Saturday was Brendan and Colin's last visit to the house that was their home throughout their childhoods. This year Colin and Jenny stayed at a motel to avoid the Thanksgiving chaos. They arrived Saturday morning to say goodbye and to let Colin fuel up on coffee. Colin wears a cap over his wet hair in the morning to keep it from drying in 1000 directions. Brendan, who had just gotten up, let me snap a picture with his hair going in many directions.
Both Brendan and Colin left with their car trunks and back seats filled. Something was wedge into every space. (John, a brother-in-law, had hitched a ride with Brendan, so he was wedged in too.) Only after the trunks were shut did I remember that I should have taken a picture. Neither Colin nor Brendan was willing to risk opening a trunk for a final picture.
As soon as the house was empty Stanley Steemer came and made the wine stains, ground in-food, and outside dirt disappear. (We don't wear shoes in the house, but we haven't been able impose "no shoes" on others, perhaps we will be more successful in Malaysia.) Keeping the house clean for potential buyers eats up a lot of time - mostly keeping kitchen surfaces empty.
This summer we emptied a stored box each week. Currently, we back to the same task. Now we are emptying the boxes with items from counters and other surfaces; the items had to go somewhere before the house went on the market. Our decision rule is that each item must go somewhere - in a box for the move, in box for charitable donations, or in the trash. The closer we are to moving the easier the decisions are.
Next week a U-box, same as a pod, will arrive. That should help us make major progress - since our closets are stuffed with packed boxes and one of the bedrooms has about 15 packed boxes lining one wall.
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