Where the heck did July go?

Not only has it been almost two weeks since I did my last post, but July is almost over. I was catching up on my google reader this morning (all 435 posts), and I just saw Laura's kids just got out of school. Canadians must start school later....

Yikes!

Where has all this time gone? Speaking of time... our house has been on the market for almost seven months and I have been doing this series for over a year now, patience is a virtue!

Double Yikes!

Now, if you have ever sold a house before, you know how frustrating it can be! Looking back, I know that we could have done things differently, but I think we are finally moving in the right direction. We got a new Realtor and I have seen more action in the last two weeks than we have in the last six months. Nice, right? I was reading the Clutter Diet Blog today and Lorie had this great post on getting rid of everything and starting over. Sometimes I feel like we have done that (to some degree) since most everything we own is packed away in storage. Either that or we need to do that once we move!

About a month ago, I had a garage sale with a few friends, and I realized how good it makes me feel when I am simplifying my life. I have even considered having a sale for all that stuff in storage... I haven't used it in over 8 months, why do I need it now?  I came to the conclusion that we really don't need half the "stuff" we have. Why do we hold on to so much?

Some people would look at this process (selling a house) as difficult and irritating (no, I am not bitter, really), but I have been really looking at how I can turn an icky situation into something positive! Every now and then my husband and I look at new houses and here is what I have learned about myself and what we really need:

1. Less truly is more!
2. A big house isn't better, just more space to fill.
3. Boys don't need anything but a big backyard to run around.
4. Old houses have way more character than new ones.
5. New isn't necessarily better.
6. Finally, I no longer love to clean (yes, there was a time in my life where cleaning was enjoyable for me... that is no more)!

I am hopeful that we will get to move before school starts and that I will be spending the rest of my summer packing up and moving out!

(photo from flickr: Mingfong)