Giving Away the Farm - At Least the Stuff on the Farm

Hello, Kit here.  The countdown is now at 6 days.  It is Sunday night and and Kat and I are winding down after a dizzying weekend of accomplishments.  It is amazing to me how much a couple can collect during 27 years of marriage and how much work it is to get rid of it.

Tomorrow, we are closing on the selling of our stick built house and will be moving out at this coming weekend.  The weather finally cooperated.  The last few weekends were complete washouts, so we could not get to clearing out the back yard, which so desperately needed it.  It would have been preferable to work on that over a few weekends, but it wasn't meant to be.  So, we are now up against the deadline, but that seems to be when we get truly motivated and get the work done.  Even if it meant working 18 hour days to get it done.  We also had to get the 2 cats to the airport Saturday morning for their flight to Seattle.  So, here is how or weekend went:

Saturday

• Took the cats to the airport to fly to our daughter and husband in Seattle
• 2 truckloads to Goodwill
• Emptied food storage.  We had a full walk-in pantry.  Tossing anything close to out of date and distributing the other to charity.  This was a 4 hour chore.
• Completely emptied the kitchen cabinets

Sunday

• Cleared backyard (we formerly had chickens and rabbits and associated equipment) -5 hours

We still had a considerable amount of useful stuff to get rid of.  Kat put a "free" add on Facebook and Craigslist.  The response was overwhelming.  In a few hours we gave away:

• A worn, but comfortable couch (it only weighed about 4 million pounds)
• A microwave and cart
• 5 full tubs of books
• Book shelves
• Gas grill
• Dishes, coat racks, pots and pans
• Clothes, sheets and other miscellaneous items

I have to be honest, when Kat gets going and in the mode, I cannot keep up with her.  She puts it in another gear and leaves me in the dust.  She does a good job of keeping me on track as I tend to get distracted.

So, now it is after 10 PM on Sunday.  I am using this time to write down my thoughts and wind down.  We still have too much to do, but at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The tunnel to new adventures, that is.  It is going to be such a relief to shake of the burden of our house and all of the stuff that has held us down.

It is interesting that when we talk to people and tell them why we are getting rid of everything, they do not think we are crazy.  People are taking notice and it is getting their wheels spinning.  Could it be that we are spawning a new revolution?  We may be bringing a barrage of new explorers in our coat tails.  I think that would be fine.  I am of the opinion that our possessions weigh us down and prevent us from really enjoying life.

Last night, after working all day and into the evening, Kat and I took 45 minutes to walk the dogs in the neighborhood and watched some of our neighbors toiling and working on their immaculate lawns and gardens .  We discussed how we spend 40 hours a week working to pay our mortgage, car note, cable, utilities, smart phones, etc. and then dedicate our weekends to prettying up our yards, several hours a week cleaning the inside of our homes and hope to catch a few moments of time for ourselves.  That was us, too.

We are about to move out of that cycle into a new cycle of attempting to enjoy each day first, even if it means having less material items.  But, the path to get there is not easy, as we have found.

Thanks for taking a few moments to read my rambling.

Until next time - Kit