The MOVE and purging - AND - IT ALL FIT IN

I have promised some people that I would write a blog about our recent move.  Honest, it was a manic 6 weeks, but now that we are on the other end of the tornado, I feel great.

We decided to put our house of 23 years on the market right before our daughter's wedding.  Don't ask!  We had some very good reasons and it was NOT an impulsive decision.  Trust me on this one.

Right before we put the house on the market we became familiar with the Japanese book on Tidying Up which is on the NYT best seller list.  We decided that moving from a 3-bedroom house with two sheds for storage into a one bedroom condo called for extreme measures.

This guy did not make the cut

Both of us followed the principles of the book, which is to gather ALL items of a certain category, and then touching each one ask "Does this bring me joy?"  Items that have survived several moves and many years of gathering dust were recycled or reused.  After a few 100 of these decisions the muscle memory became pretty strong.  In our new condo we have a NO JOY box, which is collecting things that survived the first cut.

We did it.  We moved everything into the condo with room to spare.  The storage unit is almost entirely taken up with Bethany's riding stuff which we will store until she rides again.  It has been quite a journey, and in the middle of it while questioning our sanity, we did not know we would be able to finish.

So where did the stuff end up?

• We recycled mattresses to an organization ,  UTEC Lawrence which recycles mattresses and provides young people with a job.  I think about that every time I drive by one on the curb.  What a waste!
• We took 20 boxes of books to More than Words in Waltham. They also have an excellent mission statement of running a cafe and book store on Moody street and selling used books run by young adults.
• All home goods and clothing we took to Global Thrift, also on Moody Street in Waltham.  I support them more than a huge organization like Salvation Army.  (Just not sure where their stuff ends up)
• Food and paper goods I took to Bristol Lodge soup kitchen.  I stayed to help serve the homeless one day.  That was very rewarding
• All baskets and vases any flower store will take with much appreciation
• Best Buy has an incredible recycling program.  We took all electronics, old audio tapes, VHS tapes, DVD, and unbelievable they take CD Jewel cases.  They also take any cables from electronics.  
• Sheets, pillows, and any house hold items we took to the Middlesex Human Service Agency.  There are something like 108 homeless facilities in Waltham alone.  They welcome anything like this.
• I also ran a virtual yard sale on my blog and raised over $200 for WATCH in Waltham.
• ADDED 12/3/2015 - AFTER THE MOVE I discovered two others recycling opportunities Yarn and needles can be taken to Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program located near Boston Medical Center.  They have a program that involves knitting for respite care patients
• Some Whole Foods Markets, and probably other stores, recycle corks from wine bottles