Cleaning out the dog house.....

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We all love Marmaduke, but who knew he was such a pack rat?  In all fairness to Red, he is the Felix 
to Marmadukes Oscar!  

If you were to ask me a year ago if we would be moving across country, my answer would be a 
resounding NO!  Are you crazy?  Why would anybody want to sell a house full of, well, crap and 
transport that same crap 2600 miles from here?  It's an impossible, expensive feat and not for the faint 
of heart.  Where the heck do you start?  What room?  I'm already overwhelmed!

The answer to those questions is an easy one.  You just start.  Somewhere, anywhere, but you start. Like Mr. Nike said....Just Do It! ✔️.   I don't think Mr. Nike has seen our garage!  

We, like most families, have acquired much needed "stuff" over the years.  That broken pot that I was going to fix, the chandelier project I saw on Pinterest I never got to,  a 33 gallon trashcan full of golf balls.  (Okay, nobody needs a 33 gallon trashcan full of golf balls)!  You name it we got it!  

I remember seeing an old Oprah Winfrey show many moons ago that still resonates with me today.  She said "if you haven't used it, looked at it, or wore it in the last year (or two), you don't need it and it should be gotten rid of".  You should clean your house like you are moving at least once a year.  Boy do I wish I followed that advice!  Sorry Oprah! 

So okay, we have crap.  A lot of crap.  I can admit it and own it!  On the flip side, we have family items, china, furniture, photos, etc..that are not crap.  They are special, sentimental items that need to find new homes.  Re-homing the good items requires a lot of help from family.  Both of our families. Not many young people today want china dishes.  Luckily, I have a wonderful niece who agreed to take my grandmother's china!  Whew!  Big relief there.  I may as well throw in the silverware as a parting gift with the china!  Don't tell her, but she's taking the silver...😅.  

This is a good time to discuss how great Facebook Marketplace is.  We all know about Craig's list and heard of scary, crazy stories about that.  I personally have had luck using Craig's list and lived to tell about it.  But, using the Marketplace has proven to be easier and reaches a lot of people in surrounding areas in one click.  We have set up a "moving fund" and everything we sell gets put in that account.  To date we have sold/raised $2583 (including the $20 my husband won last week on a scratch off ticket)!  Not too shabby a haul considering most of it was crap! 

It is very liberating to say the least when getting rid of proverbial junk.  You feel lighter somehow not seeing those piles of who-knows-what laying around.  Taking clothes to Goodwill feels good.  Taking kitchenware to the thrift shop up the street feels good.  We are still in the planning, early phases of figuring out exactly what we are taking with us, but I think it's safe to say it won't be much.  







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