The Great Home Purge 2018

I have been absent from my blog…and from normal life activities, recently, because Hubba and I have been purging, purging, purging our home in preparation for a 1000 mile move.  I knew we had a lot of “stuff”, but, I was in denial as to just how much stuff we had!!  I have been living on the “hoarder border”.

One of the first things most movers, real estate agents and organizers will tell you to do when prepping your home for sale is to declutter and purge, and when you finished purging….purge more.  Purge…purge…purge!!  It’s mentally and physically exhausting, and we have had quite a bit to do.

Once I started tossing things into garbage bags, our trash bins filled up rapidly, so, I finally gave in to Hubba’s pleas for a dumpster.  It was his 50th birthday present…I’m not kidding…and he LOVED it!

Unfortunately, our basement became a dumping ground for inventory from a previous antique flipping business that I abandoned.  The basement was also my craft studio, which I abandoned as well, because I felt it was too dark ( “the dungeon”) and I wanted to be closer to hubs on the main floor.

As you can see from the photos, the basement isn’t empty.  We have to store some bins down there because I refuse to store precious family photos, some over 100 years old, and thousands of dollars of scrapbooking supplies in some off-site, outdoor storage unit that has no climate-control.  It’s not going to happen.

It took awhile, but I really got into it.  It felt great to not worry about what to do every little thing.  For so long, I held on to items that were missing pieces or parts, in case I found what has been lost, or something  in disrepair, thinking I could fix and sell it.  I would have had projects for  years.  Not everything went into the dumpster; we donated A LOT, as well.

We filled half of our two car garage with furniture and housewares and called Fill a Bag for A Vet, because they would pick up in our area.  I have used this service twice before and their drivers are ultra-polite and efficient and this occasion was no exception.  Since it was a hot day and we had so much stuff, we helped him load.  It is amazing how these guys can tetris items efficiently to maximize space in their trucks!  We have already started putting aside more items for another pick-up.

When I abandoned my craft studio in “the dungeon”, I attempted to set up a scrapbook area in our living room, which connects to our family room, which is where we spent most of our time.  I thought I would be able to scrapbook while still being close to hubs, bingeing our fave shows.  Unfortunately, it was never properly organized and became a dumping ground.  Concentrating on the basement meant this area was neglected, but since we need to have new carpet installed on the main floor, I quickly needed to attend to the disaster.

 

After hearing a base estimate for professional movers (I could buy my own cargo trailer, or two), we need to lighten the load.  While our home is, by no means, clutter-free, we have made huge strides toward that goal.    The more I let go, the easier it gets.  I have actually started going through previously packed bins with the intention of downsizing further.  There are projects that take precedence, however, so the repacking of bins will have to wait.

Don’t be jealous of my glamorous life.