Bereavement Boxes.

When a resident in our hospice dies,

we present the family with a unique

Bereavement Box. It doesn't replace

their family member, but the message

we are providing is that even after the

death, we are still here and thinking

of each of them. We put a book with

daily passages if they wish to read it,

a candle, a bracelet (or one for each

family member), tea, kleenex, a stone,

words of affirmation from our grief

team and a beautiful suncatcher with

a crystal and rainbow beads to hang

up in memory. The box is for future

items to keep or for cards the family

receives from others during this time.

~ Chy

Today ....

.... boxes are gone! The ones we need are tucked

away in our storage room for moving day, the ones

we didn't need were recycled & the ones someone

else could use were donated. Feeling free & light.

Feet up for a few more hours, 

then back at it again tomorrow. 

How was your long weekend?

Did you relax or use it to get caught up?

Yesterday ....

 .... surrounded & crowded out by boxes. 

Packing is well underway.

I'm Going In ~ Wish Me Luck!!

Hi everyone!

The time has come. (Cue dramatic music). We have two rooms in our house that have suddenly, with all our renovating, sorting, purging and packing, become the place to "put" things that need to be out of the way. All of us have contributed to the clutter and yesterday, it got to me! We've not lived with stuff out of place to this degree. It actually totally embarrasses me to even think of taking a picture and posting the mess. But after reading someone else's blog, where they posted a spot in their home that had become cluttered, and then she posted a week later with the incredible progress, I became inspired to do the same. Because if I post, I have to purge it, right? You, my faithful blog readers will be my coaching team. I can hear you all now, shouting to the rooftops "Go Chy Go!!"

This room used to be our youngest son's room. Hence the "sports" wall paper border. After he moved out, we kept it pretty empty for a while. At that time, all our kids had moved on, except for our youngest daughter, so it was really a wasted space for a while. Then we were gifted the huge dollhouse peeking out on the left. A few months later, we bought the purple couch for $100 ~ brand new and still had the tag on but the family was transferred and had to sell it quick. It was a $1400 couch! So we put in the metal shelves for books and dollhouse reno tools and it became the "dollhouses studio." Now it has become a spot for boxes for packing (empty), piles of "stuff" to sort to donate or sell. A few items from renovating as well, including four boxes of flooring we still need to lay, paint for the walls and the blinds that need to be hung up. Good thing we're still here!

Same room, expanded view. 

Scary, isn't it?

Here's the second room that has caused me so much stress lately. It was our "nursery" and then my art studio for the last few years. But again, with all our sorting and purging, it has become a different studio of sorts. Maybe more like a "packing warehouse!" I'm happy we can see the floor but so stressed by the stuff we need to pack. The rest of the house is so neat and orderly, and then you come up the stairs and here's what you see. Ugh! I can't wait for it all to be gone. 

A secondary view.

So my dear blog buddies, will you encourage me to get this finished? Yesterday, I cleared out a lovely section in the art studio, with items meant to go back to work (why are they in my house?), items for donation now tucked away into my car for drop off at the charity shop and items for packing that are now in the intended box or sitting on the table to be wrapped. It's a start and I'm tired and sore today, so I know I made a good dent. I will post pictures as soon as it's all done. We have a strict time limit as our oldest son is coming home for Christmas and he'll be sleeping, snug as a bug, in the "sports" themed room on the purple couch. His arrival is set for early on December 21st. Can't wait!

Do you have a spot in your house that you avoid?

A place where things pile up and the door is shut?

Slightly Embarrassing!

Hi everyone!

In the midst of our ongoing packing saga, somewhere along the way, despite all my careful planning and check lists, I have inadvertently packed a box that now looks like this:

Yup, that's right! I have no idea what great items are in this box. I forgot to label it when I was packing it. Came back an hour later and poof! Gone out of my head. I could probably just open the tape to see what's inside, but in the moment, thought it would be more fun to leave a cryptic message for whoever ends up opening this box in a few months ....

I am embarrassed.

And I'm sure you've had a bit of a giggle!!

You're very welcome.

Happy to oblige!!

Packing and more packing!

We've started our packing journey early but for a few good reasons. With just 6 months before the big move out to the country, we need to decide what we are taking, what we are selling and what we are donating. So far, we've packed up 24 boxes of things we'll take (our treasures), thrown out 12 blue bags of recycling items that are no longer functional or paper that we don't need, and boxed up 4 boxes of items to donate and 4 bags of clothes. My Christmas dishes are tucked away in tissue and snug in heavy duty boxes. Our excess bedding is no longer crowding up our tiny linen closet but packed and waiting for the new house. All the dollhouse fixtures and furnishings are boxed up and books are slowly leaving our bookcases to their designated cardboard homes. Next on our list is the basement storage room where we'll go thru old toys and kids clothes that are no longer needed. My husband is going thru his office this weekend and will be getting rid of his old photography equipment and film accessories that are now outdated and he no longer uses. 

Amazing how comfortable we've gotten here over the last 22 years. Doesn't matter how often we purge and reorganize, we still have tons of "stuff" that really isn't needed. I remember when we were flipping houses how freeing it was to move every 2 years and along the way, purge the stuff we didn't need any longer. I like this process and we'll have to make sure in the new house, with all the new extra space, that we don't start to fill it up!

The second level of packing we're doing is for our upcoming Disney trip. We leave in just 8 short days, so the packing has begun! Today, I'm going thru my list of what needs to be packed to see if there is anything I need to pick up. A bit of shopping is on the agenda for the weekend or later today, if dh gets home early as he's planning. Passports are ready to go and my camera is charged up. Almost ready to go!

Any packing tips to share for a big move?