I hate clutter. I know that HATE is a very strong word, but in this case- it fits.
Our first apartment was maybe 600 square feet. That's pretty large by New York standards. The entire old apartment would fit in our master suite in South Carolina. So, when we moved here we took everything that we could from our old apartment and whatever friends and family were offering. In addition, my parents are in the process of retiring to Florida so we also took many of their belongings that they were looking for me to sell.
Unfortunately, now that we are here and settled in there is quite a bit that we don't want or need. Between the excess stuff that we moved with us and my parents belongings that I am helping them to downsize, I am beginning to make E-Bay and Craigslist selling into a full time job. Only with two major differences, I am still a full time mom and getting in and out of the post office with huge loads of boxes while trying to hold the hand of a 4 year old is tough to say the least. It just doesn't seem worth it. The task is particularly daunting when it is spread out over several months...it just seems like its a never ending stream of junk to move.
And that brings me to my three week challenge. Three weeks from today we will be leaving on a mini vacation. By the time that we leave EVERYTHING that I don't want in my house needs to be gone. When we return, I want to come home to a house that might be quite a bit emptier, but that will only be filled with things that we want, use or intend to use. Everything else needs to get sold, dropped off at a consignment store or donated to a charity. I figure I will have a crazy busy few weeks but at least by May 1st my husband will be able to park his car in the garage.
On a side note, Project Nicer Jen for Lent has been going pretty well. My next door neighbor's lawn is now over 12 inches of weeds. All of which are now spreading their ugly weed seeds over my freshly fertilized and weed free lawn. If I need to spend another Saturday pulling weeds out of my lawn and overseeding the patches with my husband I am going to be very unhappy. Hopefully, if this happens it can be after Lent is over so I can be just as cranky as I wanna be! The "Not So Nice" version of me would have been knocking on their door asking if they wanted to borrow our lawn mower last weekend. Instead, I called the management company for our H.O.A. and politely asked the property manager for our development to please send them a letter about their lawn maintenance. It seems a little passive aggressive to me, but my husband said it was the nicer way to handle it.
Yes, I was complaining about their lawn. It's already well into spring here in South Carolina. I love wearing t-shirts in March!
