Moving Is Never Fun…it’s stressful. For weeks you seem to sort through your life as you pack up boxes…deciding what you will take with you when you move, what will be donated to charity and what needs to be left behind. If you are like me and are trying to consolidate furniture and other items from a previous home that was decorated in a totally different style, the task can feel a little overwhelming. If the situation happens to you, what would you do?
I thought I would take you “behind the scenes” and show you how I am trying to take two complete and different households and turn them into one manageable home by selling some of the pretty objects I have accumulated over the years. It’s not easy sorting though the contents of hastily packed boxes and bags and at times the whole process has felt very daunting. It almost feels like being caught in a spider web. The more I have struggled with decisions, the more tangled the situation seems to have become. There are so many projects that need to be taken care of in addition to my normal routine of caring for our home, garden and orchard and yet there are no more hours in the day in which to get it all accomplished.
When you own antiques or art work that you no longer have space for, you have a limited number of people who might be interested in buying them. With that in mind, I found an antique store two towns over that had a tiny five by five foot space that was empty that I could rent on a month to month basis. It is so little that I can only display a rather small collection of items I wish to sell at any given time. Hopefully there will be a few buyers who will fall in love with some of my treasures and then I’ll add more items to the space.
We are lucky to have a large barn that I have cleaned of unneeded items and rearranged over the last week. The tractors and other equipment have been moved around and packed into tighter quarters so that I ended up with two empty bays. The barn has been swept, vacuumed, and filled with furniture and other household items. When you now walk into the barn, it looks like a mini furniture store or a small rendition of a Bed, Bath and Beyond instead of a working orchard barn.
This is where I am going to try to sell some of our belongings that came from our cottage in Maine and other items that have been stored in our basement that I couldn’t part with from our previous move. I’ve tried to display everything in room like settings so that it will give people an idea of how things would look in their own home. I’m hoping people will buy the little treasures that I have collected over the years but unfortunately only if they are priced at a fraction of what I originally paid for them. That seems to be the way used items are sold in our area…pennies on the dollar in many cases.
Click on any photo below to see a slide show.
From large pieces of furniture to small decorative items, kitchen ware and dishes, rugs, antique blankets and linens, artwork, books and baskets, I seem to have it all. As soon as the rest of the boxes are unpacked, I’ll be having a big barn sale…probably more than once to find homes for the many items that must go.
I may be taking a bit longer between my future posts and visiting other bloggers. I want to see if I can get my “house back in order” so to speak. Wish me well in my new endeavor as I try to and create calm out of the chaos that has become my life recently. Moving is never fun…it’s stressful. I’m sure many of you have been in the same situation. I would enjoy hearing about any helpful hints you might have to offer.
Back Road Journal 
All the best Karen. One of the few things in life I really dislike is moving house. I feel for you.
Thank you Gary, for your nice wish. I’ve moved a lot but it never gets easier.
I do wish you well Karen. It looks like you’ve got it down pat and know what you’re doing. I love how you’ve arranged your furniture in the barn as if if were a showroom. I think you’ll have a lot of success showing it that way. And lucky you to find a place where you can show some of your things in a store.
We’ve moved many many times during our marriage, even out of the country once and I know all about the pain of consolidating and deciding what to keep (and have room for). When we moved out of the country, we hired an Estate Sale manager because we had a lot of antiques, but were very disappointed with his results, We had done the estate sale thing earlier when my parents passed away and the results were much better (in a tiny town no less). We will have to face this one more time in our lives when we again merge to homes together as you are. I can’t wait to hear about your results.
Sam
Sorry for the typos. Apparently I don’t type too well early in the morning 🙂
Sam
Don’t worry. Until I have my first cup of tea in the morning, I’m the same way. 😀
Thank you for your wish Sam. I’m glad you like how I’ve arranged the furniture in the barn, perhaps someone will buy more than one piece that way. 🙂 Finding the space at the antique store seemed like it was “meant to be”. My husband has suggested hiring someone to do an estate sale…that will be my last resort. Merging two homes into one is so hard because you only have so much space and you like everything you have.
In the last five years I’ve had to move four times. It nearly killed me. I do wish you well with your moving as I definitely know how stressful it is xx
Wow Charlie, Four times in five years is a lot. I know what you mean about it nearly killing you, I’ve never been so tired and there is still more to do. Thank you for your wish, it is much appreciated.
I’ve moved nine times as an adult and even when you have a moving company assisting, it doesn’t help with all the sorting, donating, and selling. I find sorting easier than trying to convince a potential buyer that something you paid $100 for is worth their $5-10 purchase. It certainly sounds like you have a good handle on the process – just a lot of hard work. I sincerely wish you a lot of buyers who can give your treasures a good home and won’t argue too much about the bargain prices. 🙂
Hi Judy, The sorting is hard because I really don’t want to get rid of many of the things I love. You are right though, it will be worse when someone gives me an insulting offer on something I really treasure. Thank you for you wish, I will need a lot of luck. 🙂
You are very organised and I would love to support you by buying a few things, but alas, we are too far apart from each other.
I have never had to move on such a large scale as what you are doing so not sure I could offer any advice other than I numbered boxes and gave rooms numbers to make it easier to know where everything must go. I also placed all the boxes in the garage in marked number areas and unpacked the house one box at a time. Made it much easier than having all the boxes taking up room space.
Have a wonderful week ahead and best of luck with the move.
🙂 Mandy xo
Hi Mandy, I may look organized in the barn but my house is a disaster. I’ve got half unpacked boxes in almost every room of my house trying to see what I will keep and what will go. Your tips are very welcomed and I appreciate your wish.
Good luck – it looks like a lot of work 😉
Thanks Mad Dog, I’ll need a lot of luck. As I look at my garden that needs weeding, the orchard that needs mowing and boxes yet to be sorted through, I do have a lot more work ahead of me. 🙂
Karen, you have some beautiful things – it would break my heart to have to part with them! I have moved often so have honed my packing skills but it is still a really stressful experience. Catalogue all the packing boxes so that you know where everything is. I also colour code the boxes so that the movers know which box belongs to which room (I stick a strip appropriate coloured paper on the room doors). Clothes go straight into wardrobe boxes; screws from any furniture that is taken apart gets it’s own baggie which is then taped securely to a piece of it’s furniture. When you get to the new place, the furniture should go in first, in the approximate positions you think you want them in and then the boxes. Make up the beds as soon as you can – you’ll be too tired to do so later! Good luck with it all!!
Hi Selma, You have some wonderful tips on moving…color coding sounds like a great idea. I think a lot of my readers will benefit from your suggestions. Thank you for your wish and good advice.
Good luck with the move, Karen. Yes it is stressful but I hope you’ll find peace and happiness in your ‘one manageable home’ once all is complete.
Thank you Kay, I think I will have some peaceful moments again once everything is sorted through and new homes found for the furniture from Maine. Hopefully someone will need a Cuisinart or two as well. 😀
I do understand you, Karen… we’ve moved about 7-8 times and even between France and the US, but we’ve always made it: my hubby is a rocket & satellite scientist, so everything went well… 🙂 stay healthy and good luck! cheers, Mélanie
Hi Mélanie, We have moved a lot too but it never gets any easier. A rocket & satellite scientist for a husband…he must be wonderfully organized. 🙂 Thank you for your wish.
