It's amazing how when you move you have no idea how you've collected so much stuff. You have your childhood memories crammed into a box next to your kitchen linens. However, when you get to the new place, whether it be from an apartment to a house, house to house, house to an apartment... you have no idea how there's so much that you need.

When we were moving we tried to downsize. We realized we were moving from a two-story condo to a one-story apartment. We knew all of our stuff wouldn't fit. Also, we realized how many things we had been holding onto that probably should have been replaced years (meaning at least two years) ago, or things that just really didn't matter anymore. For example, we got rid of a cutting board that should have been replaced because it was wooden and after awhile the lovely juices of everything you cut up seeps into the wood. You know what I'm talking about. Then, there were some things within our childhood keepsake boxes that we had no earthly idea why we had held onto them.

Now, moving into our new apartment, it's amazing how much I think we need. A lot of it is to deal with the quirks of the new place. For example, the bathroom is a lot smaller so we want one of those metal or wooden stands to go over the toilet to hold towels and such. Our kitchen pantry has no shelves whatsoever, so we need a "baker's rack" sort of deal so all of our food doesn't have to sit on the floor. Not to mention it'd be nice to use one of the shelves, or part of one of the shelves, for my pots and some of my pans. Needless to say my cabinet space is limited.

Thinking about all these improvements we want to do, or rather necessary evils we need to spend money on so I don't go insane, it makes me feel a little glum. I never realized that this new place would be as much work to put together as our last place was to pull apart.

Then I thought of something else.

This happens to everyone.

Everyone at some point goes through a move in their life where they just want to lay down the credit card and go to town with fixing up the new house. It's hard not to, after all. The society we live in puts so much pressure on your home appearing perfect, along with your nice car and fancy accessories. While most of the things I feel I need really are things that would help my sanity, there are many that I can deal without and come up with a sort of system and it won't drive me crazy.

So, I'm coming to terms with the move. There's a pathway cleared through all of our stuff so I can get around easily and hopefully unpack a lot today while the hubby is at work. He has, after all, been more interested in figuring out what we need to make the apartment work, rather than unpacking what we have, first. Today I really hope I can get a lot done. I'll just have to ignore the presence of the heavy stuff and hope that most things can be lifted/unpacked/organized without needing assistance.

If you're at a point where you're getting ready to move, and perhaps you're upgrading or downsizing, just remember that everything takes time. My mom likes to remind me that she, just now, has gotten this and that for her house and she's ___, (I'm assuming I'm not allowed to share her age here). I just have to keep in mind I have years to go before everything comes together... and even then it may not be precisely what I want... but it will, hopefully, be precisely what I need.