Have you ever stopped, looked around your house, and really seen all the “stuff” you have accumulated over the years?

That is exactly what Linsley and I had to do, and the thought of sorting through it all was daunting, overwhelming, ridiculous, I can think of at least another good few words to describe how I felt at the prospect of going through everything in our home……. The reality was every bit as overwhelming as the thought of it.

Well, we found out from the Estate Sales company we hired, that we basically had to remove anything we wanted to keep, and everything of a personal nature. So I set to work going through every drawer and cabinet in the house. I have to say that once you start this process, it is totally amazing just how much personal stuff you find that needs to be removed. Old letters that Linsley had used as bookmarks etc. so it’s not only going through the obvious places but EVERYWHERE! I have had a few chuckles over the things I have discovered that I had either forgotten about or thought were long gone!  A few nice surprises, a love letter that was written when we first started dating a million years ago….. hospital wrist bands from when the boys were born, and a few other gems that had been buried in our memories for years.

During this purge, we also had a handiman working on the outside of the house giving it some much needed curb appeal and as you can see from the picture (above), it now looks bright, cheerful and welcoming. Living in the same house for years, you tend to forget about the curb appeal, and I have to admit, we had been guilty of that, but with a good lick of paint and some pressure washing, she looks like a whole new house!

After weeks of combing through everything inside the house, deciding what we really couldn’t part with, we were both amazed at how easily we were getting through it all. It all just told us that we were doing the right thing and showed us that although there were ahhh moments, none of the “stuff” mattered to us more than our happiness. If someone had told me two years ago that all the “stuff” we had accumulated over the years would be this easy to part with, I would have marked them down as insane! Funny how that change of mindset happens when you’re not looking!

It was crazy that some things we had bought for the house right before making the decision were still in their boxes and we were now looking at selling them in the estate sale. I guess that’s how life happens though, you live each day and a decision made one day can affect all the decisions made for months, even years prior to that. This is where having a crystal ball would have been really handy! LOL

I have to say that the mess created by going through everything in the house was a little much for me. I am one of these very organized people, and it drove me crazy to have all our belongings pulled out from their storage places and within sight.  I had to talk myself off the ledge many times as I tried to clean around the insane clutter!  It also occurred to me in the middle of all this mess “who on earth would want to buy our old stuff?” The estate sale guy talked me down from that one, bringing in furniture specialists to assess the worth of the hand-made furniture I had brought from England with me years ago.  It turns out, however much you are used to the furniture you have lived with for years, it will appeal to someone…. We were told that although we lived in the furniture capital of the world here in North Carolina, our furniture was “different” and therefore very appealing to many of the dealers around here.  I guess time will tell on that one!

I did find a rhythm to all the madness.  I designated a big plastic tote for collecting like things…. Office supplies, toys, shoes, etc. and that helped me deal with the mess.  Having said that, I am two weeks away from the estate sale now and I feel totally burned out…

I know that I will keep going, and I realize that although this is a hard process to go through, the only way to come out the other end to freedom is to keep going!  We are close now and soon I will be able to sit here with a totally empty house, a glass of wine in my hand and breathe a huge sigh of relief that it is over.  I also know that one day, I will look back on this time and laugh about it all.  Just not right now…… hahaha