storage unit choices

[Zoe Girl]

Oh dear, this is one of the hard parts (the other really being packing and transporting all this stuff). I have one friend who has so much stuff that she would not be a good advisor on what to keep and what to get rid of. I dream of emptying her apartment by half of everything she owns, just a fantasy :). Then another friend out of state who got rid of so much more than I think I want to, her ex kept the house so she didn't need to worry about photo albums and the christmas decorations after all.

Right now my choice is the set of dishes that I actually really like, I can host a dinner for 12 with all the serving dishes. It is a nice white pattern, the only thing is do I really need every part of the set? The mugs that go with it I never liked, so I am going to drop those at goodwill. A little stressy about it however.

The other choice on the table is kitchen stuff, I had a full kitchen capable of feeding a large group of people on a regular basis. I don't really want to get rid of it all, however it may be awhile before I use things. Such decisions! I already threw all the steak knives in the trash. Goodwill is overflowing with steak knives, I don't eat or serve steak, and it was too much clutter. I am keeping too many kitchen towels but those are for packing things in.

I just talked to my oldest, she and her boyfriend are breaking up. It is a good thing and being handled maturely. However she is also cleaning out and I have this head sculpture she made many years ago of a punk with a mowhawk with a snack crawling out of an eye socket. Really good work, and it is broken and we just have to throw it away. We are going to take pictures, and I am also going to throw away my childhood bible. I have wanted to for awhile but felt bad about it. It has my name embossed, all the stickers I earned for memorizing verses, but it is not anything I ever want to look at again.

And no idea what to do with the cremated animals in boxes!

[iris lilies]

I have cremated many pets. I eventually scatter their ashes around our yard. I usually have to wait 3 months to a year to let them go, but I DO let them go.

Take your doggie and kitty ashes to a nearby park and set them free.

[JaneV2.0]

I have cremated many pets. I eventually scatter their ashes around our yard. I usually have to wait 3 months to a year to let them go, but I DO let them go.

Take yoi doggie and kitty ashes to a nearby paek and set them free.

When my friend recently died, they asked that the ashes of their three cats be tucked into the urn to go along to the National Cemetery and be buried with full military honors. I guess that wouldn't work here...;)

I want my pets to be scattered with my ashes, along the banks of Lake Washington.

[razz]

I buy a shrub and plant it over the remains of my pets. Decluttering is hard work. There is very little that is essential so much is emotion in decisioning. i kept two paintings, my Doulton figurines and such like which are on display in my new home. I could declutter more and am doing that but more gradually now. Most storage units seem to be filled with stuff that has not the value of the storage costs when it is removed.

[Zoe Girl]

I do want to have some of the things back in 2 years when I decide what to do next, maybe buy a townhome or condo, maybe shave my head and be a nun! But I wonder what it will be.

I still remember my last big declutter 3 years ago, I almost cried over some of the thing that I had to throw away as junk. I at least wanted them to do to a useful place, and that didn't happen. The wooden bunk beds my girls grew up with, that was hard to have them hauled off in the trash. I just couldn't find a home for them in time.

[Tybee]

I do want to have some of the things back in 2 years when I decide what to do next, maybe buy a townhome or condo, maybe shave my head and be a nun! But I wonder what it will be.

I still remember my last big declutter 3 years ago, I almost cried over some of the thing that I had to throw away as junk. I at least wanted them to do to a useful place, and that didn't happen. The wooden bunk beds my girls grew up with, that was hard to have them hauled off in the trash. I just couldn't find a home for them in time.

It sounds like a storage unit is a great choice at this stage of your life. I have thought about doing the same thing, and sorting it out when I get more settled. It's a lot cheaper than paying for a bigger house, and sometimes, you are not there yet, not ready to let go of things.
If I were doing it, I would do one thing different this time and make a better list of what is in what box.

[catherine]

Oh, wow! We've never had a discussion about cremated pet remains as it pertains to decluttering! But now I have a couple of cherry wood boxes with pet names on top, and remains inside. I was wondering the same thing about what to do with them. At one point Dog Mountain, where my favorite folk artist had his studio, offered to bury cremated remains under a tree, and then the tree would have a marker with your dog's name on it. I thought that was a cool idea, but I didn't really want to spend the money.

DH talks about how he's certain to pre-decease me and I tell him that I'll just have to get a bigger cherry box and then I could just stack them in the living room, like one of those cool shabby-chic ideas where they stack suitcases and make an end table out of them.

[Yppej]

Visiting Dog Mountain is on my bucket list.

[nswef]

Catherine, Your idea about stacking the boxes made me laugh...but it makes sense!