There is one.....and I've reached it. And when I reach these epiphanies in life...like realizing we are maxed out with crap.....I get really frustrated, and then get a little depressed and really overwhelmed, and then move on to realize the only remedy is actually doing something about it. Somewhere along the lines of labor.....it's gonna get worse before it gets better....but when it gets better it's a whole lot better. So, the remedy...selling absolutely everything we own. How 12 people can acquire so much crap in 12 months worth of time is absolutely crazy to me. I did this same thing a mere 12 months ago. And I remember stating 12 months ago we were selling out and we'd all be sleeping on sleeping bags by the end of it. But I have once again made the decision that we're selling everything to our name....and then some. And after we sell off our excess then we're moving on to all of the other crap laying around this town that nobody bothers to pick up. And then we're going to pay off the remaining 12,000.00 worth of debt that we have with the profit we make off of all this stuff....and justy to clarify here....that's not the word coming to mind at the current moment. And because we will only own 2 outfits each and will be sleeping on sleeping bags, life will be simple and easy. Really....I could care less if anybody really had any clothes. It'd save thousands a year on water, detergent, and time...going in circles picking crap up that everybody seems to think the little fairy maid is going to pick up instead. And given the fact that we are in the worst drought to hit Texas in a thousand years, water is rationed, we have to divide the family into groups to bathe, can only do laundry during daylight hours, no water is allowed on any vegetation at all, there is no water play by children allowed, and the highs are consistently 110 with blast furnace winds, we would all really do quite well to run around naked all day. We'd certainly stay cooler and we'd all be doing our part in world preservation of the water system...or lack thereof. In fact, I've decided that really all a person in life needs is food, a good sponge, some cleaning gloves, and some Clorox. Everything else is just a luxury. Seeing as how 3 year old little boys pee with the girl commode lid down and their attention span to focus on hitting the toilet water is about .02 seconds the sponge and Clorox are a must, lest we all contract malaria and die. In fact, Clorox proves to do so well in cleaning this problem up that not only will it clean the pee but also remove the cemented colleche fingerprints everywhere and then move on to also remove all the paint so that you are 100% assured you got every darn thing clean. And once the paint, finish on the wood floors and everything else is expertly dissolved by bleach it is quite logical to assume all germs went with it.
Is it even remotely reasonable to own 15 bottles of lotions, 32 pair of scissors, 98 different bottles of Tylenol and Mucinex...but then I remedied that within the last week and downed all but about 2 since I have a sinus infection that turned into an ear infection and then bronchitis again. Fun. 981 strands of different kinds of Christmas lights???? 4 wreaths when we only have 2 doors??? A 12 foot tree when our ceiling is only 7???? Admittedly, for 2 years we did have that very tree cheerily lit, sporting a flat top within our living room. And WHY do we have 31 electrical adapters to crap that was trashed long ago...or better yet...up in the attic in a box that's never been unpacked in the 5 years we've lived here???? And walkie talkie chargers when all the walkie talkies have long since been washing machined???? And the sewing table I've never even used and the mini frig that we can't even remotely fit .078493627 of our grocery shopping trip into????? Dressers that have long since been sitting empty.....or even worse....full of yet more crap....since we transitioned to the everybody closet???? There is seriously just stuff every crappin where. And I can't think. It's mental chaos of the clutter attack. I think we've become hoarders. I have come to the realization that our house lives and breathes. It has recently contracted a stomach virus, puked up and crapped out the contents of every hidden corner, drawer, closet and cabinet and then left it. Ten younger people then came along and expertly kicked it, crawled it, fumbled it and mouthed it to ensure that it was spread equivocally throughout.
So, I have taken a breather, regained my composure and have once again come to the conclusion that we're selling everything we ever owned, currently own, or have ever thought about owning. We're selling the house and dumping that debt, selling off everything in it and paying off the remaining debt and are moving into a Class A motorhome. On 96's we will travel the country from one end to the other and make memories with each other......and not memories with all the crap that burdened us down. We have each other and therein lies any and all sentimental attachment one ever needs in life. The paper I drew when I was 5 does nothing to enrich my life now and the card I gave my mom for Mother's day 31 years ago is doing nothing to make me a better person right now....so WHY is it in a file in our attic taking up space?????
