Relaxing........Rainy day

Camp Lakewood Campground : Effingham, IL

Although I had a lot of phone calls to make today, I did not feel stressed or rushed.

This RV park has super fast wi-fi and the stereo in the coach is a really good quality with good speakers. I have listened to a few TV programs on the computer, also.  I am glad that I decided not to mount a TV screen in here, and decided to go with a good laptop, instead.  I can listen to the news or other programs on the computer.

After the mad rush to make sure the house was empty and trying to get out of Chicago before the RV freezes, it is soooo nice to be able to take my time with things.  It would have been smarter to make this move in the spring, but actually the timing of everything has worked out.

I still have to organize the cabinets and drawers and empty a few boxes of stuff that I put in the coach.
I don't want to keep these boxes in the space behind the drivers seat, this is just a temporary thing until I figure out what I need and what I can get rid of.

Many bloggers talk of selling their houses and going full-time.

I am so glad that I made this decision.
But, it is not an easy thing to do.

Emotionally and physically, it is exhausting. (I'm not trying to discourage anyone.)
And then there is the guilt for doing what I want and not staying around to help others.

If you are planning to do this, you will probably question yourself about why you accumulated all of this "stuff" in the first place. In 1988, we moved out of our first home into the house I just left. Back then, 23 years ago, I remember saying that this house would be sold with all of the contents included, that I did not want to go through the process of moving stuff again.

I think of my Grandma Mary's house, it never seemed to be cluttered and her basement was empty except for the washer and dryer. It seemed like maybe things were simpler then.

I didn't learn my lesson, and the difference now is that I didn't just pack it all into boxes and move it into the basement of the next house.  I could have put things into storage, it would have been less stressful and easier - just pack up the boxes and drive over to the storage area.

Storage is costly and I probably won't ever use the items again.

I had to deal with it now, I didn't want to think about it anymore.

My family and friends have most of the larger items from my home, I am glad that someone could use them.

I am not living a spartan life in the coach.  I have kept some things that I like to have around me. I have some quilts that I have made or purchased. I have decorated the walls and have photos. I have enough, but not too much.

It's been raining on and off all day, I am all warm and cozy in my little house.
There is more rain in the forecast. I am waiting for some phone calls tomorrow, so I will stay here Tuesday night, also.

large site with deck, table and firepit

The rain stopped around 3pm, I went for a walk around the campground, this is a very nice place, well maintained and clean and it's probably very busy in the summer. They have a boat ramp and its looks like they rent canoes and rowboats.

Update: Ended up staying here for 4 days, didn't want to drive in the rain and it was very peaceful here, parked by the lake.

Perseverance

I feel that my house has a never ending

list of stuff to sort, repair, purge, shred.

I get discouraged, it is taking longer than I planned,

with all of the distractions, surprises and unplanned repairs.

I am getting through it.....

The end is in sight.

"Chop Wood, Carry Water"

whenever I have a long "TO DO" list

I think of this phrase

* * *

Decide what you want,

decide what you are willing to exchange for it.

Establish your priorities

and go to work.

We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, then

 is not an act,

but a habit.

Better Habits - One of my GOALS.

Victory belongs to the most persevering

* * * * * 

Done

Done with the garage sale........  for now.

Prep work, pre-sale and a 4 day garage sale.

Everything is packed up. A huge pile of stuff is on the front lawn.... for pickers, or the garbage men in the morning. I will have a 2 day garage sale in October. I held back a few unsold items for the October sale.

I did not have time to empty the basement - or the shed - or the Christmas boxes from the upstairs crawl space..... so, there is more to sell.

I will have more furniture for sale in October.

Heading south for the winter.

Positive Thinking:  My house will be sold before winter.

I'm tired...... can't write anymore.

Thanks to everyone that helped me!!!

Stuff, stuff and more stuff

I am just overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in my garage,

and I haven't even dragged everything out of the house, yet.

It's amazing that I lived very comfortably in my coach for over a month without all of this STUFF!

And the hot, humid weather is not helping.

Last year when I had a garage sale, a lot of the stuff was in boxes on the floor, and people dug through the boxes and kept asking "how much for this?". I think this year it be like that again. 

Not enough tables to hold everything. My Dad helped me group some things together yesterday, but it just seems like there is too much to get it organized. 

The sale will be for 4 days and I can organize as we go along, as things sell, we can move things around. Today and tomorrow I will try to get price tags on most things. 

