tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65158894816582698112024-03-12T16:43:15.659-07:00Simplify ... and Move OnNancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-7072580881906489212012-06-01T11:13:00.000-07:002014-04-17T11:13:58.752-07:00closed blogI am no longer maintaining this blog. It was fun when I was just starting our move, but everything now is posted in <a href="http://grossesinguatemala.blogspot.com/">Grosses In Guatemala</a> blog.<br />
<br />
See you over there!Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-28590228775643347232011-05-26T07:00:00.000-07:002011-05-26T07:00:59.543-07:00Ambivalence... then giddy with expectation!Our garage is stuffed to the gills with our extras. Stuff for garage sales, stuff to give away, stuff to donate. Some stuff to throw away, perhaps. This is the staging area as we clear things out of the house.<br />
<br />
And in the back of the recently-added stuff lives all the stuff that was already in the garage... tools, home care supplies. A nice toolchest filled with tools. Power tools. Paint and wallpaper supplies. A power jack, an electronic laser level thingie. The detritus of years of home ownership and home repair. Stuff.<br />
<br />
And it happens that very recently a family returned from Bolivia. They are very dear friends whom we visited in Bolivia in January. He used to be in construction here, before moving south, and they needed to return here. I had a light-bulb moment... he could use those tools as he reestablishes his business efforts here. Ding! Problem solved!<br />
<br />
He came yesterday with a pickup truck and a friend. I was excited to see the back of the garage clear out as the pickup filled up. I was thrilled to know that this very lovely family will have a easier re-start with their life here, not having to invest in so many basic and electric tools. This was win-win - exactly what we have hoped for. He was very grateful and delighted to reconstitute his life here.<br />
<br />
Yet... it was also sad. A part of me grieved, seeing these things leave, things that we had accumulated to care for our nest, our home. Somewhat, I grieved for the money we spent on tools that we used once, money we spent when there seemed to be so much of it. But mostly I grieved seeing the Home-Dream as it was again, in more little cuts, deconstructed. <br />
<br />
Then I remembered - yes, this is EXACTLY what we have dreamed. The ability to lighten the load, to remove the shackle on our ankles, the shackles that have kept us here in Kansas and limit our ability to serve as Bible teachers in other places. These things, this stuff, keep us from flying to our next dream, our next adventure. <br />
<br />
I kept feeling like the stuff kept us padded, protected, somehow. Made us feel 'safe' as we had the ability to care for our own repairs, our own home improvement. As we clean out other home-stuff, it feels as if the padding is being removed - both a good and bad feeling. With the padding, we are less exposed and more protected perhaps, but also we are less mobile and flexible and free with all that padding! The protection turns into a heavy shell that prevents us from moving freely.<br />
<br />
I feel lighter and more hopeful as I look at the back of the garage, the almost-empty shelves. Yes, a bit ambivalent, but mostly excited with the hope of a big step nearer our real dreams.Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-57094344911394116642011-03-22T16:49:00.000-07:002011-03-22T17:32:39.158-07:00FreedomI watch my granddaughter today as she runs, in shorts and a t-shirt, arms spread wide as if flying through the school yard. This is one of our first wonderful days of spring.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>And I recall that I'd compared the deliciousness of that feeling to how it feels to free oneself of the junk that weighs us down in our homes. That as I dispose of books and .... stuff ... that I feel this lightness. Air and sun on skin ... freedom. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I watch her run, so magnificently free, and take it in as my reward for the difficult work I'm doing to simplify. <b>It is so totally worth it</b>. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Take it from a 10-year-old. Life is running unencumbered in the sun. </div>Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-60005559544192270242011-03-20T18:32:00.000-07:002011-04-02T20:18:25.063-07:00Feeding the gaping maw of the beastI have been feeding the beast. The 'gaping maw', as an expression from my childhood of anything that voraciously gobbled anything in its path.<br />
<br />
The beast? A future garage sale filled with all the detritus of unneeded stuff that we have collected. The extra pie pans. A cute box. An antique milk bottle. Clothes we no longer use. Glasses and cups. Candles that have sat for years, un-lit (or, lit briefly). Pitchers. Books. Recipe books. Baskets.<br />
<br />
The maw? My cardboard boxes that sit ready for me to put my future garage-sale finds. And it is so magnificently freeing, to be able to see something useless and to just make it go away. Poof - it's banished. Into a box that sits ready, waiting to be fed, and never to be stressed over (or dusted or moved or packed) again. <br />
<br />
I now have cupboards that are mostly bare. I can find the things I actually choose to retain. And the house will sell so much better with spacious cupboards and closets. <br />
