Harry, just dropping by to say hi before he and Mom go for a run! That's a Rudolf light up nose on his forehead. So love this little guy😍

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Old photos, what am I to do with them???

One of the many boxes, I packed while moving, was an extremely large box, about the size of a refrigerator box, that I filled with nothing but old photos. In past homes, I have always had ample storage space and never thought twice about the massive amount of photos I have accumulated over the years.

When moving to this tiny home, I knew I had no place to store all of these old photos, but what is one to do with old photos? I decided to pack these boxes and like Scarlett, “I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow.”

So here I sit with a zillion old photos. Doesn’t everyone have old photos? What does one do with them? Do you throw them away, that seems so very wrong? On the other hand, my stacks of old pictures seems rather outlandish. 

When I was a little girl, our family home had a long hallway that was T-shaped. There was a linen closet tucked in the top left of the T-shaped hallway and in the bottom of that closet, my mother stored all of our old family photos. I loved nothing more than on cold rainy days, sitting on the floor in the corner of that long hallway and pulling out those old photos. I would pour over them, I would concoct stories behind those pictures, as if I were reading a beloved fairy tale. Mother had photos, not only of our immediate family, but of relatives long gone. I became friends with my ancestors on those lonely, rainy days. Gazing into their solemn faces and tired eyes, I would dream up stories of what their lives were like and I always played a central character, usually the heroine (surprise, surprise), in every imaginary tale.

I inherited many of those old photos and still when I open the box of Merrill/Elliott archives I am taken back to that spot on the floor of my childhood home. How can I possibly throw these precious heirlooms away?

While Steve was sick and I had a lot of time on my hands, I scanned tons of old photos. I scanned pictures taken of trips we had made, photos of all 4 children and their children, old photos of the Harris/Boswell family, the Elliott/Merrill family, and more, oh so much more. As a result, today my iPhoto Library now consists of 10,551 images and they are all backed up on external hard drives. Really!?!

10,551 downloaded photos

Not only did I scan, but I made DVD’s for the children accompanied by carefully selected music and old home movies. I could watch these masterpieces over and over, but the kids were not quite so taken with my handmade stories of their lives. Then I made DVD’s of both family’s old photos. I made photo books archiving our families. I made photo books of all of our trips, each one is priceless…to me.

Among my favorite books...

You might think my photo obsession would stop here, but you would be so wrong. I love all my framed photos, precious memories of past moments.  These photos fill the tops of my bedroom chests, bookshelves and tabletops. 

Years ago, I downloaded hours of photos into one of those digital frames. It now sits on my closet table and each morning the pictures automatically pop-up and the images fill my heart as I smile and remember the moment they were taken and the reason behind each smile. This is joy!

I wrote a piece not too long ago about my potty room and how I had filled the walls with some of my favorite old photos, well I did it again. I now have a “photo gallery” in my new home and again, I have filled its walls with my sweetest memories.  A bit out of control? Yes, but I love walking through that little hallway.

My new photo gallery

I stole an idea from my good friend Debbie Bakke who has a large bowl filled with miscellaneous photos from all ages and stages of life. I now have a large bowl brimming with photos. It’s so fun when friends or family gather because someone is always rifling through the glimpses of the past. It’s one of those Pinterest ideas that should be a must in every home.

Basket full of photos

So, back to my original question, what does one do with boxes of old photos? I love you all my old childhood friends, all my college buddies, all my amazing friends of the past and the present, but must I continue to store boxes and boxes of photos of the fun times we shared when we were 8 or 18 or 38 or 58 years old? 

I have come up with a brilliant solution. Someday, I am going to go through every photo and if your face shows up in one, I am going to mail it to you. Some of you may receive 25+ pictures, but it will then be your responsibility to keep it, pass it on, or toss it, for then my conscience will be clear as will my new little storage room that currently has not 1 but 2 large, long shelves full of photo boxes.

Will I ever be ready for these shelves to be empty?

For what it’s worth,

Janet

Philippians 1:3 "I give thanks to my God in every remembrance of you."

