One Step Foward, Ten Steps Backwards, One Step Forward

I have been absent from blog world for 3 weeks. Many things have been happening at Reclaiming The Empty Nest.

First: My youngest daughter got a job in another town, sooooo we have been busy finding her a place to live, getting her moved, and setting up her apartment. I must say it looks great! We have many DIY projects and I will do another post about that. BTW she loves, loves, loves her new job and being back in the town with all her friends. I can hear so much happiness in her voice and that is the most precious sound for a mother. That was one step forward.

Second: We rented Mom's house (which is a guest house in our back yard). We have been renting it furnished. It is filled with Mom's and my mother in law's stuff that up until now we have not had to deal with making decisions about what to do with it. We rented it to someone who has her own things and really didn't need anything but a few pieces of furniture. So if my garage and house weren't already in dire straits, they certainly are now. I love my new neighbor, she is the mother to my next door neighbor and we continue to bless others the way we were able to bless our mothers. This is happening while I have my bedroom tore up for redecorating.

Now I have all this STUFF. It certainly is a treasure trove of antiques and collectibles, but also memories. I really feel like I'm living "Hoarders Buried Alive". But this will make me deal with these things that I have putting off for 3-4 years. Add this to all the STUFF that the girls have dumped at my house and I truly have an empty nest that needs to be reclaimed.

Third: Now I start to deal with all of this. This is my plan:
1. Every night I try to keep my house picked up.
2. Deal with garbage emails. I have already started unsubscribing from a lot of junk email.
3. Set aside a box for Habitat for Humanity donations. Put one thing in that box each day and drop off weekly.
4. List something for sale first on the local swap shops on facebook. If it doesn't sale in 7 days, then list on ebay or put in Habitat box.
5. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING NEW!!!!!!!!!!! Enough said.
6. Go through one box at a time. Luckily it is in the garage and I can bring one in at a time and completely go through everything and deal with it.

This is one step forward. I'm too embarrassed to post any before pictures, but I will keep you updated as I go down this road.