TheBanyanTree: moving on

[Julie Anna Teague]

Oh dear God. You would not believe the stuff I've gotten rid of. If there is
goodness in eliminating crap from one's life, if there is karma to be gained
from giving one's stuff to others, then my next life should rightfully be a
better one. The bf sold his house after having it on the market for three years.
We've both been indepedent home owners for many years. Consequently we have two
of everything and three or four of some things, and it is not all going to fit
into my humble little house. Not by a long shot. Mixers, for instance. He came
in one day with an el-cheapo stand mixer, never used, still in the box. I said,
"But I have a KitchenAid stand mixer...the best." He said, "Well, this one is
small, it comes apart and can be a small hand mixer." "But I have a hand mixer,
too." "Oh."

And that is just one, tiny, insignificant thing. We each had tables, chairs,
sofas, art, family photos, books, beds, blankets, dishes, towels, pans, coffee
cups...double everything. Pack-ratted art supplies alone took up several
closets, drawers, cabinets, and a lot of floor space. We sold, we threw out, we
recylced, we gave to family, we carted off to Goodwill and Salvation Army, we
anguished and tore at our hair. We even had that most loathesome of events, the
Garage Sale, in a masochistic attempt to get rid of a lot of stuff quickly. The
bf, a general contractor, had to build himself a new barn for his work tools and
supplies. Last Sunday, a beautiful Fall day if there ever was one, I spent the
entire day cleaning out dirty, oily, bug-poopy crap from the corners of the
garage. It was astounding, when I finished, to find that I actually have a
two-car garage. The day before that, another beautiful day, or so I'm told, I
spent the entire day underneath the kitchen counters. Who knew? Even after the
garage sale and Goodwill passes and the quick once-throughs, I filled two large
garbage bags full of totally unnecessary and un-reusable stuff, plus another
large bag of stuff for Goodwill.

When I found six extra large boxes of barely used crayons and four plastic
pencil boxes, I had to stop for a moment and do some self-analysis, asking
myself why we cave to the wasteful idea that we have to buy new school supplies
every year, even though last year's crayons are barely dented and last year's
tupperware pencil box will long outlive us.

We have managed to fit almost everything in. I was a bit bummed when I realized
I'd gotten a little carried away in the closet and given away one of my favorite
black skirts, but I'll get over it. Our house now works like an intricate
puzzle--each thing fits in one place and curses to the person who does not slot
it back in correctly when they are finished using it. And there are still a few
boxes of random strange things that we are hoping will just evaporate before we
have to make any kind of decision about them. The upside is that I realize that
one should probably DO this every fifteen years, as painful as it is--clean out
closets, cabinets, drawers, attics, garages, eliminate *stuff*. Some people
might even do this for no good reason except to stay on top of things, but I
have a hard time imagining that lifestyle.  

And the other upside? The emotional upside? The bf and I have made the leap to
total and complete cojoined habitation, after many many years of something like
relationship limbo. He seems happier. I am happier. Things feel more settled,
warm and good.  

Let me know if you need a mixer. 

Julie