There is a difference, you know.
I used to think I had to have a lot of stuff...favorite dishes, (I had more than seven sets at one point in time, you know...) a dozen coats, winter bed sheets, summer bedding, more pairs of high heels than I care to admit here....I could go on and on. Now, with my move underway to a more...um...shall we say...compact...or...cozy home size, I have had to face the reality that there simply isn't room for an over abundance of certain items.
Yesterday was the day that I had that rather harsh "aha moment" about my reality.
And...it wasn't pretty.
At first I thought I'd just find a way to organize it all...in the garage, or under the bed..someplace. But, if the garage was full of my over-flow of treasures there would be no room to paint furniture..and my livelyhood partially depends on that, so...that was that. I needed to pare it all down.
I had myself a wee-little-pity-party-melt-down right there in the empty diningroom of my new place, and I hope my new neighbors didn't hear me sniffling and sobbing and asking God what I was supposed to be learning here. It didn't help matters any that my day was off to a not-so-great-start by having a really bad hair day and wearing my jeans that make me feel like like the Goodyear Blimp...(Hey, when I have a pity party I can really get on a roll, in case you didn't know that.)
Once that was out of the way, I knew what had to be done. It's a new adventure, after all. A challenge. An opportunity to bloom where I am planted. Again.
Storage space is at a premium in the new place, and that is especially true in the kitchen. There is simply no place to store things like a chocolate fountain, a fondue pot, an extra ten or so pots and pans, seventeen old dictionaries, or 24 champagne flutes. I've had to scrutinize what items I really need to have verses the stuff I want to have.
One thing I am learning very quickly is that, if I'm creative and clever, (And I am.....) I can do more with less. I can do with the essentials in my kitchen for everyday, and store my champagne glasses in a moving box in the garage, on a shelf for easy access when needed for that only once in a year Easter Brunch I will want them for, if I cannot bear to donate them. I can cook up just about anything with my three favorite pots and pans and my electric griddle...(I just sold the extra pots and pans on Craigslist yesterday) I just need to think outside of the box, and remember that it's only stuff.
I am realizing that there are actually far less gotta have's than I once would have thought, in order for me to feel like a place is...home. Still, it is hard to decide what treasures get to stay and which little gems will need to find their way into my booth space at Camas Antiques, or go to one of my daughters homes. Little by little I am figuring it all out.
It's funny, I never really knew that all I really needed was a big yellow dog, some scented candles, family pictures, and one set of really crisp white bedsheets to make my place look, smell, and feel like home....but...then again, maybe I did know this all along. It just took moving to a smaller space to remind me.
