So how do you divide up almost 40 years of memories and crap?

The reason I started this new blog is to share all the upcoming changes we are going to be making in order to downsize.  We need to get down to a decent size travel trailer here in MI for the summer months. We would also have another smaller trailer to travel with to investigate the country and figure out where we want to make our winter home.  Did I mention we have a 3 story house with 2 bedrooms, play room, sun room, craft room, studio, office, work room, living, kitchen, dining and 3 bathrooms, in addition to 3 rooms lined with shelves in the basement.  They are all stuffed to the rafters.  Yes we are collectors, clutterbugs, and hoarders!  It is all the dang good deals and treasures we find along the way.  We are such suckers for a good deal!

The major start to seperating ourselves from some of this stuff starts after Christmas.  But during Christmas we will be seperating out the decorations and goodies we have collected over 36++ years together!  I am trying to figure out how to do this fair and square, but that has bit me in the butt over the years.  Of course the kids will get their own personal ornaments I have.  Then there is the nativity, kneeling Santa, large Santa, etc. etc.  So I think I am going with a dot program.  Each of our adult kids will get a color and they can mark the items they would like.  That's the easy part, figuring out who gets to pick first is the sticky part.  Heather can only go first so often because she is the oldest.  The two girls could come to blows over some of this, Todd the martyr might finally speak up and say ENOUGH!  Who know's, I certainly don't want hard feelings, but how do you split up memories?  If you have suggestions I am here waiting to hear them!

Now I am a keeper of everything, I can't even begin to tell you all the craft crap I have and have kept FOREVER!  That is going to be a hard one to seperate myself from.  I know I can't have 5 years of yarn supplies, enough fabric to cover an entire house if sewn together,  Art markers from 20 years ago (yes they still work).  I think I will keep my small watercolor stuff, all my crochet hooks, my sewing machine.  I will have to instill the buy what you need, make and get rid of the leftover rule.  It will be hard, but you gotta do what you gotta do to fit 20lbs of crafts in a 2lb cupboard you have allowed yourself in a small trailer.

Then we get to the sentimental, family hand-me-downs!  We have had two large auctions in our lifetime.  We have sold most everything, but not the sentimental, family memory stuff.  This time will be hard even if it is just seperating it out to the children!

Here are photos from the last time we unloaded before we moved here.  The first time was in Vermontville 30 years ago!  Other than the actual hauling out all the stuff, it is pretty easy and it goes away, and somebody hands you a check whens it is done.  We will probably sell a lot of stuff before we get to this point.  But it is a way to get rid of Everything all at once and not drag it on forever!!

So for now I just walk through a room, and figure out what I keep and what goes.  Nothing much in the keep list other than wonderful memories and photos!

Dilly