Oh Karen–a daunting task indeed–having made a major move only once in our 31 marriage–and having now accumulated the things of both grandmothers, mother, and dad—my house is currently an Antique store waiting / needing to happen!! Wish I was up there to “take” a few things off of your hands—love that dinning room table and chairs!! 😉 —c’est la vie–as that would only add to my groaning mess here of which— I need to take from your lead and clean house!! —-Pray tell why and where are you now going?!
Good luck with the sorting and selling and eventual moving—
hugs to you–Julie
Hi Julie, It does sound like you have a full house too. This move came about because we sold our cottage in Maine all of the sudden and now have its entire contents to deal with. We’ve decided we want to simplify our life. 🙂
What a great idea to rent that space at the antique mall. Within the next year or so we’ll be going through the same thing. I’m keep telling myself to “act like you’re moving now” to start the process of going through things. But I don’t. And, furniture is always so hard to sell, unless you declare a “moving sale”. You’ve got some beautiful pieces and if you lived closer, I’d be browsing that barn. Especially those kitchen items.
Hi Lea Ann, The antique store was my husband’s idea after he looked up what some of our antique pieces are worth. We were lucky as there was only this tiny space among all the dealers located at the antique shop. I like your idea about acting like you are moving now…that is kind of what we are doing as we try to simplify our life. I do hope the kitchen items go…I seem to have duplicates of everything you need for a well stocked kitchen. 😀
Wish I lived closer, so I could come shop. What a great idea! Will your barn be OPEN every weekend? Perhaps this will be a new business for you! 😉
Hi Diane, I wish all my readers lived close by so that they could have first dibs on everything. I’ll only have the big barn door open in good weather to protect all the furniture. As for a new business, I don’t think I could handle anything else. 😀
Wow, I can see how that much stuff would be daunting. I wish you well (wish I lived closer, there are a few things I would definitely buy!)
Hi Eva, The Maine cottage was fully furnished. Everything in the kitchen would have made any food blogger happy to cook, plate and photograph from, including an assortment of linens. It didn’t look like a lot until we had to pack it and move it all down to New Hampshire. 🙂
You have lovely taste Karen, I’m sure you’ll be able to sell everything. And I really do wish I lived closer.
Beautiful things. I wish I was in the market but I am in the same place as you. I am still mourning the little mid century sofa that I sold in our garage sale, but tough decisions had to be made. I’m sure I’ll have to make a few more before our move is over.
Thank you Karen, I know where you are coming from. There are items I’m going to sell that I never thought I would but I’m going to keep at it.
I’ve only ever moved once so far in my life (I’ll be moving for the second time in October, to live in Spain for a while!) and it was a big move, leaving my big childhood farmhouse home behind, as my mother and I downsized to a more manageable cottage. Moving is definitely stressful; make sure you take some time out to unwind, even just half an hour.
All the best. I hope it goes smoothly!
Hi Grace, If you have already downsized, you know what it is like. How exciting to live in Spain for a while…that should be a real adventure. Thank you for your wish, it is appreciated.
Oh, Karen! You’ve got the wrong attitude when it comes to moving. Not with all those beautiful antiques and collectibles. I’ve bought art pottery–Bauer, Fiesta, Hull, etc. I’ve branched out–buying furniture, jewelry and McCoy cookie jars. When it comes to buying and selling collections, I keep the treasures and am willing to part with the rest. If I need money, I’ll sell because every woman has her price! I appreciate beauty, the craftsmanship that you cannot possibly get with cookie cutter manufacturing. Be grateful that you can pick and choose from your “Back East” treasures. I live in California, so lots of things are picked over by the time you stroll through an antique store or a flea market. American antiques and collectibles are all about our culture and our heritage. If I truly want a piece, I buy it. If it’s way over budget, I find a way to afford it. I like moving because it forces me to get out of my current comfort zone. I learned that all you have in life is yourself and whatever you choose to keep yourself happy. Treasure the time as you sort through things or dump things until you can start all over again with new eyes. You’ve got a lot of quality things that will bring a lot of joy to a lot of people. When it comes to donating unused things to charity, giving to someone or an organization in need tops my list. I am now finally sorting through my personal things, giving most to charity and finding a few to sell. Although it is not fun to face the mess made by two packrats like my husband and I, I’m making it an adventure. I cannot do my best writing until I unload all of this stuff. Make moving fun, it does have it’s perks. Promise!
Hi Arlene, I have to thank you for your comment…your words are so true. Antiques are truly about our culture and history. I’ve been a caretake and enjoyed some wonderful items which have become rarer since I acquired them. Now it will be nice to share them with others who I know will love them until they pass them on to others. I have made two loads to Goodwill so far. I chose them because they help so many in need here in New England…not only through providing jobs but group homes for those struggling. Salvation Army will also be getting lots of items because of their good work. Thank you for your words of encouragement…they are much appreciated.
You’re welcome! And I applaud your for your generosity, I admire that in people. Goodwill and the Salvation Army are tops in my books. Both charities provide help as well as training. Today, I constantly give to the Goodwill in my neighborhood–less than a mile away. Personally, I have what I need to lead a happy life, so it’s very important for me to give back or volunteer my time.
All the best with the big move – last time I moved, I was but seven years old 😛
But I can try my best to understand and sympathise with all the work involved!
I am sure with your expertise, it will be very smooth!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Hi Uru, I appreciate you nice wish. Right now I wish I was seven years old and someone else could handle finding homes for all the furniture from our cottage in Maine but I must be a big girl and get it done. 😀
Sorting out life like that take physical and emotional energy reserves, and then there’s the trying to live in the middle of it. Wish you all the peace and energy you need for this massive project. I’m sure there will be many blessed by your treasures in their homes.
Hi Judy, I think trying to live in the middle of all this is the most trying. My house is a disaster as I unpack everything. Thank goodness I’ve got the barn to put everything into until it gets sold. Thank you for your kind words and wish, they are very much appreciated.
I couldn’t agree more about moving. I hate it. It’s been 3 years and I’ve still got stuff to get rid of. Downsizing is painful but you’ve got a lot more than I have at the moment. Good luck. Love the barn.
Hi Maureen, I can’t imagine anyone feeling any different than we do…I do hate it too. If you were to venture into my basement, you would see a few boxes that made the move from Florida that have things in them that I couldn’t part with but I should have. They will be going into the BIG barn sell too as I really do need to downsize. 😀 Thank you for your wish. BTW, I’m glad you like the barn, we had it restored after the house was finished.
I understand how hard it is to let go of our treasures. As Mr. D and I love to go to estate and yard sales, I have changed in my thinking of what we are doing. The people that owned the things that are for sale were the caretakers or family of the caretakers. When I purchase something at a sale, I always think I have become the new caretaker and I will take especially good care of the item as it was so special to someone else. I know there are some caretakers in your area that will take care of your special things too. I know you are making some hard choices right now and I wish for you the best of luck.
Hi Southern, I like your thinking. We are all caretakers of old possessions that others loved as much as we do. We have them awhile, enjoy them, then pass them on to others for their enjoyment. I am making hard choices but I think they are the right ones. Thank you for your nice wish.
Moving is so hard! I so dislike having to get rid of stuff, it makes me sad even when in the long run I know it’s for the best. I just get so sentimental and can’t let go, especially baby clothes that my girls wore when infants, so hard!
