I still can’t believe the absolute pile of junk we have accumulated. 18 years worth.

I am pretty ruthless these days with possessions. I don’t feel the urge to buy a souvenir or keep keepsakes for the sake of keeping them. Memories these days for me are good times, some pics and shared experiences with loved ones. So when it came to getting rid of collections I found the whole exercise quite cathartic . 

Yes I still have things I don’t want to part with yet (shoes and boots mainly!) but I probably have less than a quarter of what I did. Good job I reckon, and absolutely no pangs of regret.

Hubby on the other hand needed a little encouragement and a few threats to decrease the size of his considerable Lego collection.

It came down to either he figures it out or I put all his Lego out on the footpath inviting people to take what they want. I think he nearly choked at that suggestion. LOL.

“You wouldn’t do that?” Was the cry…
“You sure about that?” The response.

I won the argument – it is just not physically possible to put 3 bedrooms of both loose Lego and unopened sets into a smaller house.

Physics Does Not Lie!

Needless to say that was about the time we invested in a storage locker. Crisis averted, marriage saved 😵‍💫.

Various bits and pieces joined lego in storage. Other stuff went the way of the dodo, donated or recycled. I decided to keep the two beautifully carved centre legs of my dining table to use as decorative planter stands though. They were the reason I bought the table in the first place!

Recycling at its best.

The other thing I found in the depths of a dark, spiderweb-covered cupboard was the IKEA vacuum bags I’d bought years ago! OMG why have I never used them before? All our winter clothes, quilts and even cushions are now in squished bags.

I think I might have got carried away with the fun, but at least I know where to look if I’m missing something 🤭. If you’ve never tried it- put it on your bucket list. 

Then there was the moment I decided to invest in a photo scanning app.  I have hundreds of photos and negatives as well as inherited family photo collections and documents nearing a hundred years old. I don’t want all this wonderful history of life, events and people to be lost, how sad that would be.

So, in my spare time (haha) everything is being scanned and catalogued. I will definitely be looking into where the originals can be preserved, maybe the Mortlock Library. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks, a few trips to our future home but all in all, considerable progress has been made. Garage Sale next.

Timeline; 6 weeks before photos are taken for market. 

Hope you’ll stick around for Chapter 3, making the house shine!

Ps: child’s belongings are still gathering cobwebs in the garage…maybe next chapter I’ll have better news!