Can't post my address here. To those readers that have my address - tell all of your friends - and, please come and shop - I absolutely have to clean out the garage.

July 14-17

Thurs-Fri-Sat-Sun

8am to 2pm

Low, low prices

Books and magazines

Fabric and quilting supplies

Tools

Furniture

Plastic Storage Containers

Kitchen Items

and lots and lots of STUFF

Thankfully, my neighbor offered her driveway

for the coach - so it will be parked there from

Wednesday afternoon until Sunday afternoon.

(I was planning on parking it in front
 and putting it back into the driveway each night.)

Thank God for nice neighbors!!!

Finding Supplies for the Coach

I started to write this on Sunday, but didn't get around to adding the pictures until today.

First, some notes on comments to earlier blogs. Because the plant is toxic to my cat, I will probably give it away to someone without pets. I will look into some wall vases. Not sure how/where I would attach them. I don't want to make any holes on the walls of the coach.

The cat litter will be kept in the cabinet under the bathroom sink, I lined the inside of the cabinet with plastic (the bottom of the cabinet has a hole and lifts up to access pipes underneath and I didn't want litter falling down into that area.  I bought 2 different size litter pans that nest inside each other, to hopefully catch some of the litter that gets kicked around.  I didn't want to put the litter box in the shower because cats kick the litter around, and I would have to be constantly cleaning out the shower. I will probably need a hand held vacuum cleaner.
On Monday, my brother helped me install a "kitty door" on the bathroom door.  I have one on my basement door in the house, and my cat is already comfortable using this type of door to get to the litter box in the basement.

Thanks for the blogger backup info.
And I'm going to test drive some folding bikes at Camping World.  Donna said she is using a gel seat on her folding bike, and I found one in my basement.

************************************
This weekend was cold and damp so I decided to work on getting stuff out of my basement and into the garage for the upcoming garage sale.

Sorting and purging and setting things aside to use in the coach.

I did a lot of laundry. The local animal shelter takes donations of towels, blankets and sheets, in any condition. I washed everything and packed them into large plastic bags.

We seem to blog about all of our "stuff".  I'm glad I kept some of it, its finding a home -in the coach. Some things are from the travel trailer that we had in the 90's.
It just amazes me the "stuff" I have accumulated and spent my hard earned money on. I always thought I was pretty frugal. In my defense, it is 35 years of accumulation and I did buy most of this stuff at resale shops or on clearance and I did get some use out of it at one time or another, so I guess I shouldn't be too upset about it.  There were a few sad moments when I came across some of my husbands things. I didn't remember putting those things into the basement. I was probably still in a fog when I moved things out of his "office" and changed that room into a bedroom for myself. There are still a few items I've been looking for and have not found.  I'm sure they will show up somewhere.

I will repurpose whatever I can and sell the rest.  I did really well at last years 4 day garage sale and hope I can sell a lot this year. I relisted some items on Amazon and a few things sold over the weekend.

The coach has a lot more storage space than I anticipated. Most of the cabinets and outside bins are empty.  I will take along some of my sewing supplies and fabric. I am hoping that I will be able to sew some items and eventually make things to sell. (Today at 3pm Workamping Magazine is hosting a webinar about operating a small business from your RV). ???Do I really want to start a business again........ or just take short term part-time jobs and leave the stress to the owners?

The coach has a good size counter top and I am looking for a counter height folding stool.

I really like the clean, uncluttered look and I'm afraid of adding to many things.

I don't want the coach to look cluttered or messy.

You can't see it in the picture,

 there is a space next to the kitchen cabinet. 

 I could keep a folding stool in this area.

The larger dinette is now a bed/couch.

 I added a twin size memory foam mattress.

I need to finish sewing the pillows/bolsters for the bed.

Check out what I found in the basement
didn't need to go shopping.

Storage trays and boxes. A set of new flatware for 4 and 4 new steak knives. 

Old Tupperware items. A utility hammock, a pet door, a bag of bungee cords.

 Gel bike seat and tire pump and bike tool bag.

A folding shovel. Quick dry camping towel. Picnic Tableloth, and more..........

A set of blue travel cases (to be used in the outside storage bins).
I'm trying to keep all my supplies in closed containers,
so that things are not sliding around too much while I am driving.

I also came across a large supply of shampoos and soaps we picked up during our travels,

 won't have to buy shampoo anytime soon.

Only 7 more days till I leave again.........................