5 days left

Friday, I relocate. To a smaller house 2 blocks away from a repeat rapist according to the sex offenders website. 1 mile from a university. 1/2 mile from a hospital. next door to an elementary school. Right next to a field of kudzu. I hope this move is a good one. It's definitely $300 less per month compared to where I am now. As long as Tomika is there, another $300 cheaper still. I know why I'm moving; I hope it goes well.

Today is Sunday. Here's the current state of my house:

Some food is packed; much of it is not. 

 I've been eating to thin out the cupboards :). 

I've gone through piles and piles of paper to avoid going through crap on the other side of the move. Here are the piles untouched remaining:

 My living room. Bookshelves (2) mostly bear.

 Both bathrooms look something like this:

 My closet. 

Not many options remain for what I will wear this week.

And most rooms have stacks like this. Boxes for days. 

Packing has refocused my attention on a goal I made at the beginning of the year to get rid of 150 things. I'm over 75% there and mostly from the packing. As much as I dislike packing, I do appreciate how it helps to focus on what I need, want, and ignore. It always inspires me to do something in the coming season to have less and perhaps avoid such an arduous journey next time. For 2013, I will give away, throw away, or recycle at least 60 items. I hope to make that an annual focus.

Thanks so much to the "Packing genie" that has helped me get so much of this done. We worked for over 5 hours yesterday. Now all rooms have bout everything I can pack before "the last minute" packed. And I have an aching back. The cost of lowering costs.

Seize the day!