Tons and Tons of "Stuff"

Spring Break.....awwwwwhhhhh......a time when most people will actually take a break and do something fun and exciting, but it will not be that type of vacation for us. This week begins the room by room excavation of "stuff" that we have accumulated over 30 years of marriage (mostly by me...I'm the art and craft hoarder) .

Throughout our years together, Rennie and I have always moved up and out in space when it came to housing. However, our five bedroom house has provided more space to collect things - things, that really in the long run don't matter. It's just stuff - now at this time in our life, unwanted clutter. I told Rennie this morning that it is amazing how much we really don't use or need, and how many things we are willing to sell in order to go on our Alaska adventure or simply de-clutter our lives.

I was talking to my friend Charlotte last night, in which she stated that she and Mike are selling just about everything they own just to de-clutter. They, like us, have also come to the realization that they were holding on to stuff that had no major meaning in their life. Of course there are sentimental things that I would not rid myself of - or at least if I no longer had a use for them, I would offer them to my children first before selling them. We were laughing hysterically and saying that when we return, both of us want to scale down our housing and move to the beach. Is this a mid-life thing? I want to call it a "reinvention" of one's self at the 50+ year mark. How's that??

Next Friday and Saturday, we're having a garage sale - hoping to sell everything we can, in order to put most of that money toward our plane tickets and relocating expenses. It is necessary to ship some things ahead of time to Anchorage (like linens and such). A lot of hard work, but oh so worth it in the long run!

Here's are some photos of just a SMALL part of the art and craft room (Rennie calls it the art and crap room..). This room has become a "catch all" for anything we wanted to get out of the main part of the house. See what I mean??? A room full of things I will never use - sad I know...

Even my cat, Simba, wants to get into the action!

Since it is such a beautiful day, Rennie and I are going to go on our 3.5 mile walk and then I will begin my clean "up and out" project. Rennie is standing here laughing at me as I type and commenting that it is MY project - there was no WE involved in that room at all... He's so funny!

I pray that everyone will have a blessed weekend - get outside, breathe in the fresh air, and enjoy life!!!!!!

More later...Pamela