Packing Up

I know I'm not the first person to say this, but wow, it's amazing what people collect over the years. I have been spending the last few weeks sorting out "stuff" in the house. Packing, selling and throwing out some of it. There is also a pile of things I'm not sure what to do with. Things I'm still attached to, that are actually useless, but I can't bring myself to part with them yet. They (mostly clothes, books, and hats) are sitting on the spare bed in a big pile collecting dust and being squashed by the cat. I still have books and papers from when I was a child, things that hold great memories for me but actually have no other function than to take up space.

Jack, the cat.

In trying to sort out the clutter, I have thrown out a large pile of clothes I haven't worn for ages. Some of them I have never worn! (I know I'm not the first person to have new clothes in the wardrobe!). Books have been hard to sort and throw out. I am a definite bookworm and as much as I love my kindle, I love the smell and feel and look of books. I have managed to pack away 4 big boxes of books I want to keep, and have 3 boxes of books I am trying to sell. However I'm not even half way through all the books.

It is my first adventure into selling on Trademe (NZ's version of eBay). So far I have sold 2 books! It was actually very exciting  and prompted me to place ads for many more books. Now it is waiting game. I also placed an ad for my car. I have a great car and I will be disappointed to get rid of it. I took it for a drive today and almost cried thinking about having to sell it. But it is only a car, a material thing, I keep reminding myself. It has been as interesting experience. I have had 2 people come and look at it so far. The first person said it looked too dirty, although I had washed it. So the next time someone came, I made sure it was immaculately clean. And they said it was too clean and fancy!!! You just can't win sometimes.

Justin, not winning.

Then yesterday I had someone emailed me with an offer for less than half the price I am selling it for. He admitted he was being cheeky and offered me an even lower price the first time, then upped the offer by a $1000 the next time. All because he needed a car for the next day. Unfortunately both offers were well below it's worth and I said no.

Anyway I still have a long way to go before I have this place all packed ,cleaned and ready to go. At least I still have time to do it all. And that brings me to another dilemma. What to pack for a year away from home?

I managed to pack for a tramping trip, but how about for a year?