Make way

There’s nothing quite like the fire that gets lit under you when you need to do a mass clean in order to have someone stay at your place.

What a great opportunity to re-assess your belongings/stuff/junk and decide what stays and what goes. I had a mini moment of “oh no, I have to actually deal with all these tools, hardware supplies and things I still use. I am still planning on using them. I’m not ready!”

After a week of the the initial realization that all these objects would have to be eventually and permanently relocated, I started to get creative. Some things were moved to other places, some things were thrown out, some things were donated, some things are still in “no man’s land” waiting their fate, or their new resting place. After a month of reorganizing I am a bit disoriented when looking for some of the things I need, but still not missing the things I temporarily hid from sight or got rid of. I am surprised and relieved it all has worked out so far. I thought it would have been a lot more difficult. One of my rooms has been set up a certain way for almost ten years, now it has gone under a massive transformation. It was a big deal for me to initially see it all moved.

I had another garage sale last month and noticed how much less I had to sell. I was glad my neighbors brought their stuff as well to fill some of the gaps. If I can give away or sell a few more things in my closets, then all the things I moved to make way for my friend’s lodging will have a new place of their own instead of being parked somewhere temporarily.

I think back to 2008 when I first started considering this process and now look back 5 years and see it would not have worked for me if I had done it at a faster pace. I am glad I took my time, and am now curious to find out how many more months it will take before I feel I can stop and take a break. I am not there yet.