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Twenty thousand pounds. Otherwise, known as ten tons. Or one rhinoceros plus eleven friends.
Apparently, we own a lot of Stuff. I've always described us as Big Furniture people but folks rarely understand my meaning. We have two armoires that require several people to lift. And our dining room table is made out of an unknown wood that is shockingly dense. That piece requires 4 guys. It's not that we own a lot of equipment or anything - our tv is 20 years old and only a 21 inch. I just like big, overstuffed chairs. And books.
So, our twenty thousand pounds traversed almost 1,300 miles to the new homestead. And it's taken us ten straight days to unpack. The mountain of paper that you see above ran 5 feet deep and that represents only half of the unpacking. Husband had the novel idea to smooth out each sheet, stacking them into large bundles and recycling. After an hour of unraveling the crinkled sheets, I threw in the towel...we hadn't even made a dent in the paper monster. So, we stuffed it all into bags and threw it into the garage. Twenty one bags later, I'm still parked on the street.
Husband and I don't quite know what to do with ourselves now that we are unpacked and getting settled. There is nothing to replace, nothing to upgrade. We bought two new beds and a lawn mower...but that's all that was needed. The house has good bones and a good facade. We love the colors both inside and out. The appliances are all new and the bathroom floors have radiant heat, a feature that is new to my California sensibilities. The kitchen even offers a pull-out drawer for my wet sponges, something that I have wanted for a long time.
But the best aspect is the space. In the Bay Area, everything was crammed into a closet or cupboard and that usually led to its being forgotten and unused.
Now, we have more than enough room for everything that we own. And there's room to stretch-out on the carpet without having to spreadeagle the corner of a bed. I like to walk through the house with my arms open wide to just feel the space. It's a huge mental release.
It's an amazing thing to realize that A) we have more than enough in our lives and we don't need more, and B) I no longer have to prove anything to anybody from a career standpoint. This entire experience has been incredible. I'm free.