<br />
Of course, my garage is stuffed with all this future-sale stuff. I truly dread the sale, but love the results. <br />
<br />
Simplification. <br />
<br />
Only keep what is truly wanted, truly useful.<br />
<br />
My friends the Santizos got down to one suitcase each. My friend Irene has a single extra coffee cup for any guests that come, period; otherwise, she just has one dish, one cup, one glass etc. It's not that there is anything really <i>wrong</i> with having more than is needed. It's just that excess works against our present goals of being mobile, of having the potential to move at a (virtual) moment's notice. <br />
<br />
It's simple.Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-7613944988711799892011-03-14T09:05:00.000-07:002011-03-14T09:07:17.666-07:00Slogging through it all...During this past six weeks since returning from our Peru/Bolivia trip, my time has been overwhelmed with caring for my mother. She had to be moved to a nursing home, then after their miserable care for her, we moved her a second time about ten days ago. During that time I've been sick ... and trying to stay active in my ministry ... then sick... eeks, behind in everything now. But my mother is now settled in an excellent situation, and I can turn back to my priorities. <br />
<br />
I've been working in the office, and achieved a lot. But the office has been the most difficult for us. We have so many papers that need decisions - keep? trash? shred? Some are business papers, some are sentimental, like old vacation memories. I'm trying to get rid of 90%, and just keep a few things that capture the memory of the trip. <br />
<br />
I went through boxes and boxes of old photos. It was amazing, how many photos of flowers blooming I had. And it told me, again and again, that it truly is only photos with PEOPLE in them that matter, really. Even vacation photos of beautiful lakes, mountains - they are lovely, but meaningless. I can see even better photos in books or in the internet. But of family or friends - those are treasured. I will scan them and then decide - pitch? store?<br />
<br />
We also had boxes of old 8mm video. The British Museum, Paris, Alaska. I pitched them all. (Just writing that gives me a bit of heartache... was I wrong?) I kept family videos, and will see how I can get them transferred to digital media. <br />
<br />
So, in our office we had two desks, both piled with "to-do's". I managed to get rid of one. The other is still piled with Stuff, but I'm making progress. Shelves are coming off the wall, and we'll paint soon. <br />
<br />
Gotta run now. I'm going to go through another file cabinet, to sort and pitch.Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-40584458654688303812011-02-07T19:53:00.000-08:002011-02-07T19:53:30.706-08:00We nearly slipped backwards...Backsliders. That's what we (almost) were.<br />
<br />
After our trip to South America, we got back to a mess with my mother's move to a nursing home, to piles of laundry, not feeling well, enduring a snowstorm, and just having overwhelming malaise. I just couldn't get into the idea of selling the house in just a few months. <br />
<br />
I really started to think ... maybe we could just stay here as long as my mother needs me here. Maybe we should stay in the house, stay comfortable, take it easy. Maybe I don't have to go sort through piles of papers in the office, kitchen detritus, linens, photos, and on and on. Maybe I can wait for some future date, and just sit back and relax. <br />
<br />
And drown in it.<br />
<br />
We did a pro-and-con list, and talked and prayed about the question of when to sell the house - sooner? or later? And we realized that we have a golden moment <b>right now</b> to simplify, to lighten up. To free ourselves of the stuff that is choking us, that is burying us, and keeping us from reaching our goals. <br />
<br />
If we prepare to put house on the market in April or May, we could move into an apartment with just our essentials. I wouldn't have to go back to work. We wouldn't have stairs and piles of stuff to sort. We wouldn't have 3 generations' worth of heirlooms to safeguard. Just the necessities. Simple. Easier to manage. <br />
<br />
So we're back on track. I spent today in the office, and while it was daunting (and I'm not done...), it is do-able and in the works. <br />
<br />
I can't wait to be free.Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-85452991807439723742011-01-31T07:25:00.000-08:002011-02-07T19:20:26.767-08:00Lessons learnedI just finished (with help from my siblings) a move of my mother to a nursing home where she has a semi-private room. Half a room. She moved from a two-room apartment in an assisted-living home, Three years ago, we had moved her from a full apartment to assisted living, and five years prior to that, we moved her from a house. <br />
<br />
<b>Lesson 1: Simplify and clear out detritus. Only keep things that are truly treasured or else useful.</b><br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>Lesson 1.1: Only treasure the things that connect us to people we love - not 'stuff' that has some supposed market value. </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Lesson 1.1a: Of the things we keep and treasure because they connect us to loved ones or great experiences - only keep a sampling. Do not try to recreate the person or the experience by virtue of an abundance of memorabilia. </b><br />
