Pack up and Ship out

It's time to get serious and start packing the house. I bought, yes bought, moving boxes to put things into. I have used one so far for part of my book shelf. The others are where they were put as I walked into the house. The cat thinks they are fun, to hide behind and to use as a scratching post! Have I mentioned that I hate to pack almost as much as I hate to move? Well, I do. But .. darn it.. I have to do it again.

This coming Saturday we will be cleaning out the shed and the area surrounding the shed of its clutter. I have been told it will take about three trips to the dump to haul it all away. Hopefully the good weather will continue and it will be dry enough to do this without getting covered in mud. Before Saturday though I really ought to go thru all my "stuff" and get things sorted so that I can make the best use of the dump runs. I am determined to go thru boxes of "stuff" that are stored in the shed, and get rid of "stuff" that has not seen the light of day for 10+ years. It is going to be very hard for me to do this.

I am an OCD packrat of the worst sort. Getting rid of things is like pulling my legs out of the hip socket.. very very painful. Some wise person said that you cant take it with you... and Jesus asked his disciples to leave all their "stuff" behind to follow him... I am going to try to make Him proud of me.

There are, of course, some things that I will not be able to part with. One of those will be my set of china, which is used once a year, if it is lucky. I have the Old Country Roses pattern which I love. I am also going to keep the ancient waffle maker that weighs about 20 lbs, and the turtle cookie-jar that we found at the flea market.. it is the same as the one that I had when I was a kid.

Let's face it though, I can get rid of the Harlequin paperbacks, and even some of my hardback books that I will never read again. I don't know if I have ever read some of them, but darn it, they look real nice on the book shelf. And those JC PENNEY catalogues, and pizza coupons, and Oriental Trade flyers that come in the mail every week... do I really need them back to pre-2000? NAH! throw them OUT!!!

What about the set of maraca's that Dad brought home after one of his vacations to Mexico? Or the brass cats that I got from my sister-in-law Sue? Or the cheesy flower prints that I got from a yard-sale that fit great in the bathroom at the house I lived in two address's ago? (actually those may go bye bye)

The "stuff" we all have is "stuff" that we either got from someone and so it holds a special place in our hearts... or we picked it up for a song because we liked it... or we paid a large sum because we just had to have it could not live without it. Everything is in my possession for one reason or another, but some of it has lost its meaning and is just taking up space, so why keep it? It is still hard even with sound reasoning to let go.

Reminding me of the great 12-step mantra: Let Go and Let God!

It's just "stuff" and new "stuff" will take its place soon I am sure.

In His Loving Uncluttered Arms...