I wish I could come to your sale though, you have a lot of cute stuff =)
Hi Laura, I know what you mean about getting sentimental over possessions. Sometimes they don’t fit into our lives anymore but they are hard to part with just the same. I’m glad you like my things…hopefully people coming to my barn sale will think so too. 🙂
You ARE so organized!
Wow.. I have to say I am glad it’s you and not me with all these things..
I am trying to simplify:)
Everything is so tasteful..I am sure you will be a roaring success..
When we sold our place in Fl ..we sold it furnished.. everything..
But then again I cannot say there were any heirlooms..everything had been bought new..
I hate moving..It took us weeks..literally.. this last move..
I love your barn!
You are sure about selling the cast iron LOL?
The OPEN flag will look amazing~
PS The little spot you set up in the rented place is really well done too.
I think you may have found a new calling..
Bonne Chance!!!
Hi Monique, I appreciate your kind words…thank you. We had hoped our cottage would have been sold furnished but no such luck. I’m trying to simplify too but it is hard making choices of what stays and what goes. I wish I had a little bit bigger spot for the antiques as I can only put a few items in at a time and wait for them to sell before I can add more. My barn may be organized but my house is a jumble of half unpacked boxes right now and the orchard is in dire need of mowing but all this will pass. 🙂
Hi Karen, You seem to be handling moving very well! I hope the rest of the transition goes smoothly for you. My big move to Ireland was quite stressful, as you said. But I was glad to have gone through and gotten rid of so many things that I didn’t need anymore. (I should do the same again now!) Your barn looks amazing! I would love it if I lived nearby and could go to your barn sale! I wish you the best of luck and the best prices 🙂 Dana
Hi Dana, I can just imagine how hard it was to move to Ireland…I thought mmoving up from Florida to New Hampshire was hard. Some days I don’t know if I’m handling this predicament well or not. I’m worried as people keep telling me that my furniture and antiques won’t sell. I wish you were my neighbor and that you could enjoy some of items in my barn sale.
Karen, I know what you are going through!! We have moved so many times during our marriage and the best bits of advice I can give are to be patient about having everything cleaned up and back to normal, enjoy the process while you look over all your treasures and recall fond memories, and keep your eye on the prize of being free to travel more when all is finished. Consolidating is a little different than moving, but I’m sure the mess is still overwhelming. Now, did you think of selling online so that all your blog fans can share in the booty? My fingers are twitching as I look at the yoyo quilt and the Two Bears sign (which I remember seeing in a photo of your cabin) and so many other goodies. Of course, I have been trying to eliminate a good portion of our things this year, in anticipation of retirement in a few years. It’s so hard to be good when I am tempted! Best of luck with your sales and getting back to normal.
Hi Linda, You seem to know exactly where I’m coming from. My husband and I do want to be free to travel more and downsizing is a step in that direction. All of the sudden I have at least two of everything you need in a home and no place to put it all…thank goodness for a large barn. Don’t you just love the yoyo quilt. The Two Bears sign was acquired because my husband’s sweet mother used to call us Goldilocks and the Bear…then my husband started referring to me as little bear and we thought the sign was perfect for our cottage in Maine. 🙂 Thank you for your nice wish…I’m looking forward to things being back to normal.
It looks like you’ve got a barn full! I would love to come to your barn sale, you have so many great contemporary and antique pieces that I would love to buy. Too bad I just left the United States yesterday!
Hi Laura, I do have a barn full and still have more small items to add as I finish unpacking boxes. I do have a nice mix…hopefully that will be good for young and older buyers who may stop by when I have my barn sale. I was wondering if your were here in the U.S. visiting your family…I hope you had a wonderful time and a safe trip back to Germany.
Karen, first of all, congratulations on a fantastic job of keeping this so organized. I am quite impressed! Your space in the antique shop is charming and your display so well done I am sure your beautiful items will fly into the arms of customers. Your barn is also so well done that shoppers will buy entire rooms of goodies. Perhaps we need to swing by in October and see if there are any bargains to be had! I wish you the best of luck with this and again, as so very impressed by your hard work and organization. The best to you! Hope you get to meet and make some new friends at your barn sale!
Thank you Tin Man, for your nice compliment. If you could see my house right now, you might question that comment as there are boxes everywhere waiting to be emptied. Hopefully items will sell in the antique shop because I have more to replace them. I hope you are right about my barn sale going well…I’m not getting encouragement from friends here in New Hampshire. Touch base when it gets closer to the time of your visit to New England. If we can make it work out, it would be great to get together. 🙂
I’ve been off of the blogosphere for a few weeks so I think I missed some important happenings! I didn’t realise you were moving. It’s a hard job. I have moved so many times in my life; countries, states, cities and houses. It’s so tiring and so stressful I wish you all the best, Karen.
Hi Nazneen, We sold our cottage in Maine and all the contents of the cottage were moved to our barn at our home in New Hampshire. You are so right…moving is everything you mentioned. Thank you for your wish.
Good luck with your new endeavor, Karen!
Thank you Ming, I appreciate your wish.
I want to do the same—but just haven’t figured out quite where to start—oh to leave Maine—I don’t know about that one. . .
Hi Julie, Leaving Maine wasn’t an easy decision. I wish the buyers had taken the cottage furnished because finding someone who wants the furniture will be hard. I don’t think it will be too much trouble with the small decorative items and kitchenwares.
Oh my. The emotional work in tandem with so much decision making and physical labor…sending you strength and peace in this time of upheaval and renewal.
Thank you Plumdirt, for your wish. I know that you have recently moved and know what I’m going through. The only good thing is the hard work has gotten rid of a couple unwanted pounds. 😀
Added bonus! 🙂 In addition to our move, my parents recently cleaned out their attic. That resulted in a lot of childhood memories brought to life via trinkets my parents brought on their last trip down. Deciding which of those items to let go of (and possibly to never remember those moments again without the item to trigger the memory) has been a slow process.
Since my first home right out of college (an apartment in a home which I eventually purchased) I have only moved twice – once to Maine and once to Tucson. I feel fortunate compared to some of the horror stories I have heard. Each move was hard – letting go of favorite things was definitely hard – but when merging households hard decisions had to be made. I only miss one of two things, which is good. The hardest part was moving across country with a paid mover. It was done by weight… books had to be sacrificed. For Mark is was all his history and garden books, and for me it was leaving about 50% of my cookbooks. I am happy to say, both of us have replenished our collections admirably.
Good luck – my only advice is this: keep breathing (this, too, shall pass), remember to have a glass of wine, and if you have to give up a special “treasure” – know that it is merely an object. You will always have the memory.
Hi David, Having done one long distance move from Florida to New Hampshire, I can relate to what you and Mark went through. I definitely look forward to a glass of wine each evening as I try to tell myself I’m getting things accomplished. 🙂
Being a pack rat, (really, I’m not a hoarder, it’s all great stuff!) I shudder at the thought of moving again! Good luck with your antique space and barn sales although you won’t really need luck with all of those treasures which will make other owners happy to own for a time.
You gave me a chuckle Peter. I know you aren’t a hoarder and not really a pack rat, you just have wonderful collections of pretty things. 🙂 All my friends here keep telling me no one is going to buy what I have, I hope you are right and they are wrong.
