago. How did they fill up so fast? Why did I save some of this stuff? Why is there a pile of junk mail on the closet shelf? I really felt like a hoarder, that’s for sure. By the end of the week, while I was tackling my side of the garage, I came up with a few hard and fast rules for myself: 1) If something comes in, something else must go out of the house. 2) If company is coming and you grab a pile of stuff off the counter and shove it into the closet, remember to go back and take it out of the closet. 3) Having a lot of shoes should not count as hoarding, even if you no longer have a need for those cute sandals since you spend most of your time in the garden or the chicken coop. 4) The top shelf of the linen closet holds 35 rolls of toilet paper, and no matter how good the sale, nobody needs more than that. 5) Save the basement for another time and enjoy the rest of your vacation.

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

8 Responses

on October 15, 2012 at 7:45 am | Reply bringmemycoffee

In 2000 we gutted our home, moved into a 400 sq ft cottage for “a month or 2”. It became 15 months. I learned how little we need to get by with 4 kids and 2 adults- that’s less than 100 sq ft per person! We moved into our 2500 sq ft home and slowly filled it. Two years ago we moved into a 3300 sq ft home. Next year- when my senior girls go on to college we’ll have only 2 at home. Time to consolidate and move on. I can’t even imagine how we’ll manage to get by, but I think I’ll need to say goodbye to a lot of my crafts- those things that interest me in theory but fill nooks and crannies waiting for attention. I’m back in L&D full time, so I can (happily) start by getting rid of most of my “work” clothes! Back to yoga pants and tank tops- woohoo (um…not that I’ve ever done yoga in them)!

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- on October 15, 2012 at 8:41 am | Reply The Minnesota Farm Woman
  
  All those people in 400 square feet? And you still like each other????
  Thanks for reading1
  Chris
  PS….I have never done yoga in mine, either. :o)
  
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on October 15, 2012 at 8:32 pm | Reply sherilynnsmith

I too had to get rid of things when I moved into a smaller home. Initially I found it very painful to get rid of things I had worked so hard to pay for. Ten years later, there are still a few boxes that have not been emptied. Nor looked into. Guess I don’t really miss most of it after all.

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- on October 16, 2012 at 3:48 pm | Reply The Minnesota Farm Woman
  
  you’re too busy looking at that gorgeous lake view! (…and that gorgeous hubby)!
  love, me
  
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on October 17, 2012 at 2:21 pm | Reply Amy (Get Busy Gardening)

Sounds like a great week off, I’m jealous! I wish I could take a week off to catch up on all of the things on my to do list. Decluttering and purging feels good doesn’t it, I try to do it every couple of years.

Amy

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- on October 20, 2012 at 4:35 am | Reply The Minnesota Farm Woman
  
  It does feel good! The time off just doing things at home makes me want to retire. Wish I could afford to! Thanks for reading1
  
  chris
  
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on October 18, 2012 at 5:35 am | Reply Sue Cellini aka The Pocket Farmer

I moved cross country 15 years ago (from California to Illinois) and put all of our possessions in a 14′ U-Haul and drove it out here. It was very liberating to start fresh with just a few treasured pieces, but sad to say I have acquired lots of ‘stuff’ since then and will have to go through it all someday. Congrats on your success!

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on October 18, 2012 at 11:10 am | Reply pixilated2

I feel your pain. We moved from California to Alabama almost 5 years back. We got rid of so much and I realize now it was mostly the wrong stuff. So now I am getting rid of even more. If the next tornado came and took it all I think I would not feel too bad, and I definitely would go smaller. 2,600 sq feet are wasted on my husband and me. I think the Amish have the right idea.
Thanks for visiting me today! ~ Lynda

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