She's ok now, I'm a wreck though. Going to go lie down now...

*huggles* I hope you feel better soon <3

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Better! Not 100% but well enough to get back at it. I think we'll sort this stuff out into piles of really-good-should-be-sold and can-go-to-the-thrift-store-right-away. Maybe if there is a bit of space cleared up I won't feel so swamped.

coco,

Food poisoning? Hope you are all better now. Take it easy with the packing and stuff; I know you are on a timetable, but it's winter and you are supposed to be in dormition

I could easily hibernate the winter away, I find it very difficult to be active this year. Too cold for yoga or anything else but snuggling under covers with babies and watching videos. Brr...
But I have to clear out some stuff so I feel able to use this house properly, the kitchen and dining area are extremely uninviting and we've been eating too much restaurant food. Hence the food poisoning which is what I'm sure it was since I'm fine today. Not nice.

We're going out for lunch right now though, I can't work in here today. Too messy, stuff everywhere. Will come back and tackle it after we've had some soup and salad. At least it's sunny out!

Im glad to hear you're feeling better

On another note, You would be surprised what kinda stuff people buy at garage sales... so unless you want to donate it to thrift stores that support a specific charity, id suggest garage saling all of it, then donate whats left... often its the smaller cheaper things too that REALLY build up the bucks, people will buy tons of little cheap things, where as they may be less likely to buy a more expensive single item...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I listed some stuff on Kijiji today and already have sold a bookshelf and a desk/vanity dresser, have a promise to return for a bed frame, have another bed frame and mattress we are giving away, have several offers for two dressers and another bookshelf. Oh, and a potato/onion bin as well. That was fast. Still no takers for the two cell phones though.

That's a lot of furniture to unload in only half a day, I'm fairly impressed with that Kijiji. Maybe I'll list our books, clothes, kitchen stuff and crafting supplies on there too. It's a bit of work to take pics and write all the ads but hey, money in my pocket and stuff out the door!

Right on!

Making good progress with Teh Stuff. We've sorted out enough of it that I could actually sew something the other day, it was so fun, I've missed it. I made a monster out of scraps that I'd saved up (because I don't like to throw out anything apparently). So it was good to use them up, to make something fun out of what was essentially garbage, and to get a little crafty creativity happening with the kids.

[www.craftster.org]

You buy all this stuff to own, but sooner or later the stuff ends up owning you.

George Carlin On "Stuff"

[www.youtube.com]

I transformed an enormous amount of "stuff" into a useful object that we needed one of. It was a serious labour of love, took days and lots of effort but I think it was worth it.
It's impossible to not have any stuff at all but I can at least minimize it and make sure the stuff we do have is useful and much loved.

[www.craftster.org]

I donated a very large amount of crafting stuff to other crafters and a pile of things I had set aside for a yard sale to a family that lost everything in a fire too. Things are clearing out nicely.
I bought camping gear though, add that to the list of things we have. I don't mind so much if we're trading in an entire apartment in exchange for that camping gear though, which we are. For a while anyhow. When we start over it will be with way less space.

So I've been away for a month living in a tent (ok, after the first 2 weeks of insane storms, rain, lightening blowing up a tree only a few yards away from where I was sleeping ~ YIKES! I moved into a dorm but still) without much stuff at all and now I've gotten home to a flat full of belongings and I can't help but wonder what in the world I'm doing with all of it. After having gotten rid of SO much stuff I am still mired in a mountain of it! What is all this junk? ACK!
Granted a fair bit of it is kid toys and clothes (way too many of both) but the rest is just stuff, stuff, stuff. Pretty, pretty stuff. It's all outta here. There is so much happiness to be had once you've lightened your life.

Where is the stuff, pretty and otherwise, going, coco? I have been procrastinating about taking the last of the garbage stuff me brother helped clean out of the basement recently to the municipal refuse and recycling center: what if they don't have a bin to responsibly dispose of a, b, or c? I have cell phones from the 90s and old metal and nylon furnace filters from the 80s--I can't throw these into a refuse dumpster, I can't, I can't, I CAN'T!

The anxiety is stressing me!

Call your local depot Tam, they will tell you what should go where. As for all our pretty, pretty stuff it is getting donated to the thrift store or sold or given away. My mom is taking 2 pieces of gorgeous antique wood furniture and our bed. Things I thought I'd keep I find myself no longer wanting. Really, the more I do away with, the less I want to save. Even the artsy junk on the walls, the kids make so many drawings to decorate with, what do I need this prefab stuff for? Outta here.
There is a lot of handmadery that can't be shipped off and will have to go into storage but they are useful items that make all 3 of us happy to have around so that's alright.

