I didn’t realise packing could be so much fun. For years I’ve been a hoarder. Now I am de-cluttering.
My favourite de-clutter this week was when it came to packing our spice cupboard. Three shelves of spices in various jars … over 100 little jars.
On checking the use by dates I managed to pack around 70 of the jars in the bin. Result. Granted, I’ve never heard of anyone dying of spice poisoning … but I have heard of people putting extra strain on their backs moving uneccesary rubbish.
I packed the playroom last night, shelves of toys, games and books. I managed to get rid of more useless crap there too … under cover of darkness, as the children slept it was placed in the bin.
The 3 year old is still concerned that when we move we shall be leaving all that he holds dear behind … his bed, his books and clothes. I repeatedly tell him that we are taking everything … apart from the cumin seeds that we bought in Morrisons in 2001. Tonight I am going to get him to pack a box full of books from his room so that he starts to realise that they are coming with us … even the ones I hate reading … the ones based on cartoons that make my head ache.
The 4 year old is a mix of emotions, excited that we are moving and that she will have the biggest bedroom … something she reminds her brother of regularly. But also sadness that she will be leaving the only home she remembers so far in her short life.
The husband is limbering up for a day of removals. I keep catching him looking at his vegatable patch wistfully. Whoever gets the house will be met as they open the back door by prize winning cabbages the size of beach balls.
The tadpoles are staying … they now have little legs. Soon they will be hopping off into the sunset … or a cats mouth.
The dog still smells and licks her own bottom. I think we shall be wrapping her in cling film in the new house to stop the moulting.
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Blogger Dad on June 24, 2009
Packing fun? Clearly, you’ve lost your mind! I loathe moving. I swear the next time I move I will simply throw everything away and start over. Given that most people most enjoy accumulating things, what nicer thing could I do other than give us a reason to get more stuff?
Ah, who am I kidding? I can’t throw anything away. Glad to see you are having an easy time of it!
Laura - AWNTYM on June 24, 2009
The packing of the bin is fun.
On Friday I am hoping that everything will magically move to the new house on it’s own and then unpack.
Hey presto! Maybe not …
English Mum on June 24, 2009
Hahaha. I remember when we moved my Mum out of the house she’d been in for about 25 years, we found original spice jars from the 60s! Should have kept them but they just smelt like the stuff you clean out of a hoover bag!
‘Tis quite exciting though – pastures new and all…and I’ve seen your new kitchen so I’d be rather keen to get going too! xx
Catharine on June 24, 2009
Packing the bin? Our removal men did that – taking the rather full bag of unpleasant rubbish as well. So on arrival one of my first jobs was to empty the bin at this end. Shame they weren’t so careful about my baking tins – a fine excuse not to repeat your muffin experiments!
Good luck with the move – I’m sure the new home will be worth all the hard work!
Scope on June 24, 2009
I moved just a year ago, and actually enjoyed the “purge process” when I found item that I hadn’t touched in the 9 years I’d been in that apartment. I was fairly brutal with purging, and have had no regrets.
But I started purging 2 months before I moved, and packing 1 monthc before I move, and was still not exactly ready when the movers came. But I had worked until 3:00 am at my office the night before, and they came at 8:00 am, so that’s that.
Tamsin on June 24, 2009
Sounds like good fun, are you moving far?
I think I could do with a move just to get my house a little less cluttered, a tad extreme granted, but I do have a lot of clutter, and a daughter who is going to be just as much a hoarder, I can already tell!!
Z on June 24, 2009
I helped friends pack up to move a few weeks ago – the wife couldn’t cope with the kitchen and just disappeared upstairs. I felt awful packing all the bits of stuff I’d have just chucked, but it wasn’t up to me to make the decisions! And they were moving out 12 hours later, so there wasn’t time to hang about.
Spices do lose their flavour and taste stale instead.
Rosie Scribble on June 24, 2009
Good luck! I don’t like packing but I absolutely LOVE decluttering and throwing stuff out. So therapeutic until you realise you’ve thrown away your birth certificate, so something equally important!
Coding Mamma (Tasha) on June 24, 2009
I keep dreaming up a house move as a chance to declutter. Of course, it would require a lottery win, so we could get all storage set up in place and move things bit by bit. Actually, I think I want a bigger house to fit all the clutter and would proably take most of it with me.
Good luck with the move!
SandyCalico on June 24, 2009
Good luck with the move!
We moved into our forever home 18 months ago. We moved clutter from four houses into one (don’t ask)! The garage is full, the cupboards are full, the shed is full and the loft is full. Please someone make me throw it all away! If we haven’t needed it for 18 months we’ll probably never need it. Oh, but I’ll just keep all the Christmas cards I’ve ever received, one day the kids can make gift tags from them….
Merrily on June 24, 2009
I always swear I’ll get rid of unneccessary things and in the end just bring the whole damn lot. There are boxes down in the basement that haven’t been opened in two or three moves! Oh, for a week alone with a humongous trash bin!
WOB on June 24, 2009
I hate packing it’s just never ending, way to go on the spices – to be honest i’d have just used them, they’d have been fine surely? And well a bit of food poisoning is character building isn’t it?
Working Mum on June 25, 2009
I loved that clearing out part of moving house. So much I did it twice – once when I packed and once when I unpacked!