Catchy title, right? The place is new, and we are getting it all established, so I guess that makes it the new establishment.
Things are taking shape. Almost everything is in it's place. There are a few things I brought thinking I would need them and it turns out they are just not necessary. I over stocked some things especially in the kitchen. I don't have a dishwasher here. I hand wash the dishes after meals. As a result, I don't have any accumulation of dirty dishes, so I don't need to have as many on hand as I had at the old place. I will probably pack some of them away for storage.
I am surprised how much room there actually is in my kitchen! Counter top space is at a premium, but I have plenty of room for dishes, pans, even a really spacious pantry area. I may figure out a way to combine some things and free up a shelf or two in there and call it my office. I have way too many school/office supplies, and I don't really know what to do with it all. Between home school and my personal study and writing materials I have accumulated quite a bit. We are learning to do more of our studying and writing on computer, but hard copy and paper work are still big requirements around here. I stored probably half of what I had, and I still have a lot. I stored the stuff that I didn't think the heat would hurt: paper, folders, binders, etc... I brought all the pens and pencils here so the heat wouldn't destroy them. Staplers and hole punches and the like; I use them every day. I need to keep them here, so I'll have to figure something out.
I have too many books, as well. I'm not sure what to do about that except to get rid of some more clothes or something. I love having my books around and I don't think I'm willing to part with the few I have already it whittled down to.
There are a few other items that I need to keep on hand that I still haven't found a home for yet, but in the shuffling and reshuffling I'm sure they will settle into a spot soon. It's mostly paperwork, mail, receipts and statements and the like. I may box 'em up and stuff 'em in the storage. I also have a bunch of seeds. I'm afraid to put them in storage. It's still so hot! I don't know if heat will damage them or not, but I don't want to take the risk.
All in all, the radical downsizing is going pretty well. It certainly causes one to prioritize. I can plainly see what is needful and what is not now. That's not to say I don't want to keep some of the less necessary items, but when we go to sort out the storage unit and narrow things down for the move, I should have no trouble thinning it out even further.
As far as the 'sardine' situation goes, I hate to dissappoint all of the folks that were so sure we'd be ready to strangle each other by now, but we're handling the proximity problems very well and we're adjusting quickly to the privacy problems. We spent almost all of our time together before we moved anyway. We homeschool, so we were always home together. We did most of our work at the kitchen table, and when we were playing on computers we were sitting within feet of one another. This is the same ol' same ol', as far as that goes, just a different place. The big difference is that now we can't go any place inside the house for privacy. It's a little tough on my oldest boy, but he's adjusting. We're making it work.
As for me... I'm happy as a clam. I love it all. Well, except for the toilet. I don't like it a bit, but we're looking for remedies. I'll post about it as we solve problems so that anyone else going through something like this will have our experience to draw from. More on that as it plays out. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.
Meanwhile, we're continuing to prepare for the move. I'll be posting periodically about the progress there. It's all so very exciting!!! I'll be so glad when we're ready to go!!
See you soon. Be blessed!
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