Happy Monday, lovely friends! We hope you had a great, restful weekend.
We had a bit of a crazy one spent celebrating mother’s day, and preparing for the big sale.
I did a lot more purging, and it was like Christmas for the kids when we pulled out a few boxes of toys that we put into storage a year ago when we thought we were moving. It made me reconsider my toy rotation skillz. It cuts down on clutter, and they will play for hours… it’s like magic. I think I’ll start doing that again.
But our house… it currently looks like this.
And this.
I’m not even showing you the garage.
We’re tired.
Also, I cleared out a lot of these.
What did these boxes hold? Memories I’ve saved. Between that, and this trunk, it’s safe to say that I was a total memory hoarder. What does this even mean about me? Maybe one of my biggest fears is forgetting. Letting go. This has been a real battle for me, so I’m pretty sure this is true.
In all fairness, at first I was all, what’s wrong with me? And then I realized these boxes were packed fourteen years ago when my parents were moving to Colorado. I was 19, and just wanted it finished. There was no purging. There was stuffing. {I’m a stuffer, remember?} And there they’d sat taking up valuable real estate all these years until my parents handed them over to me about three years ago. Then I’d stuffed them in the attic, vowing to go through them later. Whelp… it’s later.
We’re talking school pictures from the second grade, and a story I wrote for the Young Author’s Conference circa 1988. But can we hold a meeting for memory hoarders anony? Because I’m pretty sure I don’t want to relive every single boy drama my friends and I wrote about. One {or three} will suffice. At some point, I just stopped reading all the letters, going through all the cards and photos, and after salvaging a freezer bag (my limit) of important, I just started chunking. It was time.
Do you guys remember this old crate we grabbed up at the local salvage store? I was thrilled with this find, and put this song on the front because we love it so. But it sat empty, for about a year. I stuffed a few frames in there and called it a day.
It’s funny how we don’t really pay attention to the things in our home, until the challenge of simplifying is presented. I love really thinking through our spaces and utilizing them to the fullest.
I was a little afraid of it because it’s so old, but duh, this could be used for real storage.
Form had to meet function, or else it was dead weight. I’m making our home work for us, after all.
I decided this would be the perfect spot for all of those saved memories. The entire thing needs to be re-lined on the inside, and I wouldn’t actually move the crate with all those things in it because it’s just so old… but for now, it works.
How does one consolidate a lifetime of memories? From Jamin’s baby albums to mine, and the kids’ (that I always feel so guilty about not completing). Camp pictures circa 1987, four diaries from my childhood documenting how angry I was at my brother or my latest crush… an autograph book with the NKOTB’s addy with letters and photos galore from high school and college… cherished memories of my grandmother and sweet notes from my sister. I set a limit, cut it down, and now I have the cream of the crop, saved. Here they are. No more massive piles of ridiculous boxes with all the filler stuff.
No more overwhelming feelings.
Of course we have all of our digital files stored away, and maybe I will add them here. {Thank goodness for the digital age, can I get an amen?!} This way I know what to grab if ever there was an emergency. (Read: zombie apocalypse) Kiddingnotkidding.
The lyrics on the front… are very appropriate.
It’s amazing how great a little clearing out will make you feel.
We still have more purging to do, but I’m amazed and have now completely lost count of the bags we’ve gotten rid of. It’s truly staggering. Our home is gradually feeling lighter. And so am I.
No more guilt. No more fear. The outside you see on the surface, is gradually beginning to reflect the inside of every single cupboard, highboy, dresser, drawer and shelf in this house. It feels so good!
After this sale, we hope to finish up our beginning stage of this lifestyle change. We finally have space. We will no longer pay out of pocket for storage each month. And I have never felt so wonderful about something.
Want the deats on our big sale? • In retrospect, I should have called it a big sale. Because it’s not your typical yard sale.
• It’s this next Saturday, and you’ll find some fab deals and steals and in addition, some of our original creations and art for fair prices. A percentage of our proceeds will go to a good cause at an amazing local organization for children and mothers, AGAPE.
• Follow the yellow signs!
• This sale is 99.9% home decor items, and we have a few baby things at ridiculous prices, as well.
• Please no pre-sale requests, as we are trying our very best to remain fair.
• Also… please don’t judge our garage. It’s a total wreck and we will be redoing it soon, I promise. ;} I’m just saying I spilled like a gallon of various colors of paint on the floor and there’s probably something embarrassing like a dead animal in the corner because a chipmunk ran in there last night when I was pricing things, chased by the neighbor’s cat… I’m sure he left but it’s messy. No judging.
• We plan to start promptly and fairly, at 8:30 and not before… but don’t be surprised if you see us in the yard setting up beforehand. I feel super ridiculous adding this, but we will probably have our yard marked off for early birds to be fair, and to have a chance before 8:30 to move some things outside.
• I have to mention this: I love you guys a ton, and am SO sure you are totally legit, but because of our children we will not be able to open up our home.
• If you dress up like zombies and rush my yard, I will smack you with a broom. Just kidding that was violent and only my initial reaction out of sheer terror. You’ll be my hero and I’ll give you a cupcake ;}
• Oh, and just for a little extra incentive… spend 35 dollars or more, and leave your email addy with us and we will send you a free copy of our ebook that afternoon! ;} Just for fun.
• Email us at [email protected] and we will be sending out an email with our address by Wednesday at the latest.
