Because we didn’t have enough going on in the last couple of months, (job stress with education budget cuts, brief scare when we thought my husband might have had a tumor on his brain, two fender benders in two different cars, (I was the one hit both times) and expensive, necessary, mouth work just to name a handful of all we’ve one through lately) we decided it was also time to move…next door.
We literally carried everything we own down the stairs of our lovely hundred year old renovated apartment, walked across the lot and moved into the hideous blue building next door. The first words out of people’s mouths when they walk inside are usually along the lines of “Oh! This is surprising.” And it really is. Delightfully surprising.
(Well, not in this picture, but just wait until we get all settled!)
Our landlord really did a great job of renovating both places, (for the most part.) (And this is a great time to mention that if you own a building that you are planning on renovating and have never lived in a small space or apartment before, please call me for a consultation before you knock down/build new walls or create bathrooms with out linen closets or place the AC control unit right next to the kitchen which is the hottest part of the house or create giant rooms with two plug options or…well, you get the idea. I will give you great, practical, experienced advice for a small fee and your future tenants will be most grateful to you for not putting carpet in the only space usable for a dining area in the house. So, what was I talking about…oh yeah…we moved next door. We gained an extra bedroom, bathroom and laundry room for only $75 more a month. We won’t be ready to buy a house anytime soon, (thank you, expensive mouth of mine) so we wanted to move somewhere that we could sit comfortably a little bit longer. And thus begins the tension in my head and heart about living simply.
We have a lot of stuff.
Not compared to the average American, young married couple, but it does look and feel like we have a lot. Books for one. This is what happens when a book lover marries a book lover. Guess how many “two copies” we had to go through when we got married. Now, guess how many we still have.
“But I can’t get rid of this one because all of my notes are in it.”
“Well I can’t get rid of my copy because ::fill in the blank:: signed it and gave it to me.”
Pathetic, huh? Believe it or not, that is not all of them in the picture. That is only 3 of 5 bookshelves worth. We did shed a few (about three boxes worth) and we have found a great source to take some more off of our hands. We are trying to purge more and more but it is VERY hard for both of us when it comes to books. And it is hard for me when it comes to everything else. I don’t think I quite classify as a packrat because I don’t save everything. But I do save a lot, and when I breakdown and get rid of some things 3-4 times a year, I often end up regretting it. Like the year I finally disposed of all of my t-shirts from high school. Why didn’t I think of this?!?! It was painful for me to get rid of all of those shirts and I would have LOVED to have a memory quilt. So the tension remains. Do I continue to hold on to things and eventually, maybe, someday, have a place and purpose for it? Or do I continue to purge and live with less and less? Surely there is a happy medium. Surely…
The cats miss the old place, but they are diggin' all of the hiding places in the new.