I’m no good at letting go of stuff haha, so I can imagine how hard this must be! So many lovely things.
Hi Ksenia, I’m like you. It is hard to get rib of things that you bought…you loved them or you wouldn’t have bought them. As you can see though, I have too much to keep. 😀
“Hi Karen, Oh I feel for you, I always have a hard time getting rid of my “things”. Great idea about the antique shop, we have them here and in the next town and I have picked up some wonderful pieces for our home. Best wishes!
Hi Cheri, I’m glad you know how I feel. Half the things I must let go of came from antique shops from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine over the years. Thank you for your wish.
When is your sale? I have many followers on FB who live near there and will most certainly help you advertise and they will share on their pages as well – I love that little antique table! My aunt had one like it with these little chairs that went with it back at her lake home in the 70’s. And all the canning items – you know I love that! I wish I lived closer!!
Hi Kelli, Thank you for your offer. I don’t know when my sale will be yet…there is still lots more to do. You had an eagle eye to spot the canning items…most of it has never been used. 🙂
I can empathize – I have moved 9 times in my adult life. Hard to part with some things but sometimes you just have to! I always fwt good about the parting when my children took some of the them. Good luck in you sale.
Hi Jovina, It seems at many of us have done this quite a few times but it never gets any easier. Our children are all in Florida and actually our one son took some of our things when we move from Florida to New Hampshire. When I visit, I get to see and enjoy them. 🙂
Moving is such a hassle. My husband sells a lot of things on Craig’s list, he just sold my old dining room table.
Hi Gerlinde, Thank you for stopping by for a visit and your comment. If things don’t sell, I’m definitely trying Craig’s list. I’m also going to try Ebay for some of my antique pieces.
Karen,
Having recently completed our move from Texas, after selling our home there I can totally relate to what you are going through! Take time to enjoy the downsizing aspect….I am loving our new downsized life and hope you will yours! Also a glass of wine regularly is helpful 🙂
Hi Linda, I have thought of you and your move lately. I know the end result of downsizing will be good…it is just getting there that is hard. 😀 Thank you for your wish and yes, a glass of wine definitely helps.
Ah, I do feel for you Karen. Just as I was sorting and getting rid of a wide variety of household items, my daughter asked to store some large furniture pieces in our basement. I wish that I had such a great barn as you do any worry about the basement being damp. The good thing is that it’s always good to go though things and find a new home for those that you’ll never use. Good luck with the barn sale. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of customers since you’ve got some wonderful pieces there. Alas, you are right in that people don’t want to spend much.
Hi Diane, What would we do without basements and barns, thank goodness both of mine stay dry. I appreciate your good wishes as all of my New Hampshire friends have warned me that I will get insulting low prices…especially for the furniture. I’ll hold out for some reasonable prices until fall when we have to start rearranging our equipment in preparation for apple season and winter snow plowing. 🙂
You have some really nice pieces, and I hope they sell! We’ve had a couple of moves over the years where we had to move quickly, and I’ll bet all together we’ve given away the equivalent of a whole household of furniture — simply because we didn’t have time to try to sell it. Sounds like you are much better organized, and have a better plan. Don’t worry about your posting schedule — we’ll all be here waiting for you when it’s convenient for you to write.
Hi John, I know what you mean about quick moves, we sold the cottage in just a couple of weeks and were hoping the buyers would take it furnished but no such luck. We given away the new mattresses, a TV and my wonderful BBQ grill because there just wasn’t room in the truck that brought everything done. I think I’ll be on a first name basis with Goodwill before this is over. Thank you for your nice comment regarding my posting schedule…there just aren’t enough hours in the day right now to get everything done. 🙂
Must be hard to part with such beautiful items, but as you said it’s necessary. Good luck! 🙂
Hi Ronit, It really is necessary to part with so much because I just don’t have room for everything that came from our summer cottage. Thank you for your wish.
Oh Karen, I wish I lived closer. That little cabinet with the drawers is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for!!!!!!
It’s so tough going through things, but once it’s done, you’ll be so relieved. And it’s so much less of a burden.
Hugs and best of luck on getting through it.
PS I wrote that before even looking any further at your pictures. OMG—I want ALL your stuff. Oh why do I live in Michigan????????????????????????????????????
I wish we were neighbors, I would trade you some of my things for some of your beautiful plants. 🙂
Hi Sue, You picked out my favorite piece of furniture…I’m kind of hoping it doesn’t sell. It is a child’s cabinet from Sweden that we bought many years ago. Thank you for your kind words and wish. I will be relieved when I’ve accomplished this task. BTW, your gardens are looking good.
Oh my, I would love to have a stroll around your barn! I have a little bit of everything at our two homes and if we ever had to sell one, I don’t know how I could part with ay of it!! Sometimes we lose our interest in certain styles over the years…that’s not too hard to give away but I know editing must be a real challenge for you. All the best.
Jane xx
Hi Jane, Trying to consolidate two homes into one isn’t easy but hopeful I’ll sell at least all the big pieces of furniture. Thank you for your wish and I hope you are having a great time at your lake house.
I hate moving which is why I’ve only moved or rather, BEEN moved a few times over the last 40-50 yrs. I’ve been here about 30 yrs and expect my next move will be into a nursing home or a … well, we won’t go there.
I love so many of your treasures and hate the idea that you have to get rid of them. One of the reasons I gave away most of the clutter from my parents’ place was that I could stand the thought of ‘nickel and diming’ discussions with people who came to ‘buy’. I hate yard/garage sales for that very reason. The sectioned corn bread frying pan, the lemonade dispenser, the white serving bowl with the blue trim, the glass jars with the spring lids … all would come my way if I lived in your area. The best of luck with the clearance.
Hi Boleyn, I’ve moved about a dozen times and it doesn’t get any easier…probably because I am older with each move. 😀 I know it probably won’t be a pleasant experience holding the barn sale just for the reason you mentioned, no one will want to pay what I think things are worth. Thank you for your wish and I wished you lived close by so that you could enjoy the items you mentioned.
Oh, you have so many beautiful things! Good luck with getting everything in order.
Thank you for your nice compliment and wish, Ladyfi. I really do appreciate them.
Just remember to breathe! It is sad to pack, sort and chuck and decide but also a form of cleansing. We moved from big house with kids to an apartment when the kids left home. Decision what to give them, keep for them, use yourself, not use, donate or sell. Huge effort but eventually you will get there. I am no longer sentimental about a lot of things, I rather treasure the memories. You have beautiful things and I love your idea of displaying them. Very clever and good luck. After all of this, you will have to go on a road trip to restore your soul!
Hi Flippen, Thank you for your advise…it is a huge task but eventually I’ll get through it. You are so right about needing a road trip, we are going to get away for a little while to rejuvenate both body and mind before we have the barn sale. 🙂
I have no tips Karen but prayers that all goes well & those beautiful items sell quickly. Best to you.
Thank you for your sweet thoughts and prayers, Dahila. They are much much appreciated.
It’s hard to let go of your special treasures. Your thoughts on moving – “Moving Is Never Fun” My thoughts on moving – “I’d rather have a root canal.”
You gave me a real laugh, Larry. Just what I needed today. 😀
Good luck Karen. Isn’t it amazing how much stuff is collected over the years to make a house a home! If i have to move again I would start sorting out as early as possible and be brutally strict with myself… if in doubt, it goes! Hope your precious objects find happy homes soon!