We hope to see you there! Have an inspired day, y’all!
Sarah says
Good luck! Wish I was closer, I would clean UP at that sale =)
Megan Brooke says
I would be president of Memory Hoarders Anonymous. haha. I have kept every single note I wrote between my friends and boys in high school plus a million other things. I just can’t bear to throw some of it away. I need to get a trunk or chest and only allow myself to keep things that will fit in there. Thanks for the challenge. 🙂
Caroline says
My poor husband’s office has one wall lined with boxes of memories I need to purge. My craft closet door barely closes and things fall down every time I open the door. Those two are the dirty secrets in my house. They a re hidden because it was making physically ill to have the mess where I would see it. But I don’t want to deal with it. This year has been all about cleaning out the clutter in my life for me, physical and emotional. And it has been so freeing. We just found out we are having guests in three weeks so I have to clear them out. I needed a deadline! I have my eight children’s stuff that is in boxes, never scrapbooked. I don’t need to keep everything, do I? Thanks for the inspiration!
Donna says
Woo Hoo! Can’t wait to come and buy up all kinds of goodies! One question though – is it cash only or will you be accepting credit/debit cards? I recently had a huge yard sale and used the Square app with my iPad and accepted credit/debit cards. I know for sure that some of the buyers bought more because they could use their debit card. Anyway – just want to make sure I have plenty of cash in my pocket if that’s what I need.
Can’t wait to meet you Ashley – my hubby and family know you as my vbff (virtual -bff) because I mention you and your blog all the time in conversation. Love your style! -Donna
ashley @ the handmade home says
Awe! Hey Donna! So excited! Actually, it looks like we WILL be able to take credit and debit cards. We will have to charge a small additional amount to cover the charges to us but it will probably be worth the convenience factor. ;} I hope that helps! Can’t wait to meet you.
Maryann C says
Oh my! Those are some pretty piles! I would love about 10 things in each picture. Just too far to drive from the Space Coast of FL. Wail…
Bonnie C says
OMGOSH I totally *covet* that 2 tier blue wire basket thingy!! I am, sadly, in CO and will not be able to “treasure your trash” on the big day – lol! Best of luck!
Katherine says
My dad renovated our house a few years ago and in the process totally gutted my old bedroom. I had to sort through all of it and keep whatever I could fit in my one bedroom apartment that my husband and I had just moved into. If I had not been forced to go through it all, there’s not way I would have. I pitched so much stuff- so many angsty letters and journals (yes, journals).
It was hard but, like you said, I feel lighter. It was a good kind of hard.
Krista @thehappyhousie says
Oh my goodness I am heartbroken today that I don’t live closer to you… I would absolutely think I had died and gone to yard sale heaven if I could make it there. Good luck with it all! I can’t imagine a single thing being left at the end of your sale!!
Krista
Judy H. says
Doesn’t it feel great to have that “heaviness” off of your shoulders and the security of knowing where all the stuff is?! I did that about 2 years ago. I had a big cedar chest that had been my grandma’s at the foot of our bed. I stored blankets in it. I had been feeling the weight of all my “stuff”‘ and bothered with the knowledge that I had it stashed in several different places. My house has 2 linen closets (?), I opened one of those closets and noticed the two shelves that always stayed empty; Ah ha! I ran to that old chest and unloaded all of the blankets, old bedspreads and all and used up every inch of those shelves. Then I went about gathering all of my “stuff” from here and there and arranged in that cedar chest. I felt like I could fly! I found another home for the cedar chest in the living room and thought it looked much better there. Let’s here it for old chests and light bulb moments!
Carla says
Oh I really wish I lived closer. There looks to be a lot of goodies there in your stash. I would buy it all!!!
Sandra F says
Wish I could come – I’m sure there will be amazing finds! Is it weird that I got super excited when I saw your shaker peeking out of that box? WAR EAGLE! I hope everything goes smoothly.
Aubrey says
I am a magazine hoarder! Specifically, Martha Stewart…
I can ditch my Glamour and Fitness magazines no problem…but Martha has me in her clutches. Any solutions? I am considering going through them all and cutting out key articles…but I have around 6 years of magazines! Yikes!
Mykl says
I used to save everything, but moving once or twice a year for a few years caused me to break that. I realized I didn’t really miss any of it. Now I have the reputation amongst my family as being the “purger”. But it comes in spurts for me. I hoard until it gets out of control and then I purge (usually more than I should). I’ve learned that if I will make a pile of the boys’ “memories” and sort through them several months later, I’m more objective. Thanks for showing the pics of your house in progress! I’m in that stage right now and it’s comforting to see I’m not some kind of horrible mom/wife/housekeeper for having my house in the transition phase. Others houses are experiencing it, too!
Megan @ The Brick Bungalow says
Came over after reading another one of your posts. Love this! I’ve been purging away for awhile too and memories are a hard one to let go of. I kept a lot of random cards, many of which I threw away unless that had personal writing in there. I framed one card I got from my brother’s passing from a friend because it was a great quote to remember by Maya Angelou and it’s now in my office. As for actual photos and mementos, I bought a few IKEA boxes and am sifting though the piles of photos. Copies are being tossed, bad photos are being tossed, and random ones too. It’s crazy how much they pile up! Some day they will be sorted and labeled, for now I’ve at least got them sorted by year. Good luck!