I am proceeding forward with plans to move to the mainland this summer. I think what many people don't realize is that moving on and off an island presents certain "challenges". You know, usually you either have couple of friends with trucks and then when it's over you give them beer and pizza. Or you have a couple of strangers with an even bigger truck and then when it's over you give them money. But either way you often have the ability to throw together bags of food, toiletries, clothes, or other last-minute miscellaneous small items and toss it into the back of your car and drive to your new home. Not an option here. Everything has to be boxed up, or in the case of furniture wrapped up, and then taken by truck to the barge. The barge charges by weight and transports it across the water (which takes a day or two) and then you have to pick it up on the other side, with - you guessed it - another truck. Why yes, as a matter of fact, it IS a big fat pain. Thank you for noticing.
With all that hassle, I'm doing my best to pare down my possessions as much as I can. It's not easy, I've been living here for almost 12 years and in the same apartment for 10 of those. I mean, seriously - I'm scared of my closets. There are things buried in there that haven't seen the light of day in a decade. But I'm working at it regularly and can honestly say that after many trips to the thrift shop, and many extra bags of trash hauled out, I'm making headway. I've got a ways to go still, but I know I'll get there!
I've also taken a hard look at my furniture and so much of it is secondhand (or third or fourth or....) and so beat up that it's just not worth keeping. I've only got a few pieces that will be making the trip back across the channel. That means I'll be a little light on furniture on the other side, probably for quite a while, but I don't mind.
So the few bits of furniture that are still in decent shape have found homes elsewhere. I offered a large teak table to a family member on the mainland, which meant wrapping it up for shipping:
(Cat included for scale.)
I donated several boxes of books to the library book sale:
Which helped free up space on this nice tall bookshelf:
(Cat included for scale)
(Cat included for scale)
Which is now taking up space in someone else's home.
As are these chairs:
Every time I drop off bags at the thrift shop, or see a piece of furniture go out the door, I feel just a little bit less stressed. When I start to feel overwhelmed - I grab a hefty bag and start throwing things away. Works every time.
As busy as I've been I don't watch very much television so it only made sense to save money by canceling my cable and (you see what's coming don't you?) sell the tv.
(Cat included for scale)
I was working steadily on all of this for a few weeks and then the folks at the Census came back around and offered me more work. Even though it doesn't last long, it's good money while it does so it made sense to dive in and let that take over my life. Things were going along quite well when I hit a little bump in the road:
Yeah, that. I'll spare you the photos of what was under the wrapping. Basically I just slipped on some sand or grit at the bottom of my stairs, fell down and went splat. I also discovered that a large plastic garbage can is not a bad landing place, much better than concrete. It's been a couple weeks and I'm getting around better but like so much else in my life, I've got a ways to go yet and I'm impatient to get there!