<br />
Of all the things that seems so important to preserve, many end up being discarded or donated as they become irrelevant or un-useful. So, those shoes that no longer really fit well - let them go sooner rather than later, when perhaps someone else must move them out. Piles of papers - go through it NOW to select only what is of enduring importance. <br />
<br />
It would horrify me to think that my family members may need to go through my possessions and make the decisions that we had to make this past weekend. <br />
<br />
Simplify.Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-40366295014352037552010-11-10T21:05:00.000-08:002010-11-10T21:05:58.579-08:00Gulp... my books are gone! Sold!I finally cleaned the garage to make room for more boxes, and in so doing, took seven of the boxes of books to the used book store. After their sorting through them, they gave me an offer of $70... and I sent them on my way. Many of these were books I'd loved, though some were just so-so. But to see them all stacked up, being handled by others in this transaction was... sad ... but freeing. I was OK seeing them go. Maybe someone else can enjoy them now.<br />
<br />
And my garage has space for more boxes to declutter the house.<br />
<br />
I'm so excited. I have more boxes of books, as well as more books throughout the house to box up. But I've started the process, and I feel great about it.Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-46065418330537557112010-10-11T07:27:00.000-07:002010-10-11T07:27:19.724-07:00Life vs Stuff of LifeI keep reflecting on the meaning of the Stuff. <br />
<br />
As I touch for perhaps the last time something like the wedding invitation for my grandmother's wedding in the 1880s, I feel connected to her. Her dreams, her hopes for a happy life. The expectations of her parents - is this young man a good match? And that means something to me. Pieces of life.<br />
<br />
As I pick up a china bowl, I hear my mother's voice telling me about dinners at her mother's table, and how mashed potatoes always went in this bowl. Pieces of life.<br />
<br />
As I dust the microscope from my grandfather, the science professor at Columbia and then later at Washburn college, I think of his career and the stories of his work. He started at Washburn on the day my mother was born in 1920. He wept seeing the devastation to his old classroom from the tornado in 1966. I connect to him, to his life. Pieces of life.<br />
<br />
Or ... is it? <br />
<br />
I remind myself that it is the life itself that is life. Not the detritus that we leave behind. I don't want people hoarding my high school annual or my girl scout sash or my wedding invitation. These aren't "me". Why would I feel that the detritus of past generations should be hoarded, preserved as sacred somehow? <br />
<br />
Life is life. Not objects, not papers, not china or silver. These may remind us of a life lived, but we don't need a dump truck full of stuff as if it made the life more real, more valid. <br />
<br />
And my expectation is to meet these people in their/our resurrection on earth soon. These people whose Stuff I cared for for so long. What do I need with their detritus when I can see them, know them? <br />
<br />
Life is life. Stuff is stuff. Simple.Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-30290176355871582962010-10-11T07:09:00.000-07:002010-10-11T07:14:37.698-07:00Holding on... and letting goI'm tackling the other really difficult challenge in my pack/purge efforts ... going through the many many articles of family history that I have carried. <br />
<br />
"Carried" is the operative word. It has become a burden to hold onto this - both physically (a significant part of 'real estate' in various closets and shelves contain these items) and emotionally (I am the family member unofficially designated - I should admit, self-designated - to 'hold' the family memories). <br />
<br />
Family history has been an interest, even a passion, for me for years. My interest led me to compile a couple of books that will hold and share the information for myself and for others. The books contain charts of ancestors, and reproductions of key photos, stories, records like census reports, and other information that tell the story. I dedicated months to these books, and they are fascinating, and they are DONE, and I am done! Check that box, I'm ready to move on!<br />
<br />
What's in the boxes and bins? Family photos, wedding invitations from 1880s, drawings and paintings of family members and vacations, teaching materials left over from my grandad the science professor, WWI maps and French postcards from my other grandad's service in WWI. College and high school annuals. Scrapbooks - several - filled with great little bits like dance cards, school play records, nametags from special events. Great stuff - but I'm drowning.<br />
<br />
What else is around the house? Teacups. Sterling silver flatware. Haviland china. Stemware. Silver salt/pepper shakers. An old microscope - maybe 100 years old. Sterling silver platters, bowls, pitchers. Old china bowls (like the pink "mashed potato bowl" that my grandmother always used for mashed potatoes), porcelain platters. Decks of cards that my grandmother played bridge with constantly. A large cedar chest, a platform rocker, a glass-topped table. Art, lots of art. Again, great stuff, but I'm carrying all this and it is holding me back from moving easily to my next phase of my life.<br />