Seriously though....how do people ever get anything accomplished in life when there's just so much excess...everywhere???? It's crazy insanity. What family...no matter how big they are....living in Texas needs 31, 793 blankets...crocheted, store bought, old comforters and every other kind??? And the 599 pair of old jeans I'm saving to make that denim pocket quilt I've always dreamt of for the boys room???? Yeah, well.....they'll go through another 599 of them before I ever get around to it.
In my overwhelmed with crap state I began to clean...and not just a little. We're having a yard sale and I have adopted the approach that if our house burned down and we had to start over...what would I buy? If it's not something I'd buy then it's going in the yard sale. If we have more than one of anything...all duplicates are hitting the yard. And by the end of it I will be left with my children, their die cast car collection and 12 sleeping bags....and our life will be simplified. You know....the Amish have seriously got life down in some amazing ways. Simplicity is one of them.
And if Brad and I have it our way we're going to live in that RV, tour the country with children in tow and show them life beyond the box. Fueling the beast will be our "house payment". We'll be debt free in an RV and give a new meaning to freedom. No bills but a cell phone and no watching our favorite trees dying before our eyes that we're not even allowed to revive. Although amazing husband has broken the rule and continues to sneak water out to sweet tiny baby's red oak tree. And when it comes time to have a baby again I'll stick a birth pool somewhere up in a lush, green, flowery field in the mountains of Montana where the birds actually sing and are not croaking out a heat stroke induced death chirp. Our children will play in mountain streams while I push out a baby and then we'll get back in and hit the road once more...freedom from debt and material crap fueling our love for life.
But, in the meantime....until we deal with the mountains upon mountains of crap we have acquired and turn crap into cash...I tend to get more than a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of material chaos around me. And when I get a little irritated with life it usually has a less than favorable outlet...and something suffers a little....which brings me to the topic at hand.
Being extremely tired of the house continually needing 2,102 little odd things fixed within it I finally had my fill. So, I chose the most therapeutic thing I could think of, marched my butt out to tool loving husband's shop, found a crow bar, a hammer, and a sturdy type of chisel looking tool, grabbed a small bathroom trash can...not exactly sure what I was thinking on that one.....and promptly set to work on the bathroom wall that fell out 2 yrs ago. We continued to use this tub for yet another year and a half...much to my chagrin....and the wetter it got the more chunks that fell out. When the pipes under the house broke in the freeze a significant amount of damage was done to the hot water line to that particular tub....so we ceased use of it altogether until the funds were made available to fix the water line in whole. Soooo....this tub has been out of commission since the freeze....but the wall's been falling out for 2+ years. And it beckoned to me. ..quite literally. The drier the walls became with no water use within the tub the more little chunks clinked out as we went throughout our days.
This seemed a rather perfect project for my easily overwhelmed with crap self needing a therapeutic outlet. With shift husband away at work, two older children away in town, older girl busied with school on computer, 4 boys at in-laws and the two and under crowd sleeping I began the demo phase of the bathroom. Let us just clarify here that if one is prone to severe allergies..as in, off the charts, quite literally.....axing, hammering and beating the crap out of a wall that houses 30 years worth of mold, dust, and mildew is probably not the wisest life choice one can ever make. Before long my little project begun in secret was not so much of a secret at all as I called working husband, struggling to breathe and in need of an epi shot. He was a little agitated, as one would only expect when their wife goes secretly hammering out an entire bathroom wall, but, much to his credit, his concern for my well being overtook the frustration he felt with no longer having a shower wall...or 3. From there older children returned home and overtook the project I was banned from finishing. Day 2 into the project I did the forbidden and set to work on it yet again, despite having been banned from it all. Yet again, I ended up in a bind, yet another round of epi...this time through inhaler....and my bathroom expeditions ended. From day 3 onward two older children found it quite therapeutic to finish what I had so lovingly begun.
3 weeks ago when they could swim...before they banned even that part of water usage. I really, really, really miss the rain.
