The original plan called for:
“4 totes/suitcases worth of “Things”, my wheel box, a small single yarn tote and a small tote of “Dog stuff”. This doesnt include food or a freezer but really puts the focus on my “things” Books that I dont read, little knick-nacks that I havent touched since I packed them 6 months ago, magazines that I keep for a single special thing, clothes that I dont really love or wear, yarn scraps or leftovers…stuff in general, 90% not needed by me.”
And I came to realise that I have only 4 novel books that are beloved, a Bible and a Book of Common Prayer. None of which I would throw out. Ok, so I need to look at knick-knacks. Those things that gather dust…but I also realised that I only have 4 of those too. An elephant statue that my Nana meant for me to have in her memory, a pair of ceramic hedgehogs in a pot from my sister one Christmas, a walrus carved by a student out of walrus ivory and a Holly Hobbie plate from my first Alaskan boss (who was really from Michigan) that reads, “A smile can turn a rainy day to sunshine”. Nope, not getting rid of any of that.
Ok, so there has to be some major destashing of yarn, right? Well, yes…in part. I put all my single skeins of random-ness into a box for goodwill and all my leftovers of everything but sock yarn too. I took a long hard look at my socks yarn stash and have decided to go “cold sheep” until I have knit thru at least half of it. I still have 2 skeins in there from 3 years ago and I dont want things to get out of hand! Sweater yarn? Well, I have enough for a few (3) but that is far from crazy. I have the yarn for a 6 of my stranded hats but nothing excessive, especially since I have been working on creating new designs for them. Leftovers? Into the Goodwill bin. Fiber? Nope. I didnt even touch it. Why? Because A) I’ve only been spinning a year and havent ‘really’ got that much and B) Since I have only been spinning a year, I havent yet learned enough so I need lots to learn on
In reality, the yarn and fiber didnt get a full cull because knitting and spinning is what I DO. It is what I do first thing in the morning, in the quiet evenings and into the night. It is how I keep my sanity in overly slow hours at work when there hasnt been a patient in a few days and all the meds have been counted and re-ordered multiple times. It is my companion with a cuppa in the morning and at lunch after I eat. Movies would be more boring if I had to just sit there. There is only so many times a person can throw a froggie for her doggie before her hands are itching to do something else. So I knit. And spin. Considering that I could do and want to do a lot of other crafts too, I consider myself lucky that I am holding it to only the two. Moving along:
Clothing: 2 suitcases. Coats, shoes and handknit sweaters are in a large tote of their own. Why this change? I live in Alaska. I need various jackets for various temperature readings and I swear to you that short-sleeved shirts take up less space than long ones do. If you didn’t count all my scrub tops for clinic work, I’m sure everything could fit into…well, 2 suitcases and a small tote. Shoes need their own box so they dont get other things dirty. Thats my story and I’m sticking to it. I did pass along a few shirts that I havent worn in ages, some sweatshirts that I dont wear anymore, a few pairs of trousers that are too big and all my non-wool socks save for 3 cotton pairs and 2 non-wool but very fun socks. If I can ever knit myself wool socks with sushi on them, I’ll bin this pair.
Kitchen: I have still got the 2 saucepans, 2 skillets (one cast iron, the other non-stick), 3 sharp knives, a spoonula, spatula, whisk, chopsticks, 2 pyrex baking pans, a 6 well muffin tin, large-ish mixing bowl and a can opener. There are 3 mugs that I would pack but other than that, I would be OK with leaving my dish-set and flatware for 4. Oh yeah, and 2 water bottles.
In owning to everything, I DO have 2 towels, a Kindle, a CD sleeve, 2 DVD sleeves, a hot water bottle and 2 Macs and an iPod Classic that I wouldnt leave behind and a bottle of blackberry/black currant wine that I am saving and a bottle of Celestial Meads in the special edition with Pomegranate from last year. But the last I am saving for a very special occasion. Like maybe something coming up soon. I’ll tell you when I know more
All in all? 2 suitcases, 4 large totes, 2 small totes and a wheel box. And a dog kennel. But that last doesn’t really count as mine as it belongs to Sisu. I am very happy with what I have and with what I do not.