Best Trick: if it reminds me even slightly of something or someone I don't care to think about, no matter how much I love it ~ out it goes! These things are soaked in memories and not all of them are nice. Buh-bye to that at the same time .

This reminds me of funny routine by George Carlin on stuff. Here's a youtube link:

Stuff: [www.youtube.com]

Love Carlin. Used to have a cassette with a routine on it about finding something in the fridge and not being able to identify it "Is it meat, or is it cake? Mmm, meat cake!" LOL
Same tape had the "Fine? Hair is fine!" routine on it. That man could leave me in stitches is less than 20 minutes. Funny, funny guy.

Yea that Carlin routeen on "stuff" is great.
I think we hang on to stuff because it gives us some sense of grounding or comfort.

Vinny

I feel quite the opposite about "stuff", it binds me in a way I do not enjoy >.

Today has been a good day, I'm ditching clothes, toys, books etc left and right. I may have found a taker for the apartment too, she might even want some of this furniture, woot! My mind is still fighting to hold onto the antiques but really, they are large and burdensome and would require storage and eventual retrieval which might mean shipping. Silly to hold on to them, yes? I need to loosen my grip and just let go... It's hard though, two large wooden pieces and 3 beautiful carved wooden chairs in particular. Sigh. The desire to keep them is strong.

i love george carlin <3

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

The pile of stuff to donate has reached gargantuan proportions at this point. It's really just beyond ridiculous now. I'm still not finished either, I intend to keep only a small amount of belongings in storage and there is more than a small amount unsorted at this point. Every single corner, nook and cranny, I find more More MORE things. It's pure madness. How we live, it's complete insanity.

I know you guys aren't anywhere near me but here are some items I just listed for sale on Kijiji, just so you can see how serious I really am .

[www.flickr.com]

Before we moved here I had a big yard sale and also sent about 5 truck loads of furniture, clothing and stuff to the thrift store PLUS there was a tornado that knocked out the power and flooded our basement ruining tons of stuff. After moving here a couple more loads of stuff got donated and given away. Seriously, I can't for the life of me understand where it all comes from or how I managed to store it in our home and still have room for us! It's not like our place looked packed to the rafters with things either! I think we must just get so used to being surrounded by things that it feels natural and maybe even cozy to us. Illuminating...

Oh my gosh, never mind. I've had to take down half the pictures already! Guess I saved the best stuff for last, it's all selling so fast!

I've been locked in the house for the past few days sewing sewing sewing, transforming all my fabric and supplies into stock for a craft show and also finally dealing with the overflowing bin of clothes set aside to mend and alter. I finished 4 pairs of pants, 7 skirts, a sheet set, 8 shirts, 11 dresses, a jacket, 5 kid outfits, and I made 3 skirts from scratch, whew. I'm not finished yet though, there are still 3 skirts, 2 dresses, a pair of pants, 3 bras, a slip, a sweater, a shirt and another kid outfit to fix/finish making.

So much for culling my wardrobe. I now have more clothing items than ever before and it's ALL gorgeous stuff that I really love :/. What to do? Sigh.

Keep it all!!!

I love stuff - the more the better! This notion of living with nothing/simple life is too boring for my tastes.

I am totally the opposite. Less stuff = freedom and joy for me, I dislike clutter and junk everywhere. Open, empty space, simplicity, non-consumption, frugality.

I'm doing pretty good here, have pared down the "stuff" to not much at all but I'd like to repack one more time and take out all the extra stuff I'm sure to find. We're off to the cottage soon though, this can all wait until later, it's not going anywhere.

Half of our remaining stuff made it over to a storage locker yesterday and the rest will go this week. It's amazing how everything the 3 of us owns will fit into a 5X8X10" space with room to spare. And yet, I still feel like it's too much stuff! There were things I hemmed and hawed about but packed up anyhow thinking "Well, I can always get rid of this later on." I think I might be able to half what's left and fit it all into a 5X5X10 space. Can you believe that's our life? Wow. Feels very free, though some time in my life I really would like to try living with just a suitcase of belongings and that's all. Travel would be a fun thing to do when I'm older. Just pack your case and go...

coconuts, this one's for you(but hope everyone else enjoys it, too!):

[www.youtube.com]

Good grief, could he be any cuter? Sheesh, my eyeballs hurt after that show. Thanks Tam <3

I guess I just don't get this whole concept. Where is the joy in living as a pauper?

I came from very poor parents & I am now successful, wealthy & happy. Would I go back to living that way? Not on your life.