Seriously sleepy
Is it even remotely reasonable to own 15 bottles of lotions, 32 pair of scissors, 98 different bottles of Tylenol and Mucinex...but then I remedied that within the last week and downed all but about 2 since I have a sinus infection that turned into an ear infection and then bronchitis again. Fun. 981 strands of different kinds of Christmas lights???? 4 wreaths when we only have 2 doors??? A 12 foot tree when our ceiling is only 7???? Admittedly, for 2 years we did have that very tree cheerily lit, sporting a flat top within our living room. And WHY do we have 31 electrical adapters to crap that was trashed long ago...or better yet...up in the attic in a box that's never been unpacked in the 5 years we've lived here???? And walkie talkie chargers when all the walkie talkies have long since been washing machined???? And the sewing table I've never even used and the mini frig that we can't even remotely fit .078493627 of our grocery shopping trip into????? Dressers that have long since been sitting empty.....or even worse....full of yet more crap....since we transitioned to the everybody closet???? There is seriously just stuff every crappin where. And I can't think. It's mental chaos of the clutter attack. I think we've become hoarders. I have come to the realization that our house lives and breathes. It has recently contracted a stomach virus, puked up and crapped out the contents of every hidden corner, drawer, closet and cabinet and then left it. Ten younger people then came along and expertly kicked it, crawled it, fumbled it and mouthed it to ensure that it was spread equivocally throughout.
So, I have taken a breather, regained my composure and have once again come to the conclusion that we're selling everything we ever owned, currently own, or have ever thought about owning. We're selling the house and dumping that debt, selling off everything in it and paying off the remaining debt and are moving into a Class A motorhome. On 96's we will travel the country from one end to the other and make memories with each other......and not memories with all the crap that burdened us down. We have each other and therein lies any and all sentimental attachment one ever needs in life. The paper I drew when I was 5 does nothing to enrich my life now and the card I gave my mom for Mother's day 31 years ago is doing nothing to make me a better person right now....so WHY is it in a file in our attic taking up space?????
Seriously though....how do people ever get anything accomplished in life when there's just so much excess...everywhere???? It's crazy insanity. What family...no matter how big they are....living in Texas needs 31, 793 blankets...crocheted, store bought, old comforters and every other kind??? And the 599 pair of old jeans I'm saving to make that denim pocket quilt I've always dreamt of for the boys room???? Yeah, well.....they'll go through another 599 of them before I ever get around to it.
In my overwhelmed with crap state I began to clean...and not just a little. We're having a yard sale and I have adopted the approach that if our house burned down and we had to start over...what would I buy? If it's not something I'd buy then it's going in the yard sale. If we have more than one of anything...all duplicates are hitting the yard. And by the end of it I will be left with my children, their die cast car collection and 12 sleeping bags....and our life will be simplified. You know....the Amish have seriously got life down in some amazing ways. Simplicity is one of them.
And if Brad and I have it our way we're going to live in that RV, tour the country with children in tow and show them life beyond the box. Fueling the beast will be our "house payment". We'll be debt free in an RV and give a new meaning to freedom. No bills but a cell phone and no watching our favorite trees dying before our eyes that we're not even allowed to revive. Although amazing husband has broken the rule and continues to sneak water out to sweet tiny baby's red oak tree. And when it comes time to have a baby again I'll stick a birth pool somewhere up in a lush, green, flowery field in the mountains of Montana where the birds actually sing and are not croaking out a heat stroke induced death chirp. Our children will play in mountain streams while I push out a baby and then we'll get back in and hit the road once more...freedom from debt and material crap fueling our love for life.
But, in the meantime....until we deal with the mountains upon mountains of crap we have acquired and turn crap into cash...I tend to get more than a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of material chaos around me. And when I get a little irritated with life it usually has a less than favorable outlet...and something suffers a little....which brings me to the topic at hand.
Being extremely tired of the house continually needing 2,102 little odd things fixed within it I finally had my fill. So, I chose the most therapeutic thing I could think of, marched my butt out to tool loving husband's shop, found a crow bar, a hammer, and a sturdy type of chisel looking tool, grabbed a small bathroom trash can...not exactly sure what I was thinking on that one.....and promptly set to work on the bathroom wall that fell out 2 yrs ago. We continued to use this tub for yet another year and a half...much to my chagrin....and the wetter it got the more chunks that fell out. When the pipes under the house broke in the freeze a significant amount of damage was done to the hot water line to that particular tub....so we ceased use of it altogether until the funds were made available to fix the water line in whole. Soooo....this tub has been out of commission since the freeze....but the wall's been falling out for 2+ years. And it beckoned to me. ..quite literally. The drier the walls became with no water use within the tub the more little chunks clinked out as we went throughout our days.