Minimalist, schminimalist…

The art of packing.  I wrote in my earlier blog that I spent 3 months packing. I worked diligently to wrap each breakable item, carefully stowing each piece, labeling every box with its correct contents and marking each in order of necessity. Pod 1 holding basic items: beds, bedding, towels, dishes, glassware, sofa, chairs, tables. Pod 2 less necessary items: kitchen equipment, art, decorative items. Pod 3 held winter clothes, outdoor furniture, garage equipment, Christmas decorations and things I wasn’t sure I would be able to use, but wasn’t quite ready to let go of. My boxes were color coded and marked Pods 1-3. I was quite proud of my packing endeavors and when moving day came, I was ready.

Prior to moving day, I had movers take a load of furniture to Brooke’s home and then continue to Austin, stopping at both Brent’s and Lynn’s house. I was delighted the kids wanted items I could no longer use and was happy to send them off to good homes. I made friends with my two capable and kind movers and requested Demetrius and “Jo Lynn” for my next five moves. Ridiculous, I know, but staggered moves were necessary for pod storage and delivery and for city ordinance reasons. 

A little humor is a necessity. “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Robert Burns was one savvy guy to write these words, I wonder if he had tried my “art of packing”? Demetrius and “Jo Lynn” tried their best to fit all my earthly belongings into 2 pods so that it would be unnecessary for me to pay for a third pod. They quickly persuaded me to disregard my color coded method and decided to just start stuffing my stuff into the pods. They carefully positioned boxes and furniture as if they were placing pieces into a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. Try as they might, by the end of Moving Day 2, there were still lots of puzzle pieces left and no puzzle for them to fit. As a result, a third pod was needed, but now, Pod 1 had winter clothes, Pod 2 had Christmas decorations and Pod 3 had dishes, sheets and summer clothes. Humor was definitely needed.

By the end of this hot sweaty moving day, Demetrius, “Jo Lynn” and I had become besties. Writing down their names and contact information in case I needed further help, I realized “Jo Lynn” was actually Julius. Whaat?! How embarrassing. His response was that he simply didn’t have the heart to correct me and was a little embarrassed that I thought his mother had actually named him Jo Lynn. Necessary humor.

When the day finally came for Pod 1 delivery, Demetrius and Julius were ready. Working hard they would read my carefully labeled boxes and ask, “Which way to the office?” Looking a bit sheepish, I replied, “There is no office, maybe stack them in the guest room.” More boxes would surface and D & J would ask, “Where is your utility room?” Oops, I have only a closet for my washer/dryer, no utility room. A little side note here, not even my brand new stackable washer/dryer fit into my new laundry closet (but that’s horror story for another time). The “Utility” boxes were also stacked in the very small guest bedroom. The “humor” continued, ”Storage Room?” Not yet built. “Garage?” Still under construction. Of course, it didn’t take long for the spare room to fill and boxes began being stacked wherever there was an inch of floor space, my house became a maze with only narrow passages to navigate. D & J kept up their unloading pace, yet I could hear them under their breath, “Oh man, poor old girl has 2 more big ole pods to go, what’s she gonna do with all this stuff?” Gotta laugh. Necessary humor.

My well-intentioned pod staging for delivery on Friday, then Tuesday and the following Friday also fell by the wayside. Remember, San Antonio was having rare monsoon weather for August and the rains continued throughout the next few weeks. Not only was my house still being remodeled, but the storage room that was to be built behind the garage, the garage itself, as well as a new driveway were unable to be constructed. 

Picture this, my 80+ year old home has a very old, lumpy asphalt driveway. The excessive rain caused flowing bodies of muddy water to form on both sides of my drive, which now looked more like a pitiful island, standing alone in the midst of the Gulf of Mexico. Normally this wouldn’t have been a problem, as I could have sloshed my way to my car, mud and all, however the pod people ignored the asphalt on my lumpy old driveway. They surreptitiously managed to get Pod 1 stuck firmly in my off driveway mud puddle, hence hindering the pod people from removing Pod 1, nor able to deliver Pods 2-3. The rains continued. I sat with an empty Pod 1 in my driveway for the next 10 days while the San Antonio Aquifer continued to rise, along with the mud surrounding my asphalt jungle. Humor, lots of humor.