Thank you Cathy, for your wish. I started out this process holding back on many items but I’ve realized that I can’t do that. I’ll remember your words, “if in doubt, it goes”. 🙂
Best of luck with the move–I dread it too (you never know how much stuff you have until you need to organize it and pack it into boxes). I must say though, your barn of goods looks like a beautiful antique store showroom! All you need is a store front sign on the barn and you’re good:)
Hi Fuzzi, I have to agree with you about how much stuff you have. Our summer cottage in Maine was little and looking around we thought we didn’t have that much. Once we started packing everything into boxes, it was way more than we thought. You forget about what is in all the cabinets, closets and drawers. 🙂 You’ve made my day with your compliment about the barn…thank you. 😀
Boy does your post bring back the memories for me in moving out west many years ago. I packed and moved. Then unpacked some and put the rest in storage. Then packed and moved again. All within 6 months time. This all happened among getting married, being apart for 5 months in 2 different States, finally being back together, and then building a house. NUTSO, STRESSFUL, CRAZINESS!!!
Wishing You the BEST – Good Luck 🙂
Hi Renee, It appears that moving is a memory that most of us don’t like. No matter how many times we’ve done it, it never gets any easier. Nutso, stressful, craziness…I totally agree. I appreciate your wish…thank you!
Hope all is going well for you 🙂 Happy Weekend!
Good luck with selling all of your things, Karen! I know what a daunting task it must have been to decide what to keep and what to sell. I do hope someone will find and love your treasures.
Thank you Susan, for your nice wish. I’m hoping there will be people that will appreciate the treasures that I have loved and will buy and enjoy them as I have.
Karen I wish you so well with the move and with all sorting out that has to be done. Moving is indeed terribly stressful.
Your have displayed the lovely items that you placed in the antique shop very tastefully so hopefully they will sell quickly.
Take care. 😉
Thank you B, for your wish. You would think after making a dozen moves it wouldn’t be stressful for me but it is and probably always will be. I’m glad you you like my little antique spot. In a little more than a week, I’ve sold a $15 antique double cherry pitter…doesn’t really help pay my rent. 😀
You really could open up a shop to furnish cottages….so many adorable things. I hate moving too. We still have boxes unopened from 9 yrs ago…this winter we will go through the house and clear out the clutter finally…good luck Karen!!
Thank you for your kind words, Donna. Your idea would certainly be a fun shop to run. I’m glad that I’m not the only one…I still have boxes in my basement from our Florida move. I used Gourmet and Bon Appetite magazines to fill voids in the boxes because I couldn’t throw them away. 😀 Good luck on your clutter cleaning job, I’ll probably still be doing mine.
Wow Karen… you have some beautiful things there… it must be hard to part with them! I moved three times in five years and once Peter and I settled into our new home I told him to forget about moving to the seaside for at least 20 years! 🙂
Hi Lizzy, I’m glad that you like the things that I’m going to try and sell. Yes, it is hard to part with them…especially the antiques as they have so much history which I love.
Good luck Karen! Over the years we do accumulate a lot of things and I know how difficult it is parting with things that you are sentimental about. If it makes you feel any better I am doing the same thing. I also am feeling a bit overwhelmed. However we will get it done and life will slow down eventually. Take care of yourself.
Thank you for your wish, Bobbi. It appears that there are a lot of us doing exactly the same thing so perhaps we can offer moral support for each other. You are so right, we do accumulate lots of things. We can easily do without many things but some are special because of their history or sentimental value. Downsizing is our goal…we want to make life simpler and travel more.
I think a barn sale is a super idea and who knows maybe a new career or “shop” is in the making! 🙂
Hi Elizabeth, Thank you for your encouragement about the barn sale. All my friends here in New Hampshire think I’m crazy and think nothing will sell. 🙂
Take a few deep breaths and a couple of days off!! Go walk in the woods! You are very lucky to have that beautiful dry barn in New Hampshire – it looks a treat and one cannot but help get the buying urge when the items are displayed so enticingly. The antique store corner is a wonderful idea also. But I can understand only too well that you simply do not want to let go of some of the beloved belongings with which you have a connection! Were I closer I sure would love to take a close look at the black table and antique chairs set: quite, quite my cup of tea, as the saying goes here 🙂 ! I am not moving, but have decided on a 20-year huge clean-up myself this coming spring – am somewhat of a ‘hoarder’ and inevitably, in a home of only four main rooms +, piles of things are threatening to walk out of the door 😀 !!
Thank you for your advice, Eha, you seem to understand my feelings totally. We are going to take a break soon from this madness that has been our life lately as my husband has to travel on business and I’m going to get out of town with him…everything will still be there when I get back but I’ll perhaps have a better frame of mind of dealing with it. 😀 No matter the size of our homes (our cottage was small), their contents seem to multiply over the years as we find perfect treasures.
we are hoping to just move to Keene NH (from Spofford VIllage!), and it’s insane! Mainly as the kind of home we want in town sells within days…..so we’ve decided to wait another year and pay off our home here first. We have a wee cabin on Franklin Pierce Lake in Antrim… it was sold to us furnished… which was great for the first year but so glad to replace stuff. Also, now we have filled TWO homes! And a basement with goodies. Good luck with the barn sale, lots of terrific things there!
Hi Kitty, When you do make your move, I hope it goes well. Perhaps you can use some of the suggestions other readers have given. Thank you for your nice wish. 🙂
We’re going through the same thing as we plan to move to Spain. It is very stressful. best of luck with finding homes for your things!
Hi Darlene, Thank you for stopping by for a visit and your nice wish. All the best on your move to Spain…I’m sure it won’t be easy.
We moved once…and that’s a nightmare. Next time when we move, I want to leave everything behind except my pets. It’s too much for me. You are so organized!
Hi Angie, Wouldn’t moving be simple if that was all we had to do. Thank you for your compliment but I don’t feel organized as I look around my house full of boxes that are half unpacked. 😀
I am not fond of moving! I really feel for you as deciding what to keep and what to sell must be so difficult. Good luck Karen 🙂
Hi Tandy, It is hard letting go of some of the things that are for sale…I keep second guessing myself. I don’t have room for a house full of furniture that come from our cottage so everything must go save a few special pieces.
Good luck with that. It seems to be a Herculean task. You have some lovely things.
Thank you Roger, for your wish. It truly is a difficult task and there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished.
Wow Karen, you have some lovely stuff for sale, I’m sure you’ll be able to clear a lot of it. Moving is such a horrid task. I’ve just recently had to move twice in six weeks – out of the house for earthquake repairs, and then back in when finished – but the whole house had to be packed up as they were removing asbestos from the cracked ceilings. I used it as a chance to declutter and five charity boxes and a truckload to the dump thought I’d done well… but moving back let’s just say it was double that! It didn’t help that we didn’t fully clear out mum and dad’s stuff when I moved in, but honestly, for a single person and one cat… I had a lot of junk! It took one day to move out and five to move back in (and still have pictures to go up on walls!) The house is feeling calmer now, clearer, decluttered and best of all FIXED! I hope you get to relax when you’re all unpacked and properly settled.
