Tuesday, July 5, 2022

The Great Purge has Begun

I have big personal news. It may not seem like a big deal to some, but it is to me. I have flooring in my bedroom!!! After living in my new home for a year, I can finally start to move into my bedroom. Well, once the spare parts that we ordered to put together our bed frame arrive... We lost the necessary nuts and bolts sometime over the last year. Whatever! After waiting a year, I can wait another week or two.

It's a two-bedroom house so we've had our mattress on the floor in the extra room. It hasn't been too bad. But, I am so excited to finally unpack and put the house together. Eventually... Nothing happens overnight.

So the floor was installed this past Saturday. On Sunday, I felt inspired. Now that we have a floor, we have more room, and we can start shifting stuff around. This means I am one step closer to moving out of my storage unit. (You know, all the stuff I packed up in 2015 and then moved across state lines in 2018.)

But back to my inspiration on Sunday... 

While I have a bunch of stuff in boxes in a storage unit four hours away, I also have a bunch of stuff in boxes here. And on Sunday I went through all of my teaching materials. Twenty years of books and curriculum flashed before my eyes in four hours.

If you are a teacher, you know what I am talking about. You just don't get rid of your teaching materials. You hang on to it all. Tightly. It takes decades to build your inventory of resources. Plus, they don't make stuff like they used to. And all that time and money you've invested into your collection? Well, there are many reasons why every teacher's garage is overflowing with boxes.

But I'm not going to teach anymore. I am not going to work in pediatric healthcare either. And we all know I am not having kids. As of this past Sunday, I could start to get rid of all of my kid stuff. 

So I did.

And it felt great!

Some of it was trash, but most of it was in good condition. I set aside a box of stuff for my boyfriend's sister who has two little kids. I packed three boxes for my friend who just started her career in education. And I packed five boxes full of donations. And wouldn't you know it?? I went to the shipping store today to mail the four boxes I packed for friends and there, on the front door, was a sign advertising a homeschool curriculum swap in a couple of weeks. Perfect!! Now I know where my donation boxes are going.

Beautiful timing. All of it.

I kept some stuff, of course. I couldn't get rid of ALL of it. I have a box of resources and a couple of boxes of kids books. ;) Maybe in another year I will pass that stuff along too. Maybe I won't.

And there's more in storage. Ohhh there's more. So. Many. Kids Books. But at the very least, I can take those to the library for donation. Or the local elementary schools. New teachers always need books. I will find homes for all of the good stuff. 

The great purge has begun!


Here's somewhat of a throwback that my fellow Gen Xers will appreciate! 
Um, yes, I kept this for myself. ;)


And here's a picture of my new floor! A clean slate for my new life in my new home!! (When you've moved as much as I have throughout life, a year in a new place is still considered new.)


6 comments:

  1. Oooooh, ahhhhhh, that floor is beautiful! And yay for purging. Especially when it doesn't feel like ripping layers off your heart to do it. I am trying to consolidate my teaching stuff, in part because I move classrooms pretty much every year (last year was the first year I didn't, which was delightful). Also, when I started teaching I was in elementary, which was so not my thing, and so I have a lot of earlier childhood stuff that I know I will not need. Anything middle schoolish/secondary is fair game, but the early stuff I've been slowly giving away. It's nice to be at a point where I know where I want to be and that's where I am! I've been giving away my books, too. There's really no need to hang on to kids books I will never need. I have given some to friends, and then to different organizations -- women's shelters are good, as are other nonprofits that help low income families and refugees (we are a refugee center area). Schools in low income areas are good too, because often they don't have as many resources and the teachers buy much of the supplies.

    Enjoy your beautiful new bedroom, and emptying out that storage unit! That must feel like an unloading of weight. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well... The storage unit is still storing stuff four hours away... I will definitely post about that when I move out! It will be a big day in my life. Right now I'm working on making room for storage unit stuff lol.

      Yes! It feels so good to purge stuff when it doesn't rip your heart out. It feels SO GOOD to know what I want to do job-wise and to be able to pass along items from my decades-long curated collection. I wrote that I'm donating five boxes of stuff, but I found sixth box yesterday. With the four boxes I mailed and three boxes of trash, that is 13 boxes I will no longer be storing!! Even better, the good stuff will be used.

      Thanks for the compliment on the floor!! It's Pergo. I was looking at vinyl planking, but the Pergo was so much more affordable. I have two more big house projects for the summer and then I will chill for another winter season before doing more improvements. My budget is wiped out, but I am so grateful to have a home. <3

      Delete
  2. The floor is lovely! Hope you'll show the finished bedroom. I expect there will be a stunning quilt on the bed too. Cleaning up and getting rid of stuff is always therapeutic. I have been resting on my laurels from some sorting and discarding I did a few weeks ago. I need to get back to it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you!! It still looks the same as we are waiting for the hardware to come in the mail so we can put the bed together haha. Of course! Why didn't I think of a quilt?? I'm working on one now that might be perfect...

      When it rains, it pours... But this time it's in a good way! I've got my new floor, I'm cleaning out boxes, and, the best news, I got a job!!! :) I'm pausing for a moment to enjoy the goodness.

      Delete
    2. Oh wow - that's excellent news! Congratulations on your new job <3.

      And well done with the thirteen boxes! It feels good, doesn't it :-).

      Happy for your new floor as well. Enjoy!

      Delete
    3. Thank you Elaine! What a year, what a decade, what a life!!

      I'm looking forward to giving away the school stuff at the curriculum swap! It's better that all of the stuff be used rather than sit around in boxes.

      Delete