Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Purge it Baby!

We are fast approaching the 15 month mark of living in our empty nest and I believe that, so far, we have survived with dignity and grace.  Ok, maybe dignity and grace were not the principle elements but, we did survive.  And what is it, exactly, that we have survived?  We have survived being in our home...alone...together...just the two of us- which might not sound like a big deal to most but it has been quite interesting.  We have survived our youngest deciding to move in with her sister instead of coming home for the summer--it wasn't a surprise, those two are very close.  We are still trying to survive the passing of Hubs' mother 4 months ago.  We have survived the quiet--shoot, we're almost enjoying that part now.

Since we now have some sort of understanding as to what to expect from an empty nest, it was time to start making decisions about what to do with all this space.  We have a tiny house but, with the 4 daughters living elsewhere, we had, for the first time, SPACE!  Unfortunately, it was cluttered space.  When the youngest moved her possessions out, I wondered what she had actually taken with her.  It was a prime example of what a room looks like after it is hit by the proverbial tornado.  In other words, it looked just the same as when she did reside here with us.  This child, baby daughter M (in order to discern her from married daughter M), took her dresser with her but left everything once contained in said dresser ALL OVER THE FLOOR.  She took her oblong table but left all of its contents ALL OVER THE FLOOR.  She took her big bookshelf but left all the books and knickknacks ALL OVER THE FLOOR.  She took the closet contents out of her closet and took what she needed/wanted, left the rest and, guess exactly where she left it?  That's right, ALL OVER THE FLOOR.  The other 'daughter room' was not as bad with most left behind items stowed in the closet.  Then there was the attic.  And so, we officially entered the PURGE! phase of having an empty nest.

I gave all who had possessions stored here a timeline for going through all of their crap precious assets and rescuing those items they wished to retain.  Any remaining items would go into the Empty Nest Yard Sale.  Should anyone not make it home to siphon through the jungle (and I mean THICK jungle) of belongings, no worries!  It would ALL go into the yard sale, claimed or not.  Finally, the attitude I've been waiting for had arrived--DON'T MESS WITH ME ON THIS ISSUE!

I could see it all without even closing my eyes!  An office/study in the back bedroom.  The front bedroom, a guest room.  EXTRA closet space....EXTRA I said!!!! Clean rooms that STAY that way because they aren't cluttered with things that don't belong to the two of us!  Good Lord IT'S A MIRACLE!

Then I started going through all the attic boxes and containers.  I saw all the American Girl dolls and accessories; the mountains of stuffed animals; all those trophies; baby clothes...sweet, precious memories, NOT mere stuff.

We do have a large number of things for the yard sale (although the attic looks the same as it did before the Great Purge of 2010) and 85% of these things belong to my mother who is moving in with her sister so she purged her house while packing (I did save the Fisher Price Toot-Toot from her 'stuff.').  There is no study or guest room either.  What the heck, I've lived with clutter all these years, what's a few more? 

Mostly Mimi's stuff

Also mostly Mimi's stuff




19 comments:

  1. Congratulations on still speaking to each other after 15 months...hubby is almost down to just grunting now! I still have some precious stuff that I couldn't throw away like Son's first outfit and a furry rattle his grandfather (now departed) gave him....but the space the children leave behind is great and in our case the nasty smell left too when Son cleared off sorry I mean left home...the one of stale socks. :) Sorry to hear about your husband's loss though.That is always tough. Enjoy your time together...if truth be told we try to!

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  2. I feel your cluttered pain. I cringe everytime I walk into our basement :(

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  3. I am your new follower :) I invite you to check out my "Christmas Cheer"..don't miss it!

    http://toddlertalesbymommy.blogspot.com/2010/10/scoop-of-christmas-cheer-for-you-to.html

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  4. When my three daughters moved out they left so much stuff. I did as you and started going through it to get rid of it. I ended up with MASSIVE Rubbermaid containers (the biggest they make, I think) stacked in the garage. Eventually I hope they will take the tubs of their stuff and store it in their own attics, basements or garages. I can't imagine throwing any of it away myself. (My middle daughter is now in her fourth year of marriage and no word yet on when she'll be taking her goods!)

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  5. Thanks for following. I'm following you back!

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  6. That's going to be a big sale! Thanks so much for stopping by I am your newest follower

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  7. I am a new follower and I would love a follow back!!
    http://www.mommykatie.com/

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  8. I am now following you thanks to Friendly Friday Follow, and it would be nice if you could share the love back on my blog;)
    Plus, don't forget, if you need any help increasing your blog's traffic or easy blog tutorials, you know where to come! Happy Friday!

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  9. I so recognize my house with you!!! My youngest daughter moved out - I have a garage and a bedroom full of stuff and none of my (three!!) daughters will claim the stuff. I'm so sentimental I can't bear to throw the stuff out plus I hate to throw away good stuff!!! Good luck with yours!

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  10. Enjoy your newfound space :0)

    Marnie xo

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  11. Oh WOW! I guess even when grown up the kids are part of our lives. LOL in clutter!
    Cool blog!
    I am your newest follower from the blog hop! Happy Friday! come see me and follow back.
    Frenchy
    http://lechateaudesfleurs.blogspot.com

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  12. I just wrote a post about empty nest - I'm a new follower from Week-end blog hop! Can't wait to read more of your blog :)

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  13. Thanks so much for all the comments! I am pretty sure I'm now following all you new followers back...if not, please let me know so I can do so right away!

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  14. Hi,thanks so much for joining my bloghop.. I follow you now! ;)

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  15. Hi! I'm your newest follower from the Friday Linky:) I love finding new blogs and yours is lovely!! You can find me at www.bouffeebambini.blogspot.com

    Also, I have several GORGEOUS handmade giveaways going on. Please check them out if you stop by:)

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  16. I am your newest follower, thanks for visiting my site. I enjoyed reading your blog. Many years ago I too was an empty nester but I totally lost it, went into some kind of weird depression and divorced my hubby. It was so hard to imagine the rest of my life without my six kids at home.
    Every thing turned out OK, I am happily remarried and combined we have 22 grand kiddos! Have a great weekend!

    Shawn

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  17. Ok, now that I have read about your youngest daughter and her "leaving stuff on the floor!"....maybe she and Rocker Son do deserve one another! Ha!
    Thanx for being my newest Follower!

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  18. Your youngest sounds very similar to mine. :) I´ve had an empty house for 4 years now, and we´ve gotten used to (and like) the quiet too. But you know God has a sense of humor, right? In Dec. both of my kids are moving back home. This was not planned by them or me (and should only be temporary), but we will have to make things work again. We´ll see how that goes.
    Thanks for introducing yourself at my blog. I hope to see you there frequently. I will follow back.

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  19. Congrats on the huge purge! I'm still working on mine but it has to be done by spring when we plan on moving. Piece by piece we get through it!

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! It makes me feel connected to everyone even though we may live far apart! Have a wonderful day!

 
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