Hi Susan, Thank you for stopping by for a visit and your nice comment. I can just imagine what you have been going through recently. I’m looking forward to those calmer days that are ahead. 🙂
You have such beautiful things. It would be so hard to part with them! I love love love your barn!! IT’s so clean and with that furniture in there right now I would move right in myself!
Thank you Diane, for your nice compliment. I’m glad you like our barn, we had it restored after the restoration of our home was finished. It took quite a while to clean and make enough room so that we could move in the contents from our summer cottage…now hopefully I can get it all sold.
Is that so! We have a barn that looks a lot like yours only it has a dirt floor and it is all around dirty itself. This is inspirational… once the house is done like you said. I am kind of excited at the prospect. Maybe i just drank too much coffee.
I’m glad that you have found inspiration from seeing our barn. Yes, wait until your home is just the way you want it and then think about your barn. Our barn is 40 by 80 feet and adds significant value to our property. I can’t imagine not having a concrete floor, especially during the winter with equipment and our truck going inside and out taking care of the snow.
Good luck, Karen! Nice furniture and things, by the way. I would love to come and take a closer look!
ela h.
Thank you for your wish, Ela. Wish we were neighbors, then you could take a look at what is being sold. 🙂
Love the little display that you have set up at the antique place – hope that your things sell easily. I am in the process of de-junkifying my life – way too much stuff around here! I am mostly just donating the majority of what I’m getting rid of, but have a small stash of things I’m going to sell once I’m all sorted out – your display in the shop has given me a good idea.
Hi Donalyn, I’m glad that my little antique space has given you an idea of how you can sell some of your things. In the past week, I’ve only sold a $15 antique cherry pitter and that was to one of the ladies who run the antique store. 😀
I know well that moving is never fun, Karen! I am in that process. My beautiful house is in the market waiting a buyer so my family and I can finally move. 😦
I liked several of those items. They would make great props for blogs.
Maine is a gorgeous place. I wish I can visit it one day. Well, I wish you can sell all your belongings soon and rest. I am looking forward for it as well because I am ready to go. I am in need of a great rest. Take care, dear!
Hi Denise, It sounds like you can relate to what I’ve been going through. Let’s hope we will both have time to rest in the future. Good luck with selling your home and the move that awaits you. 🙂 I do hope you have the opportunity to visit Maine someday, it is beautiful.
If only I lived closer… I can see would happily buy some of your furniture… I hope you won’t miss your Maine cottage too much and you will replace it with other holiday adventures elsewhere.
Hi Sissi, I so wish my blogging friends were neighbors and could take a peek at all I have for sale. We will miss the cottage…it was special but we will find another place to continue our adventures. Thank you for your lovely comment and wish.
Karen, I totally agree with you!! Its a pain to move and a headache to figure out what to do with all the stuff. Hope you are doing well! Best wishes!
Thank you Ami for your nice wish and comment. It truly is a hard moving…hopefully all the items will sell and life can get back to normal.
Moving house is not an easy project. I hope you find homes for your lovely unwanted items, Karen. I have boxes and boxes of ‘stuff’ which will go to the Animal Welfare. Fortunately our daughter wants my grand piano and some of our furniture. I hope we don’t take too much with us overseas. Good luck. We move out of our house here at the end of this month.
Hi Sylvia, I moved from Florida to New Hampshire and that was a big undertaking, I can’t imagine moving overseas. I know that you are trying to get rid of stuff because you already have a furnished home waiting for you in Boynton so we are in similar positions. My best wishes to you on your upcoming move.
We’re just about to move again too in the UK, with a possible move later in the year in Spain so I feel for you. I wish I could come and have a rummage in your barn – I spotted so many wodnerful things! Shame you are not in England, so many villages round here that sell beautiful items like yours, people would go crazy for them and pay good money. Stay calm, try not to get stressed – I hope the moves are all happening through choice and good things and not because they have been forced on you. We’ll still be here for you when you’re back in blogging business Karen!
Hi Tanya, It sounds like you are going to be in my shoes real soon. I appreciate your kind words, yes this was by choice as we have decided we need to simplify our life. You are right, people have an appreciation for older items in the UK and Europe more than here. I wish I could just wave a magic wand and have all my items land over in one of those villages as know I’m going to have a hard time selling everything that I need to here.
Wishing you luck, hope it all works out ok…
Moving and making choices like that is never easy! I try to enjoy the intense experience of having all these objects pass through my hand that evoke passed times and have so much meaning to me!
I agree with you Afra, there is so much history and memories in some of the things I’m going to be selling. It is especially hard when trying to consolidate items from two homes down to one but it must be done.
Can I tell you dear?
Only patience! Sigh!
I hate moving too and love to collect beautiful things like you and Im sure if we living more close I would happy to buy some of beautiful things you have.
I wish you the best and hope you soon will be in your own site again and feel comfortable.
Hugs!♡♥
Thank you Gloria, for your kind words. Yes, I do need to be more patient and and it will all be done eventually. 🙂
we just moved in our new house ( and I swear the last house) back in June of last year. I don’t mind moving in I just don’t like moving out:) LOL! Best of luck!
Hi Jessica, You know exactly what I mean if you have recently been through a move. I think moving into a house may not be as difficult because we are looking forward to creating a new home and can take a little time putting it together. When you are moving out you have a deadline to meet as the house is being sold. Thank you for your nice wish.
Good Evening Karen, Moving is stressful, but you seem to be a very organised lady. If I lived closer, I certainly would be buying your cooking items displayed on your pretty table. I love the hand mincer…. and the quilts…. well they look wonderful.
I have moved many times in my life and it is always difficult parting with things which are loved, but once they are gone, and life returns to some semblance of normality, it will not feel so upsetting.
Your things have been displayed beautifully and I feel sure they will find a happy home.
Best Wishes to you.
Daphne
Hi Daphne, I’m trying to be as organized with this project as I can…I think it will help with the selling of the items that we don’t have room for. I wish all my blogging friends lived nearby so that they could pick out things they liked. It would be nice to know that items were being sold to someone I knew. 🙂 I appreciate your lovely compliment and wish, thank you.
Wow, Karen this has to be so hard. Those things that were so special to us are hard to part with yet often others don’t really care about them, especially the younger generation. It seem they have a different taste. I guess we did too :). Wishing you the best as you sort through all of this! I’ve always found that after it’s all done, it’s a really good feeling to have “purged”.
Hi Chris, Yes it is hard to let go of items you have collected over the years but I think you are right, when all is said and done…it will be good to know our life has been simplified. Thank you for your nice wish.
All the best, Karen, it’s a lot of work, but you do have such a wonderful sense of style and everything looks wonderfully presented. I hope you sell lots! 🙂
I appreciate your nice compliment and wish, Celia. I’m hoping that the way I’ve grouped things together will give people ideas of how the items will fit in their own home.
I have an idea of what things are like because I just moved and I have the feeling I’ll be unpacking for a long, long time! It sounds like you’re very organized and that really helps… 🙂
Hi Meg, I may look organized but life is so hectic right now. Hopefully I’ll get everything sold and I’ll have time to enjoy summer. Thank you for your nice comment and I hope you get settled in soon. 🙂
I wish I lived near you so that I could buy that set of black dining table and chairs! 😀
Hi Lorraine, I love the black table…it looks so good when it is set with colorful dishes. Too bad you live half way around the world. 🙂
When we moved to England, we gave away/sold/tossed so much stuff that I felt absolutely numb. But now that we live a much leaner life, I find that I really don’t miss much of what is gone. It all turned out to be delightfully cathartic. So, there is an upside. Hand in there!
