declutter

5 Easy Ways to Reduce Packing Stress When Moving

While preparing to move for the first time in nearly 12 years I realized that there are many easy ways to cut down the mountain of possessions I own to a more manageable molehill. I figure the less I have to actually pack and move the less stress the process of moving will be.

The last time I moved I wasn’t prepared. I packed everything and anything I owned, including items I hadn’t used in years. This time, I’m moving from a 2 story house into a small 2 bedroom apartment. There’s no way I can bring everything with me so it’s time to declutter.

1. Ebay – Going room by room I’ve made a list of items I feel I could sell on ebay quickly and easily.

2. Craigslist – some items such as appliances, furniture, etc. are just too large to consider selling on ebay. These items and many others will be listed on craigslist. I think I’ll even list some items of clothing (suede jackets, pants, dresses, shoes, etc.) on craigslist as well. I’d rather purge the old than pack it and have it cluttering up the back of the closets at the apartment.

3. Freecycle – There are always a few items that you have around that you figure you’d rather just give away and get them out of the way rather than hope to make a few pennies from selling. Freecycle is a great resource to help keep items out of landfills. One man’s trash really is another man’s treasure sometimes.

4. Secondhand and consignment shops – I’ll be bringing cds, books, and household decor items to local secondhand shops. Many will buy your items outright or give you a store credit. Others will sell on consignment sending you money when your item sells.

5. Charity – Goodwill, Amity and other charities will often take your used clothing, furniture and household items to assist in their fund raising. Many times they’ll even come pick things up!

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Tempest in a Teapot

A couple of days ago I saw an absolutely incredible teapot on Etsy and shared the link with an online social group I’m involved in.

My friend Seana said, “Oh my god, Merlene likes teapots! Let’s all buy her teapots!”

She’d remembered a teapot story I’d told a couple of years ago.

Years ago when I was first setting up my home I splurged on a lovely artsy teapot I’d found in a local art shop. It was a gorgeous pottery pot with swirls of colour which really caught my eye. I fell in love with it as a piece of art more than as a fuctional teapot.

I mean, after all, anyone who knows me knows I don’t like tea.

My mother came for a visit and I enthusiastically showed her the teapot, knowing not what the result would be.

A couple of months later, for a Christmas gift, Mom sent me a teapot. This teapot was Mother Goose, the top of the pot being her head. Three weeks later I received a birthday gift from Mom, A big dog head teapot, the lid of this one was a hat on the dog’s head.

A few months later, Mother’s Day arrives. I received teapots from my Mother, my Mother-in-law who’s now convinced that I’m collecting teapots, and my husband.

For the next several years I received teapots for just about every gift giving occasion. I had pots that looked like Mrs. Potts’ from Beauty and the Beast, that looked like a chess set, like an antique sewing table, roosters, elephants, cats… dozens of teapots.

Another thing that you’d think anyone who knew me for more than 5 minutes would figure out is that I don’t like knickknacks, dust collectors, etc. I don’t have a china cabinet, curio cabinet or a display case of any sort.

The only thing I’ve ever voluntarily collected since I was a child was books. Yet here I was with dozens of teapots. Cutesy teapots. Cutesy teapots that were all rather pricey. Cutesy teapots which took up a LOT of shelf-space, cabinet space and required dusting.

I tried to drop hints (being the non-confrontational sort) that I might have enough teapots. Nope, still got more on every gift-giving occasion.

When I bought my house I had 5 boxes of just teapots!

So what happened to the teapots? Well a few years ago I had a house fire, I lost about 95% of the contents of my home including several of the teapots. But… 6 months later when I moved back into my newly rebuilt home… the restoration company arrived with boxes of my belongings that they were able to clean and salvage.

I opened the first box and there, on the very top, was the original teapot I’d bought, all those years ago. I dreaded opening another box. Turns out it was the only pot that survived.

I stressed to family that since I had to buy all new furniture, etc. I was going for a more minimalist sort of look. No more teapots. No knickknacks. No dust collectors.

So far. So good.