This seemed a rather perfect project for my easily overwhelmed with crap self needing a therapeutic outlet. With shift husband away at work, two older children away in town, older girl busied with school on computer, 4 boys at in-laws and the two and under crowd sleeping I began the demo phase of the bathroom. Let us just clarify here that if one is prone to severe allergies..as in, off the charts, quite literally.....axing, hammering and beating the crap out of a wall that houses 30 years worth of mold, dust, and mildew is probably not the wisest life choice one can ever make. Before long my little project begun in secret was not so much of a secret at all as I called working husband, struggling to breathe and in need of an epi shot. He was a little agitated, as one would only expect when their wife goes secretly hammering out an entire bathroom wall, but, much to his credit, his concern for my well being overtook the frustration he felt with no longer having a shower wall...or 3. From there older children returned home and overtook the project I was banned from finishing. Day 2 into the project I did the forbidden and set to work on it yet again, despite having been banned from it all. Yet again, I ended up in a bind, yet another round of epi...this time through inhaler....and my bathroom expeditions ended. From day 3 onward two older children found it quite therapeutic to finish what I had so lovingly begun.
So, along with hammering out bathroom walls, we are downsizing in every way. I have every intention of selling our life away, paying off debt, and embracing the freedom that comes with living minimally in every way. Frugality loving husband has finally embraced my money saving ways and has taken up the art of couponing. He fills his days with learning to feed our family for 1/8 of what it would normally cost while I fill the children's and my days with schooling, cleaning out, and pairing down. And, for anyone concerned with the children's well being throughout all of this.....they absolutely love it. They love turning stuff into cash and they also love watching our debt fall....as we have made it a family affair in an effort to teach them the invaluable lessons of not going into debt for anything. They love that they can participate and throw in as much as humanly possible of their possessions as well, so that they feel they helped contribute to breaking the debt chains. Children are as about as flexible as they come and could honestly care less what they possess as long as they have each other and they feel they are an invaluable, integral part of the family. They've been allowed to keep one box each for personal sentimentalities. The rest goes.
The orginal problem
Day 2: Where I stopped and they started
Day 3
I didn't quite plan on this much debris
That would be the trash can I started with for the project
......the bathtub has been emptied since we left off with the picture journey of the rather sponateous bathroom demo. But....other than a clean bathtub....it still looks just about like the pic.
When he was tired of crawling from one end of the house to the other he decided it was time to bed down....in the middle of the floor on wood. I guess when you've got a king size comforter about 8o times your size that's all you really need.
3 weeks ago when they could swim...before they banned even that part of water usage. I really, really, really miss the rain.
Seriously sleepy
My outdoor boy with his unfailing sense of humor
Sooooo glad I don't have this job. He's a pretty good daddy.
Forever telling the world everything it doesn't know
Big Twin Boys
Shorty-man
Full moon on the river
Playing with settings and the tripod. Kinda cool.
On the rise.....summer nights on the river
Sooooo glad I don't have this job. He's a pretty good daddy.
Success!
The toothless wonder duo
Ever the happy boy
Forever telling the world everything it doesn't know
Big Twin Boys
Shorty-man
Full moon on the river
Playing with settings and the tripod. Kinda cool.
On the rise.....summer nights on the river
1 comments:
Hi Nikki,
I've been reading your blog for some time now and decided to "de-lurk" to say that I love this post! I can't tell you how many times I've wished that I could get rid of EVERYTHING cluttering up my home. The main difference between you and me is that you will have the guts to go through with it! (I want you to know that today you have inspired me - I think I'll barrow some of your determination and tackle purging some of my own family's crap too.)
I feel for you on the drought thing as well. I was reared in New Mexico and know a thing or two about water rationing. My mom used to collect the greywater from our bath, laundry and dish washing to water a few special plants outside. To this day we have a sign on our toilet tank that reads "If it's YELLOW let it mellow. If it's BROWN flush it down." Yep, those were the days. Hang in there Nikki
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