I loved my old house on Orange Street. It was like a dream come true, being custodian of a hundred year old house, decorating and furnishing it the way I wanted, living for the first time in my life, all alone. (Which took some adjusting but I learned to not only like it but to love it.) So when I made the decision early in 2022 that I was going to reduce my life to what would fit into a storage locker the process of eliminating started full force. And it was very, very hard to let some things go. All of my life I have looked for clothes and things in unconventional places. Or what were unconventional places; now that thrifting is cool and chic it’s not so uncommon anymore. So I made my house a home with things bought at auction, antique shops, second hand stores, online, frenchies……over the years I collected and painted and recovered and polished and made them irreplaceably mine. And so there were many memories; where I bought something, how I got it home (Jess if you are reading this please pause and laugh at the memories of us making two packed car runs to collect that mahogany dining room set, stopping to pick up that discarded bookshelf for you at the side of the road, then paying the young guys next door to lug my stuff up that steep flight of stairs to my flat), the place I bought the paint, the search for just the right fabric….. And now I was letting most of it go.
I sold almost everything on FB marketplace and much of it was a happy experience. The lady who sent me a photo of how beautiful my living room rug looked in her home, the woman who told me my silverware was going in her cottage which was right next door to her late grandparents home and reminded her of going to visit them and using silver ware. And the odd pain point; the woman who haggled on my Sophie Conran dishes that I still wish I had just kept because I loved them so much, collecting them 2 at a time as I could afford. Shedding both liberated me and put me in fear- I loved the feeling of traveling light but still, What the hell was I doing yearning to live like a youthful person who hadn’t yet set up home?? I had no role model- I know no one else who in retirement decided to let it all go. But those moments were far less than the excited ones- the ones that said- ‘Whoa crazy lady, this is such an exciting thing you are about to do!!’
My stuff stayed in storage for all of 5 months. I then realized I was paying money to keep things for an indeterminate length of time and it just didn’t make sense. This culling was hard, hard, hard. Everything in there I had thought only a few months prior I couldn’t see living without, that it would all one day become part of my new nest, wherever and whenever that might be. It wasn’t even particularly valuable- most of it being kitchen stuff, all the little doo dads and gadgets that made meal cooking and baking so much easier and fun. I posted on FB, donated oodles to the Salvation Army and Hospice, found a lovely Cameroonian new immigrant family I could help, sold my road bike (Jenn, can’t wait to see your cycling adventure photos on it this year!), sent my hybrid bike and some larger pieces of art (Sally, I still have the cow painting!) back to Ontario with my sister and, thanks to a kind friend who offered some space in her basement, reduced my life to about 7 or 8 boxes. Photos I haven’t yet sorted, some small pieces of art, a few pieces of clothing that wouldn’t fit into my suitcase but I just couldn’t part with. Yet.
It really is quite crazy the attachment we have to things. I get it. They make our houses into homes. Create cozy comfortable nests in which we can escape from the world. Pretty things to adorn us. Make us feel younger, more polished, or chill, or taller or whatever it is for you. Some day I will have a nest and I will start the search for things to make it a home all over again. Though with less stuff. At my heart I am a minimalist; I like to travel light through the world. But I also love a cozy nest with pretty dishes, a good reading lamp, a comfy blanket to snuggle under while reading….. It is a constant tug. I go into stores and see beautiful things and I appreciate them and think ‘Ah, one day…..’.
From the land of croissants and cheese…… xo
‘a
I commend you for doing all of this, as I know how much you did love your treasured things! I personally don’t think I could! But the freedom it brings you is something I wish to feel one day!
And one day you will have that nest again and surround yourself with treasures , more precious than ever!
This one makes me a bit emotional for some reason… maybe it’s the thought of my own few items that I’d also have to store and wait to see again some day. <3
At the end of this day we take nothing with us when we leave….. but still, it is hard not to accumulate things that make us happy….. as long as they make us happy I think is the key.
Well I guess the good news is if you don’t do it your kids will do it for you one day. 🙂
I as well can’t imagine doing this but you are so accurate saying one day our kids will do it for us…
And you have a BIG house……. 🙂
Thanks for sharing Michelle! Reminds me of the time we were dropping my son off at Saint Mary’s and I saw a wicker love seat on the side of the road in South End Halifax… I was told it would never fit in my Honda Civic! Never say never to me…. it sat in my sunroom for many years and was well loved….and free!
I think I had a house full of items with similar stories….. the item becomes a real treasure for the randomness of finding whatever it is right??
Love reading your updates and reflections Michelle. 💕
Hi Dawn!! You’ve always been so encouraging, telling me to write a book and all, and I’ve never forgotten your belief in me. Consider this my blog book….. who knows, maybe a book book one day! xo
Michelle I love your blog and think this might be my favourite post (so far). I shed my life in 1996 when we moved to Australia. It’s unbelievably difficult and emotional . I tip my hat to anyone who does this! I carried ALL my kids drawings and school workbooks and projects across the world and back again! Finally culled in 2018 when I retired and realized they did not want grade 2 report cards or a crushed papier-mâché snake 🤣
Michelle I love your blog and think this might be my favourite post (so far). I shed my life in 1996 when we moved to Australia. It’s unbelievably difficult and emotional . I tip my hat to anyone who does this! I carried ALL my kids drawings and school workbooks and projects across the world and back again! Finally culled in 2018 when I retired and realized they did not want grade 2 report cards or a crushed papier-mâché snake 🤣
❤️