The Simple Life ?

It seems to me that everyone is talking about 'The Simple Life'. Obviously I'm doing something wrong because I don't see it as being all that simple. For example, I recently sold the contents of my home... and trust me there was nothing simple about it.

Even though I hired a liquidation company, We Make It Go Away it was still a few weeks of hard work on my end. Pulling hidden 'treasures' from every closet, cupboard, drawer and from under the furniture and deciding if the item was to be kept, sold, returned, or trashed was exhausting! That project took 2 weeks... with help from friends and family. Mold and mildew caked under our nails, sweat dripped down our faces leaving a path in the dirt, our nostrils twitched with the smell of fertilizer and/or dust bunnies... but we got the job done.

One would assume that after the sale life would NOW be simple. Oh no... not in my world. People purchased the craziest things... some of which you don't notice until you go to use them. For example... the other night I was making peanut butter cookies. The peanut butter, sugar and eggs were mixed, I reached for the vanilla extract in the cupboard where it has been a staple for over 27 years. Nope, not there. Huh? Did someone move it? I ransacked every cupboard in the kitchen... no vanilla. Come to think of it I didn't see the baking powder either. UGH!!! Someone bought them right out of my cupboards!!! Someone also purchased my frozen shrimp... right from my freezer!!! There goes my special treat of shrimp and grits for dinner.

All of the things I didn't want to sell I had put in one room. Three weeks later and I'm still mucking it out. Is there an 'upside' to all of this? Yes. I have found a few things I thought I had lost, revisited some items that were packed away, learned that many other people are crazy like me, and earned a few dollars to pay my bills. All in all I would give this process 'two thumbs up'.

BTW... my daughter, Stephanie and her husband, Curt are on a 3 week trip to Europe. Speak about 'The Simple Life'... they only packed one backpack each. It makes sense since they will be traveling on buses, trains and such. HOWEVER... it took Stephanie months of planning which EXACT items they would pack... so it really wasn't simple after all.