Let me cut short this ongoing saga, (yes, there was saga, so much more) by stating that about two weeks later all pods had been delivered, emptied and removed. Now, three weeks later, my last boxes have been hauled off, pictures hung, rugs laid, my storage room is complete, Rubbermaid tubs are labeled and filled and now line the walls of my storage room. 

My driveway, garage, patio and exterior redo is still a work in progress . This process will take some time until completion, but I’m good with waiting now that my stuff is now in place. My little house has quickly become my home thanks to the help of Brooke, Jared, Cindy, Gloria, Bernado and Kris. It takes a village and I live in a great one.

On being a minimalist. Well, that’s most likely not happening. Almost every item in those three large pods has found its place in my small home. I have decided minimalism is simply not in my DNA. Why try to be something I wasn’t born to be?

So come for a visit, I welcome each of you. My new address: 214 Castano Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78209. I’m home and I’ll keep the light on for you!

For what it’s worth,

Janet

Proverbs 24:3-4 “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”

Hello, my name is Janet and I am a consumer...

Yep, I hate to admit, but I do love my stuff. I really try not to love stuff. I see something cool, out-of-the-box different and it has my name all over it. I try my best to stop and think, where will you put it? Do you need it? Don’t you have 12 white shirts just like it? How many lamps does one need? I ask all the rational questions possible, but when I find a treasure irrational and/or unreasonable, it matters not.

So, here I am, moving for the second time in less than three years and downsizing, again. I have spent the last 3 months purging only to have filled 3, yes, I said 3, 16 foot PODS. I have a lot of stuff, but my stuff is awesome. It has taken me years to collect my treasures. My junk has a boat load of memories behind each and every find. My items are like friends and they cannot be easily discarded. Yep, I am an addict and it is time for an intervention.

1+1+1=A ridiculous 3

The last few weeks have been a needed refuge, not only for me, but for the Meabon family as well. Since mid-May, I have been in the process of downsizing, packing and purging. 

The Meabons, on the other hand, have been in the processing of renovating their home. All of this happened simultaneously, and as a result, a two week reprieve to the mountains of Colorado was not only greatly needed, but a necessity for all of us.

We took daily hikes. We went white water rafting. We rode horses. We rode a narrow gage train. We sat by a fire and wore jackets, in August. It was heaven, if only for two short weeks.

I returned to San Antonio…homeless.  My furniture, all three giant PODS full, is in storage and my very small little bungalow is under renovation.  Whaa, whaa…I know, but at almost 62 years old I have spent the last week sleeping on an air mattress, with my dog Lucy by my side. I have no furniture, no refrigerator, very few items of clothing, no food and I’m realizing that being a minimalist is a great way to live. I have no television, my house is full of paint fumes and my back yard looks like a giant mud puddle, as it has been rainy cats and dogs since last Sunday. 

I think I like this new life. I must admit that Friday morning Pod 1 of 3 will be delivered and I’m wishing I had thrown the baby out with the bathwater and begun living life as a total minimalist, having, nor needing almost nothing. 

Oh, I know that once I begin unpacking all the zillions of boxes filled with all my prize possessions I will find the need to find nooks and crannies to house my treasures. As I unwrap and unearth all of my previously stored possessions I will feel the need to find a special home for each and every item…but, until Friday and next Tuesday and the following Friday when all 3 PODS have been emptied, I think I will relish this moment when, perhaps, in another life I might have been a true minimalist.

For what it’s worth,

Janet

1Timothy 6:8 “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”

PostScript:  I wrote this piece exactly one month ago but never got around to posting it, as life became ridiculously hectic. Rereading it now, a month later, makes me chuckle. It has been an incredible journey and I am finally coming up for air. There will be a follow up post soon. Stay tuned…