You do have some beautiful stuff! If I had a place for it, I’d have you ship me that lovely table with the pans on top 🙂
Hi Jeannee, I’m sure I will feel the same way once all of this is behind me and I appreciate you kind words of encouragement. I’m glad you like the little porcelain topped table. It even has a little drawer in one end.
You are absolutely right, Karen. Moving is never fun. In fact, I hate it! Okay, sorry. Your barn looks like a showroom of beautiful antique items.
Hi Ray, Don’t be sorry, I feel the same way. I’m glad you like the way I’ve displayed everything in the barn, thank you. Hopefully when I have the barn sale that will encourage people to see how things would look in their home and buy something.
Oh, Karen this must be so hard. I’m sure every treasure holds special memories. You have such beautiful pieces stored in your barn. I would move in 😉 Being a military family, I also know how much work and emotion plays into moving. Hang in there!!
Thank you Sandra, I appreciate your kind words. I’m sure you have been involved in lots of moves and thank you for your lovely compliment and understanding of how I feel.
What a fantastic array of goods to sell. I wish I lived nearer so I could fossick through everything. God luck with the sale.
Thank you Suzanne, I’m glad you like what I’m selling. I wish you were close by and that you could pick through what I have to see if you could find any treasures that you would like to take home with you. Thank you for your wish and compliment.
All the best with your move Karen.
Hi Asmita, I appreciate your your wish, thank you.
Good luck on the move!! We just moved and it was absolutely no fun. I hope it goes smoothly and we can’t wait for you to get back, Karen!
Thank you Angela, If you have just gone through a move, I definitely know what I’ve been going through. I appreciate your nice comment and wish.
Sending you lots of good luck on this adventure! I’ve only had 2 big moves in my life and I needed a big multi day nap after everyone. heheh. Have fun!
Thank you for your nice wish Pamela. I don’t know when I’ve been so tired. I think I’ll need a multi day nap too when this is behind me. 😀
Hi Karen, merging households is always difficult. My husband and I did it when we married and I moved into his home. Then when his single aunt passed away. Suffice to say, what we didn’t sell, went to the Salvation Army for a donation and a tax write-off for us.
I love the way you’ve organized your barn, it looks very inviting. I’m sure you’ve already thought of this, but have you tried using social media to sell your items? Just be careful if you do! I think finding the nook at the antique shop was meant to be! Hopefully you’ll have lots of turnover! Maybe you could point people to the shop using social media!
I have to tell you, your belongs are beautiful! Good luck my friend!
Hi Mary, It sounds like you know exactly what I’m going through right now. I really appreciate the suggestion about social media but I’m not very good with it. As you can see from my blog, I have no links for Facebook, etc. I haven’t had any luck getting them to work properly. 😦 Thank you for your nice compliment and wish…I think I’m going to need it.
Dear Karen, best of the luck on your move…yes, moving is one of the things that I do not like…especially after years of accumulating stuff.
Take care my dear 😀
Thank you for your wish, Juliana. I have moved many times and have always left things behind but I seem to collect as I go and yes, it does accumulate no matter how much you seem to get rid of. 🙂
As much as I dislike Kansas, I hope I never have to move again…or if I do it will be with just my clothing!
You will have no problem selling your furniture from the cottage…wish I still lived in the area.
Have a great week, Karen.
Hi Marigene, I have lived in places that I disliked as well so I can understand where you are coming from…it is the thought of moving that keeps so many of us where we are. I’m not getting encouragement from my friends here in New Hampshire so I’m hope you are right about selling our furniture. I appreciate your nice comment and wish, thank you.
I’m so sorry to hear you sold your beautiful cottage in Maine. It was so thoughtfully decorated but you take all of those memories with you. Good luck with your sales at the antique store. It sounds like a great way to find new homes for your collectibles. I agree with the others, your barn is so charming, I’m sure your furniture will sell quickly. Best wishes.
Thank you Mary, for your lovely compliment about our cottage. We had great fun fixing it up and decorating it. Even though we will miss the beautiful spot and our great times in Maine, we do have great memories that we won’t forget. I appreciate your words of encouragement and hope you and my other readers are right about everything selling. 🙂
There is not doubt that moving ‘sucks’. I find I am excited at first – a fresh start, new spaces to turn into ‘our spaces’ and all of that. This happiness pretty well vanishes though and it just becomes a tedious chore.
All the best!
Hi Jerry, I love the way you don’t mince words…I totally agree with your entire comment. I’m glad you understand where I’m at right now in my life and appreciate your nice wish.
There is no doubt that moving is one of Life’s most stressful moments, even when one has done it many times as my wife and I have. We just got back from Los Angeles giving our daughter and son-in-law an assist in moving just a few blocks. It was almost like moving cross-country. Good luck.
Hi Darryl, It appears that we all agree about how stressful moving can be. I wish I could just wave a wand and go back to the way life was before we had to move the entire contents of our cottage in Maine down to our home in New Hampshire. Thank you for your wish, I know after helping you daughter that you know what I’m going through.
Ooh, yes indeed I can imagine what you are going through. It is a big job…but fortunately you are so organized! Good luck with the move…can’t wait to see photos of the new place! I’m sure it is lovely as was your previous home.
Thank you Laila, for your nice comment and wish. It really is a big job…I’ll be glad when it is accomplished.
WOW! You have A LOT of stuff!!!! I wish I were there to browse through it all. I see a few items already, I’d love to have. 🙂
Hi MJ, Don’t I ever…the entire contents of our summer cottage that was sold and that we had to move to our home in New Hampshire. Thank goodness I have a large barn or I don’t know what I would have done.
You would think after the dozen moves (literally) that we’ve had in our life, I would have some tips. Sadly I don’t. I tend to purge with each move (and accumulate new). I definitely use it as an opportunity to organize and refresh. I used to work like a whirlwind. Pack in two days and unpack in one. I would spend an entire day/night unpacking and decorating so that everything was done and in order. I think I was insane. I don’t know that I could do it that way anymore. Good luck with your organizing. I wish I lived closer. I would for sure visit your barn sale!
Hi Kristy, I have to agree with you as we have moved just as often. I believe instead of getting easier over the years, it is move difficult. Perhaps that is because each time we have accumulated more. That and the fact that with each move we are older. Thank you for your nice wish. If you were closer, perhaps the picnic items would appeal for a days outing and picnic with your sweet family. 😀
You’re right, moving is never fun, no matter how excited we may be about it. It’s an opportunity to declutter, but that also brings the difficulty of choosing which of your lovingly collected objects stay and which must go. Best wishes to you in finding good and appreciative homes for your antiques and collectibles!
Hi Marlene, It is hard deciding what to keep and what goes as I have so many things that I have enjoyed. Thank you for your nice wish and compliment.
