No Small Task

English: (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We knew, coming out to Oregon this year, we would be emptying out our storage unit in Scappoose, bringing all the stuff to Mom’s, sorting it, re-boxing it all into plastic tubs instead of old boxes, and then finding a much smaller storage unit here in town, closer to Mom, to put the remaining stuff in.

We’ve moved it here, which took several hours, we unloaded it from the large rental truck, which also took several hours as we were sorting it all into piles as we went, and then we began the sorting/culling process. What a job. Having to make decisions about stuff we’ve each kept from our pasts, childhoods, K’s kid’s childhoods, etc., is a job. It’s hard. Not just the physical labor of it all, but the emotional task of deciding it’s finally time to let some things go. We were each doing this, occasionally showing each other stuff we’d found, telling stories about a certain item, what it meant, where it came from. Fun, and sad, and cool, and touching.

We placed a tarp on the ground the size of the storage unit we want to get. We piled up our tubs, nestling them in as we filled them up. I went through boxes and boxes of books, deciding to get rid of so many, saying a mental goodbye, and being OK with that. And then I took CD after CD out of it’s case, putting them into binders instead. That alone took an entire day. I have a lot of CDs. Luckily I’ve already digitized them, but seriously, I’m a music fiend. K went through box after box of her kid’s stuff, holding up hockey jerseys and swim caps, old skirts and hats, toys and books they liked. Fun, and hard.

This coming weekend there will be a big yard sale at my Mom’s place. It was already planned, and we are adding a lot to it. We’re also selling some stuff on Craigslist. It’s time to purge. Time to pare down. Time to finally let go of stuff we’ve been holding onto for a long long time. Doing so is no small task, but it must be done.

We’re simplifying. Seems simple. But really, it’s not.