I have a spiral notebook with lists:  “To Do” lists for me and him and here and there, lists of who gets what, and what goes where, and which accounts have been notified of our new address, etc., etc., etc.

A load to take to Goodwill.

It’s been a huge job sorting through our possessions, asking family members if there were things they needed or wanted, and deciding what to keep and what we to sell.  In the beginning I sold the “niceties” – the unnecessary things:  a mirror, a bench, patio furniture and a china teacup collection.  We had some garage sales too.  It made me happy  to see many of my things go to new homes.  It’s mind-boggling to see the extent of what you have when you begin emptying every drawer, closet and cupboard; things saved through the years for just the right time and place.  Many things were emotionally difficult to part with and letting things go for a fraction of what they cost was the most difficult.  Having the cold hard cash in hand became a super motivator and soon I was addicted.  I rummaged through the house looking for what I could easily sell next!  Tables were sold out from underneath lamps and the lamps were placed on upturned boxes.  We were camping out in our home, but instead of feeling deprived I felt a weight lifted and a liberating sense of freedom. Shedding my possessions was helping me to achieve my dream.  We could’ve sold more, but in the end, we were out of time and now Goodwill will benefit from it.

I recently wrote about this being our 16^th move – into our little cottage – really, it’s just a mobile home.  It’s cute and compact, about 360 sf and it comes with weekly housekeeping!  One walks through the bathroom/closet en route to the bedroom!   Every surface is covered with piles: the mixed-up files of Mrs. Merrill A. Mixer.  In the stress and chaos I can’t remember where I’ve placed things and am continually searching for this or that.  This last month I have been buried in paperwork.   The goal is to be paperless, and it has felt like a never-ending task: closing accounts, signing up for auto-pay and paperless statements, remembering new online IDs and passwords, collecting documents for taxes, scanning documents and creating new digitized documents of important information.   And shredding, shredding, shredding.

We have to pare down even more.  Next week we leave Sacramento for 6 days in my daughter’s guest bedroom and when we depart it will be with one suitcase and one carry on each!