Purging

One of the good things about moving is that it's an opportunity to go through your stuff and get rids of things. Or so they tell me. Obviously "they" have not moved that often. And "they" have no idea how it feels to own a dozen pair of boots, each one a little different and appropriate for a different outfit. I mean look at the picture. How hard do you think it is to part with boots like that?

So it's hard, but it makes sense to try to minimize how much we bring. My weakness is the closet; I have clothes that have been with me longer than either of my children. How can I get rid of them!! But the fact is, the weather is different in Southern California. I don't need winter suits, coats or boots. So I sorted through my clothes and put all those together in one place. I invited my girlfriends over to go through them, and some of them went home with new things for their closets! I like it when that happens. The remaining pieces will go to St. John's Shelter for Women.

Old furniture also should not move. Especially old furniture that's been scratched by cats over the past several years. The problem with that, though, is that nobody really wants furniture with kitty damage. We arranged for a truck from a local charity to come by and pick up some big pieces. We dragged them out to our driveway in the morning. On our way home, I was very excited, looking forward to seeing an empty driveway. That was not to be. Of the eight pieces of furniture we left out, they took two. Our neighbor came by and took one more. We took smaller pieces back into the house, but now, we have two couches outside our house, I am sure our neighbors are thrilled with us! But we do intend for them to go away, and it doesn't make sense to drag them through the house again.

I am actually scared to look in the garage. What are we going to do with that stuff???