Karen – I empathize! I’ve just moved myself. And am about to move again since our house sold unexpectedly a while back and we’ve been living in a temporary place for six months. I do believe that I’m a gypsy at heart though since we’ve moved 21 times in 32 years – three of those moves to Australia – three more back. And zig-zagged across Canada too. I kind of love moving. You can reinvent yourself a little and shed the unnecessary things. I really like the whole idea of living with less. It’s liberating. I can say that now. three weeks from now as I pack up again – i’ll be singing a slightly different tune. All the very best to you. I’ll be thinking of you.
Hi Lindy, Oh my…21 times, you must be a real pro in the moving department. 😀 I like your way of thinking about moving being a way to reinvent yourself. Thank you for your words of encouragement and good luck with your next move.
What an amazing collection you have! I’m sure you were flooded with memories when deciding which treasures to keep and what must go. Rest assured someone new will find your collectibles charming and treasure them too!
Thank you for your lovely compliment, Jan. I hope you are right about others wanting some of my treasures…I appreciate your words of encouragement. 🙂
Hi Karen – we downsized after 30 years in the same house, so I totally get how tough it is. It was really fun to create a new space in a new house though, so worth it. I sure wish I could shop your furniture store. You have wonderful things!
Hi Kristi, I appreciate your nice compliment and words of encouragement. I think once our project is over, I’ll feel the same way.
I hope you will sell some of these lovely home decoration & antiques! they all look lovely.
Good luck with the move! 🙂
Hi Sophie, I hope everything does sell in the near future. Thank you for your wish.
Karen, what an incredible task you have ahead of you! (In fact,) my sweetheart & I will be packing up our home next year and eventually moving interstate. I think you will do an amazing job of both finding good homes for your treasures and dedicating with both loved and newly found objects! Good luck 🙂
Hi Ali, It really is a hard task to move. We thought the buyers of our cottage in Maine would take the furniture but since they didn’t we now have two of most everything and no real place to put it all. Hopefully we will find people to give everything a new home.
Oh goodness all that wonderful stuff. I think that I could live in your Barn…much fancier than the “barns” down South. Lovely things Karen. Just lovely.
Hi Teresa, I appreciate you nice compliment…not only for my stuff but about the barn itself. We had it totally restored after the restoration of our home. I’m glad you like it, thank you.
all the best for selling it looks wonderful wish i could pop in and have a look and you will miss the cottage but think of the memories
Thank you for your nice wish, Rebecca. We will miss our summers at the cottage but we certainly did have great times while we were there.
dear Karen, good luck with the move – your treasures look amazing – if I lived any closer, I know where I would be shopping for a few lovely things! Seriously, lots of hugs and the very best of luck with finding loving new owners for your fabulous, take-my-breath-away collections and furniture and art!
Thank you Andrea, for your kind words and wish. I do hope there will be people that will like some of what I have enjoyed collecting…especially the art and antiques.
Karen, I feel for you! This has to be very exhausting. And I’ve always found it takes a bit of an emotional toll, probably compounded because of fatigue, but it’s the “pennies on the dollar” accounting that hurts. Especially when these items were loved. You have some lovely items that I do hope go to homes where they will be appreciated. I’ll be glad for you when you feel you can reclaim your life again! It’s been given over to warehousing and cataloging! 🙂 ox
Thank you Debra, for your lovely and kind words. It seems that you can sense exactly how I feel. I need to keep you in my thoughts each day and remember to breathe lighter. 🙂
oh boy I can’t wait to keep reading to and maybe see how the “barn sale” went!
Hi Carol, Hopefully I’ll have some people stop by the barn sale that will love some of my furniture and treasures. 🙂
Wish you all the best, Karen!
Moving is reall y stressful and I’m already half a Pro in this area ( 13 international transfers with kids, pet etc. 🙂 )
But it always opens up new perspectives and challenges and that’s wonderful.
Good luck with everything, my friend!
Thank you for your nice wish, Daniela. I can’t begin to imagine what an international move must be like. I like your thinking about how a move opens up new perspectives…I have to agree with you in that regard. 🙂
I was sad to hear you had sold your gorgeous cottage Karen but as one door closes another will open! The only hard part is the move! Once it is finished, exciting days will beckon…join us travelling! The freedom of travelling with just a suitcase is exhilarating. I’m not sure how I am ever going to return home to possessions at the end of the year!
Hi Jenny, My husband and I feel the same way as you. We loved our time at the cottage in Maine and will miss it. On the other hand, we felt that it was limiting our travel opportunities to other places. 🙂
Boy – do I understand your situation. I took hardly anything when I sold our farm in Quebec BUT the barn, attic and cellar are chock-full with STUFF here at My Yellow Farmhouse ….. stuff from my parents, stuff from my husband’s life, stuff from when my boys were small – not to mention all the stuff from all the other places we lived that I’m just going to have to let go of. I know I’d do much better if I were moving because – every time we moved – I’d get rid of a lot !! Now… all the stuff just sits there… waiting for me to GET GOING!! You’ve done a wonderful job Karen in organizing all your treasures – good for you!
Hi Cecile, We thought the buyers would take the cottage furnished. Instead we now have all the furniture and household items in our home and barn that we have to get rid of. It’s a big job.
Oh no…. We bought our first house in the Pocono Mountains furnished… and we bought the one we have now furnished. I can’t even begin to imagine what a big job it was/is !!
It’s a huge job…thank goodness I have our large barn to store all the large pieces but I still have boxes yet to unpack.
Me too…!!!!!
You have such exquisite taste, Karen. It is always fun to see your treasures, even if you are trying to get rid of them. I don’t envy you the move, though.
I appreciate your kind words, Vicki. I really hate that I have to get rid of so many of my pretty little treasure but it must be done.
Karen I can sympathize with your consolidation after selling your house in Maine. My Mother passed away a year before my husband and I moved cross country, and we had to clear out her home of 60 years when it sold. We had a good estate sale and a few antique dealers bought items, but I was surprised how difficult it was to find buyers for antique furniture!
Then we had to make decisions on the belongings in our Brooklyn home of 36 years in order to make our move. I sold many furniture items on Craigslist, and donated quite a bit of what did not sell to Hurricane Sandy victims. Ebay might be a good place to try to sell valuable antiques, but that takes quite a bit of time and effort. Perhaps a good place to sell your supply of double kitchen goods would be a nearby university where students are living off campus have to furnish their first apartments? Place an ad in the university’s newspaper when you have your barn sale? Best of luck!
Hi Pat, I appreciate your nice comment and advice. I have some of my antiques on Ebay, others at the spot I have rented in an antique shop. Because many of them are from the 1700’s, there is a very small group of people that will be interested in them. I think it will be slow going but hopefully I will eventually find homes for everything. 🙂
So, almost a year later now… were you able to liquidate any? Or, some lucky people obtained it through charitable organizations? Parting is so emotionally hard, but detachment is a virtue. And, life is better lighter. I don’t even remember the things I use to own, until I see a similar article or photos of it. I must say, I love simpler/lighter living. (I can’t wait for my son to buy a house, so I can deliver all his keepsakes and worthwhile souvenirs I bought for him over the years.) 😀 )))
Hi Fae, Yes I did very well with last year’s barn sale held over four weekends. I sold all the furniture from our Maine cottage, lots of my original art and a good amount of other items. I felt it was very successful as I got the asking price on all the items. The most common comment I got from people was that it felt like they were shopping in a store. I agree with you about lighter being better. In a couple of weeks I’ll have another sale and then again once our house is sold. 😀