What did we keep?

We did it! One, 10x10 (x10?) storage unit, a suitcase each, a back pack each.... and a trailer full of boxes and small furniture that will soon be left with older kids in Utah and Idaho... and various odds and ends that we haven't quite shed yet (extra books, extra paper, extra pencils pens etc... but we have almost done it! We are leaving for Northern Colorado on Saturday where we will stay for a little while and then on to see the big kids and hand off the last trailer load of boxes that are still following us around. And then we are truly free. Assuming we have given up those other extras too. But we will!

Purging was a pretty extensive project and we utilized whatever means was available. We sold most of the bigger things on craigslist: couches, beds, dressers, treadmill, desks, tables, bookshelves (so many bookshelves!) and the extra car. We held a one day yard sale extravaganza with smaller things and stuff that hadn't gone on craigslist yet. We donated to goodwill and the homeless shelter downtown. We had friends with a junk-hauling business take away at least two truckloads. We gave away lots of books and toys and games, and we threw stuff away like crazy. It was intense. And somehow therapeutic.

I look at our packed storage unit and know that someday, I will have to go through it all again and I will wonder why I kept some of this. I doubt I will experience much regret about what I didn't keep, because it just doesn't seem to work that way. The things I have let go in the past just fade from my memory and I don't miss them.

So... what did we store and what did we not?

Toys: We stored a lot more toys than we needed to I think. But it was a conscious decision because we didn't want to delve into all the boxes right now. Our youngest child is eleven, much of the toys we still had were already in storage boxes, we just moved them from garage to storage unit. We did get rid of many too, but some we chose not to make a decision on yet. Like Lego. So much Lego. Individual children's lego, family lego, Kris's childhood Lego. So much Lego.

Books: We probably got rid of three- fourths of our books. But our book collection was extensive and there are still several boxes of them. I finally parted with most of my college books. We gave away the majority of our homeschooling books. Most of the paperbacks are gone. I kept my favorite history resources. I have a decent collection of antique hardbacks, my 'pretty' books, and I kept them. The kids all kept their favorite books, and they had first chance at any I was giving away too, but those are stored in their boxes.

Kitchen Stuff: We kept enough to reasonably stock a possible future kitchen. I kept the best baking pans and my pots and pans and the best dishes. I kept the Bosch and Kitchenaid and Blender. The toaster is going to one of my sons, the waffle irons and griddle to grown kids too, the rice cooker to goodwill. We donated storage containers and cookie cutters and canning jars.

Furniture: We kept our mattress and boxspring and 3 twin mattresses, we kept our office and sewing desks (but not chairs), we kept our television stand (and the tv) and the trunk from the bottom of our bed, we kept two living room lamps and an area rug. All the other furniture is gone. Well, there are some throw pillows.

Kids' Stuff: We never told the kids what they could and could not keep really and so it varies widely from one child to the next. The grown kids already had their stuff mostly boxed up of course, though when we got serious about packing, we found plenty of things hanging around the house that needed to be added to each of their piles: dishes, books, coats, games. Depending on the child, they have anywhere from two to six boxes stored.

There are other odds and ends in there: bedding, office supplies, some electronics, photo albums, old art work, a few baby clothes and blankets. But so much is gone, so far we have all been just fine, and tomorrow we leave for Northern Colorado.