Crazy Enough to Succeed

This is what keeps me going, through this whole crazy process!

 

 

Please forgive me for the messiness of this post. It took me almost 3 hours and the formatting was driving me nuts. This story will be told mostly through pictures. It's really the best way to explain how far we've come. What you are about to see may shock you, but I am trusting you with this! You're not allowed to judge me or the process. Don't forget, my grandmother lived in this house for a really long time and liked to...collect things. And we moved in in a rush and had to get things out of the way. And since then we haven't had the motivation to do anything about it, until we decided I'd move down there. See, I AM motivating!! 

 

 




    In the beginning...such a mess.










So much stuff...

 <-----------------------------------------The Great Doll Mountain

Holy crap, a couch!!!

 Goodbye, ugly couch!

 Starting to clear out. You can't tell, but the piles are all organized.

 

 

We found the corner!! I haven't seen this part of the room in about 12 years.

 And finally, some progress is visible.

Now, if only I could figure out a way to get rid of those cameras (the big box in the lower left corner- all cameras).

Goodbye Doll Mountain! Oh look, there's the piano. Knew it was there somewhere!

Found this magazine while we were cleaning out some old books. Note the very helpful article listed in the corner.



Although I don't really consider myself a 'Husband Hunter', I can't wait to read their tips!










We're far from done, but we're getting there! Just to give you an idea of how much has been done, my father has taken at least 5 trips to the dump, plus one for the couch and another for some other large items. We have taken multiple car-loads to a second hand store's donation center. And then we had the dolls. Oh, the dolls. After setting them all aside, my mother, aunt and three cousins came over and we went through every single box, picking out what we wanted and divided the rest into piles to give away or sell. My father then took ANOTHER van-load and I took ANOTHER car-load to the drop off center, this time dropping off just dolls. I admit that both of us made our deliveries during off-hours so no one would see us and judge us. Not my finest hour, but it needed to be done! My mother and I then went through all the boxes of dolls to sell and catalogued them, and then I looked them up to get values. Next I divided them again into items to go on kijiji and others that are more collectible that I'll put on ebay. Finally I spent an entire weekend hanging around the house, waiting for people to come and look at the dolls. They are almost all gone now, and any that don't sell by next weekend will be donated. I still have to put the ones on ebay, but that'll happen soon enough.

Although I know we have a long way to go, I'm getting excited about the finished project. My parents have been hard at work too. My dad has fixed the door and vented the dryer to reduce moisture, they've gotten a dehumidifier and my mom has spent hours going through boxes. I've picked paint colours and have planned my new home. I still sometimes feel like I'll never get there, and I frequently feel slightly crazy, but in the end I know we'll get it done!