We are downsizing. Our current house is 1100 square feet and the new one is 850. Once my children come pick up their things I will have plenty of room, right? Oh wait, I may have forgotten (until standing face to face with it) the 900 square foot basement here (filled) and the 500 square foot garage (also filled). Why is it that I must put a sentiment to all material items? A character to all inanimate? The four hundred plus jars of canned goods? Yes, those ought to go over to the new house. Fifteen or so blankets and quilts? It’s gonna be cold this winter and the wood stove looks small now. The antique, gorgeous couch that has been peed on by three goats, two cats (thanks to the goats), and a baby? Um, no, this should definitely stay but I keep trying to pack everything instead of truly simplifying.
50 or so odd wall paintings and décor. Christmas stuff. Oy, lots of Christmas stuff! Bikes, three tubs of photos, other holiday décor (plastic pumpkins anyone, perhaps a witch?), garden tools, more art and sewing stuff than kitchen stuff. Millions of wash rags.
I am making a craft/sewing area. We have a small space to store outdoor tools and such. I have to rethink storage. Things like, if I am going to take the picnic basket, where am I going to put it?
But the biggest challenge is trying to wrap my head around where all this stuff came from. It seems that we downsize every time we move yet have more stuff than I can fathom. Sentimental stuff, you know, from Craigslist.
It’s time to get ruthless. Places for folks to sit, some wall décor, beds, pretty linens, some dishes (Okay, all the dishes, baby steps, y’all!), and things that infuse our house with welcoming touches. Seriously, no one wants to sit on that couch.
Farmgirl School 
I promise you that you aren’t the only junkaholic! We have more craft stuff than I will ever get done in my lifetime, yet when I go to thrift stores and flea markets, and yard sales and, and, and. if it’s something that looks like I could repurpose it, it’s so hard not to grab it and put it in my cart. Thankfully, I have a husband who just rolls his eyes, shakes his head in amazement, and lets me be me. Fabric, oh yes! I started collecting it so many years ago, told him that I was buying it as an investment in my retirement. The sad part is, that I keep buying it. Someday, it’s on my bucket list, is to throw a huge pile of fabric in the floor at a fabric store, and just roll in it…just once in my lifetime…
Candy
Sounds like my family. My parents decided to move to the city and leave the country life (Total opposite from what I am trying to achieve…) We have over 20 years of accumulated stuff in the house to sort through. In an 1100-1200 square foot house AND a shop that is equal in size. It’s driving us all to insanity because its going three separate ways. I am living in the outskirts of a nearby town with my grandmother so I can continue homesteading, my parents are in their apartment and my brother is living on his own. Most of the stuff belongs to my parents, but was earmarked for either my brother or I. So, in the midst of sorting and packing. we are asking many of the same questions… Hope it is successful for you!
Katie, you are so funny…I love your puns. Good luck with your move. We must come see the new homestead!!
Thanks, Aunt Karen! It is gorgeous, gorgeous drive (or motorcycle ride)and you are more than welcome anytime!
A massive good luck wish from the Homestead where we STILL have six stubborn boxes (nearly six years after our move) of “we really need to get rid of this” lining our hallway. In our defense, we moved with 53 such boxes 🙂
Put them in the garage, if you don’t know they are there in six months, pitch ’em! It’s easy to tell you that. Now, I need to find a new home for my beloved piano that I never play and get packing again. Good luck to us both!