<br />
My wise sister has long been in this place of not holding on to scads of things from earlier generations. So she's not eager to receive more than what she already has, and she speculates that the grandchildren (my daughter and nieces/nephew) won't be particularly interested in great amounts as well. So, I will make sure they have what they want, and then either sell, give away (to friends) or discard the rest.<br />
<br />
As I pack it up, I am ambivalent. I'll keep tiny bits as representative of what I liked, and dispose of the rest. The stuff both fascinates me ... and repels me. Either way, it is time to move on. Move it out. Simplify. Lighten up. And be ready for the next phase of my life!Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-15763515826204625132010-10-04T07:56:00.000-07:002010-10-04T07:58:03.843-07:00How it feelswow this feels scary - and thrilling.<br />
<br />
It feels like the first day of spring when you take off your long sleeves and you can feel the air on your arms. It feels so ... freeing. Light. Airy.<br />
<br />
Each box I take to the garage (for the eventual garage sale) is one less brick in the wall that holds us back from our next life, our next adventure. <br />
<br />
I can peek over the wall now, it the future looks GREAT!Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-18674620460975235122010-10-04T07:09:00.000-07:002010-10-11T07:30:07.952-07:00the office ... the booksRecent work has focused on the office. <br />
<br />
Started with books. My beloved books. I have about 8 boxes so far, with about 40-50 books in each. Fiction, nonfiction, research, gardening, language, business, creativity, crafts ... books I've loved or books that sparked my curiosity or growth. Plenty of boring books or those I never read. If I haven't wanted to read them in the last 15 years, what makes me think I ever will? So, I've packed them up in those many boxes and will take them to a used book store. I retained a few that remain interesting or useful, and will either keep or dispose of them later.<br />
<br />
<i>(I'm still reluctant to take them to sell them, however. I think losing the books will be ever so much harder than almost anything. Really ambivalent.)</i><br />
<br />
Then this morning, I tacked a couple of boxes from my former job. I volunteered for a layoff a few years ago after over 15 years of a successful career. I had kept evidence of my successes in my job - commendation notes, work product, awards, performance reviews. It was somewhat difficult to throw it away, but I'm not looking back. It was interesting - and felt good - to quickly review the very positive notes from many over 15 years. But it's just not where my head is at now. So, the trash truck will take it away today.<br />
<br />
This isn't a spur-of-the-moment mood. This has been building for several years, and we're now pulling the trigger to meet goals that will bring us way more real joy than what is heading for the landfill.Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515889481658269811.post-61606640834616612082010-10-04T06:58:00.000-07:002010-10-04T07:00:26.168-07:00Starting to eat the elephantHow do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.<br />
<br />
Huh? Well, some background:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicAyR4pxzicKZ1EBKlluU62Enl_fMHiG-D0eRxaof2HQOvl8leaM4V2IimsI4Mp8lhbU8YtvjjS5HpU9aMbTBYmcAUTIvvujgK0lZS7daFnnoUVMhMRrF0-NDtK2FNgZ87EU1WJC12uB8/s1600/IMG_1202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicAyR4pxzicKZ1EBKlluU62Enl_fMHiG-D0eRxaof2HQOvl8leaM4V2IimsI4Mp8lhbU8YtvjjS5HpU9aMbTBYmcAUTIvvujgK0lZS7daFnnoUVMhMRrF0-NDtK2FNgZ87EU1WJC12uB8/s200/IMG_1202.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>We are very comfortably settled in a lovely home we built just over five years ago, living near our grandchildren, with a yard and two dogs. We have a pond behind us and a garden and a hammock and just about everything we'd dreamed of. <br />
<br />
And stuff. Oh goodness we have stuff. We have doubles or triples of lots of our stuff. I have books I read and loved to keep just to ... have. I have boxes of information about old jobs. I have boxes of things I have been keeping for my daughter. I have shelves of art supplies. You get the picture. Plus, I have the stuff I received when I helped my mother break up housekeeping (she is now 90 and nearby in assisted living) and the stuff my husband received from his now-deceased parents. <br />
<br />
We (Bill and I, now almost 65 and 60) have been shifting our priorities, however, instead of the comfort of all this Stuff and the loveliness of the home around us. We want less. Well, we want less of the Stuff and more of Life. We want the feeling of being more connected to our values, including the ability to help others in other congregations or communities. Our Stuff is holding us back, limiting our ability to move easily.<br />
<br />
We have an elephant to 'eat' (our house/life to reduce, to empty then sell). So, we are cleaning out, clearing out, selling/ donating/ trashing Stuff, and preparing for a move. It's daunting, but we hope you will sit with us as we tell our story. And please leave a comment to touch us and let us know you're listening. With love.Nancy and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731986604539888620noreply@blogger.com0