An abundance of stuff

The thought of moving yet again is like a huge steel trap eating at my brain. Sure we'll have movers. Sure we'll have it all paid for. But it's us who has to deal with the sorting of it. We have amassed a hell of a lot of stuff in our three years in this house, like a 1930 Godin poêle that we love and want to put in the house one day (it weighs about 400 pounds) the heart of pine guest bed set I bought from Bea before she moved, and a barbecue grill made in Germany that will kick ass if only I can get around to ordering the the seal that connects the tube to the gas bottle. A lot of stuff you wouldn't necessarily want to move to Mexico but that you wouldn't want to sell just yet.

We spent the weekend going through the list of everything we own, which does not include the things in the cellar by the way, and we took care of a grand total of five things on the list. This is barely a scratch nay a ping in what we own! The house will be rented and perhaps we can garner a small storage room downstairs and keep the key to it because in our house we have a lot of storage rooms. But the last time I put anything down in those rooms, which happened to be clothes, they came out tie-dyed in mold. Seb just kind of snickered and said "guess you'll be forced to get rid of some clothes now, huh!" because it is a well known fact that I am a clothes horse. If the clothes looked like that I can only imagine the fate of books or electronics or appliances. Apparently the company will give us a small paid storage space for three years in France and then what is left is to go in the crate which will move us. The crate is pretty limited in size, considering it is predetermined for a TYPICAL French family of three. Ikes, we are not a typical family in that respect. We have become hoarders of junk (treasures!) since renovating our house. So yes we have to get rid of a large percentage of our things.

This weekend we took a fridge, a tv, another Godin (not the really pretty one) and a washing machine to the Troc where you can sell your things as long as you give them 38 percent of the profit. The prices they put on the stuff had our mouths gaping open. We will make 20 euros on a Thomson TV we bought four years ago. Umm, okay. The fridge, bought for the Lyon apartment is only six months old but we are forced to sell it for 200 euros. Unfortunately we have no choice. It all has to go in the next six months. France does not "do" garage sales. We do not really have the time to advertise and word of mouth will take too long.

In 1998 I did this very same thing. I sold the majority of my possessions. Even though today I sometimes cringe when I think about it, a 1920's armoire for 80 dollars, it was actually a good feeling not to be burdened with things. I liked the new me, light and portable and ready to go from the USA to France with just two suitcases and backpack. It felt like I was cleansed of all of the stuff that weighed me down. I have to admit that I like the idea that as a couple we will experience that same feeling. It's just the getting there that's hard. I remember that last time and I am experiencing it today. But today I have a lot more stuff than I did nearly 10 years ago so it's even harder. Besides this there is Little S and toddlers come with a lot of accessories!