A 1000 Mile Journey

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -by Confucius

If listing my home was the first step... the rest is surely a thousand mile journey.

Showing after showing... teasing us with repeat viewings and promises of wanting to buy (when they sell their own place).

Good news, the house is very clean and perfectly balanced with belongings (aka clutterless).
Bad news is that I am so stressed out about what we are committed to (and still no offers).

There is still time I have to repeat over and over, "there is still time" to keep from panicking.

So universe, hear my call: "One safe, bright, friendly home needs a new family to enjoy it, ASAP."

And once this call has been answered I can focus on the next leg of my journey, renovating.

Packing Perils

There is an interesting development around this packing thing.... As I pack I am deciding if an item is worth bringing along... completely predictable. Very similar to all the other times when I am decluttering (asking if it's worth the space it takes up) only a bit deeper because it involves the physical effort of finding a home for it in the new location.

The unexpected twist is that as I am wrapping things to put in boxes I am wondering... "If this breaks during the move will I want to replace it?"

huh?

You'd think because I want to bring it with me that it would be valuable enough to want to replace, but strangely there is very little that I would shed tears over if it broke! Maybe a temporary pang of waste, but not real remorse.

Wow. I've come a LOOOOONG way in my relationship with my stuff!

Goal #20 No shopping

Decluttering isn't just about getting rid of the stuff you have, it's also about resisting the temptation to bring more home.

Goal #20 No shopping for the rest of this month (except immediately usable consumables)

I have enough "stuff" to last me a while. Shoes, Clothes, Kitchen items, Linens. I have enough drygoods and freezer foods to last a while too. So this goal should be easy.

Shifting to High Gear

Be careful what you wish for.

Now that the moving idea is a solid, undeniable reality I am scared.

After obsessive decluttering and scrubbling, our house echos in it's clean, clutter-free staging -- that part is really nice, SO easy to sweep, dust and mop!

But we know with each echo of this pretty sun-filled home, that it MUST sell, and not soon enough!

We are moving.

Goal #19 One Day at a Time

"What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours..." I love that song

Goal #19 is to take a step back from the stress.

 Calm, center and count my blessings.

Background: With the excitement of putting an offer on that other house and listing mine, I have been literally run off my feet (they are so sore right now) gathering boxes, filling boxes, moving boxes to storage (oh how I abore the need for storage). Up the stairs, down the stairs, down the driveway, into the truck, drive the truck, unload the truck .... repeat. And yet the house still looks turned upside down!!! I've been flustered all day and it isn't helping anything.

So I need this goal to declutter my emotions.

Process: Breathe in breathe out, take a decadently looooong shower and eat a bit of chocolate while sipping some red wine. Sit quietly with the kids and the hubby and just talk about sweet nothings (ignoring the boxes). Tomorrow will be another hectic day: the home stager - compliments of my realtor - will be showing up in the morning, and the afternoon is reserved for a client meeting.

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Verdict: I feel soooo much better equipped to handle this now. Whether you are moving or just finding your to-do list is never getting caught up, I recommend everyone make a version of this goal very very soon. :)