Milk and Honey

Milk and Honey popped into my head this morning while making coffee.  Returning to the Land of Milk and Honey.  When I thought of it I had a warm calming feeling inside, a reassuring feeling that all is ok and this move is a good and correct move.  But why milk and honey, so I had to look it up.  It goes back to the Bible where it is referred to the land of fertility and abundance - well that is California (or was as it has been eight years since we left). 

 

To catch up, since the end of October. 

 

We initially were going to sell off all furniture and keep only what would fit in a cargo trailer that we would haul.  We moved up here with a professional mover, taking everything with us after a major whittling down of extra stuff.  Our prior home on the peninsula was all of 1,200 SF so it wasn't huge, about one-fourth or one-fifth of a moving rig.  That furniture is now even eight years older so it's true age is close to 20 years in some cases.  It has all served us well but isn't worth the cost to move it again.  But, wait, I really, really want to keep my beautiful outdoor furniture.  It is a lovely set from O.W. Lee and is a table with four chairs, a love seat and two armed side chairs and a coffee table.  Lovely bronze wrought iron with faux stone table tops, custom pads for all seating and leaning surfaces.  We paid $3.7k back in 2000.  This set has served us so well and the pads are just now showing signs of wear.  This set represents outdoor living to me, it represents being able to be outside, relaxing in the warm breeze of a summer afternoon.  Up here in the 48th latitude one can only do that for three to four months of the year.  We can only leave the pads out for maybe two months.  I did not want to give up this set out of everything furniture wise.  I kind of dug my heels in (in my head). 

 

 

Move slightly forward a few days, I called our prior mover, the actual driver as I had the his cell number from eight years ago.  I asked if he was still in the business.  He isn't but his son is (who we met) and works for the same moving company.  I looked up the old invoice and we paid $4.5k for the move plus the costs for all the moving boxes, feeding the moving crew and a generous tip on both ends for the driver.  After discussion, now that we are whittling down more and eliminating MOST of the furniture, we decided that it would be more prudent to again have a hauler move our earthly possessions again.  Halleluiah. 

 

So, we rearranged the garage to have stuff to keep in the furthest point in and started making sections of sell, donate and trash.  So far we have sold over $500 in items such as the treadmill, two bikes, a paddleboard and a few other items.  I dropped a big batch of items at Value Village which resells these items for charity.  I have started cleaning out the paperwork in my office and scanning items I think we might refer to, downloading tech manuals for printers and the like so I can dump the hard copy.  The amount of paperwork I keep is mind boggling but it is organized.  I plan to scan as much as possible so I can unburden myself from its requirement to be filed.

 

We are the opposite of pack rats (I grew up in a home of them - oy!).  But you have some material, article or leftover wood or whatever and you think it can be used elsewhere, let's not throw it out yet.  I rather reuse something if possible so we are treading lightly on this green earth.  Well, those were the items to go.  We are gathering a pile for the RE Store in town who sells reusable building materials.

 

Next up is selling some of my higher end label clothes on Tradesy.  It is some work to photograph and write up descriptions.  I tried on some of the clothes and they are just too big or loose.  I have lost 25 pounds since locating up here.  In addition, I tried on some of the shoes and my feet just won't have it.  Over the past eight years I have dressed far more casually and without heels or overly structured shoes so most of what I have been 'hording' has got to go.

 

I must confess that I have owned so many clothes over the years.  When we left the Bay Area I made a major donation to Career Closet, more than a car load full.  DH dropped it off and they needed two or more rolling racks to move it all.  They were thrilled with the donation as I recall it was post-Katrina and they needed the business attire for relocated people.  Once up here I sold off about another third through a consignment shop and now have the balance to sell.  I kept the best for last.  I probably wear about 30 to 40 same things in a given season and just don't need the rest.  I also usually only wear black or brown with a splash of taupe green.  I have always preferred a 'uniform' of sorts.  I don't get enjoyment from mixing and matching and all that entails while standing in front of the closet.

 

In my head the process of eliminating has followed the above path and then we need to clean the house before we invite over the listing agents to figure out who will list the house and when.  I look around and our house is clean, but you look a bit closer (as an agent surely will do) and a bit more elbow grease would be prudent.  DH vacuumed yesterday but the devil is in the details ;).

 

More to come.......