Dave prepares to hook up our rental trailer All of our moving experience this past winter came in handy when we arrived at our daughter’s house to clear out her attic of our “stuff”. After 18 years, it was time. We enjoyed time visiting with her family when we were not hauling, sorting, packing or storing it all. And we passed through Pocahontas on our way further north, taking some time to relax a bit after our busy week.
A small portion of our stuff that we worked to move out. Too Much Stuff
Working in an attic in southern Virginia in July was not something we were looking forward to. But Mother Nature gave us a break when the highs descended from the upper 90’s to the 80s. Starting early, we worked our way through the piles of stuff. It was all very familiar. Trash. Donations. Consignment. Keep. The volume of stuff slowly went down. By Monday, we had the truck loaded up for our first run to the Samaritan Thrift Store in Emporia. On Tuesday, we picked up a trailer from U-Haul and filled it and the truck with all that would fit of the stuff we were going to keep – for the time being. This was not something we accomplished on our own. We had support from the entire family, but we were especially grateful for the kids’ help. Without complaint, Troy and Taylor supplied much-needed labor to move the seemingly endless numbers of boxes and many pieces of furniture.
Working in an attic in southern Virginia in July was not something we were looking forward to. But Mother Nature gave us a break when the highs descended from the upper 90’s to the 80s. Starting early, we worked our way through the piles of stuff. It was all very familiar. Trash. Donations. Consignment. Keep. The volume of stuff slowly went down. By Monday, we had the truck loaded up for our first run to the Samaritan Thrift Store in Emporia. On Tuesday, we picked up a trailer from U-Haul and filled it and the truck with all that would fit of the stuff we were going to keep – for the time being. This was not something we accomplished on our own. We had support from the entire family, but we were especially grateful for the kids’ help. Without complaint, Troy and Taylor supplied much-needed labor to move the seemingly endless numbers of boxes and many pieces of furniture.
The storage unit began to fill quickly. Traveling to Richmond, where our storage unit was located, Troy and Taylor joined us to supply much-needed labor. With their help, we loaded our 10x10 unit with our first and biggest load. We celebrated by taking them out to eat and back to school shopping afterward. Arriving back exhausted, but feeling good about all we had accomplished, we were ready to relax for the evening. Until we looked at the next morning’s forecast. Rain, and lots of it. And it was going to start this evening. So, we scraped together our last bit of energy to move the last of the items out of the attic into the trailer in the afternoon. Bonnie and the kids were troopers and helped us finish up. Managing to get the last items into the trailer before the rain arrived. We made the trip by ourselves the next morning, grateful for our decision to load up the day before as drove north in the rain. But our challenge was less about the weather or even the effort to move the stuff and more about getting it all to fit.
But we managed to clear it all out by week's end. But we did manage to get it all in. So, the attic (and a few other closets) were now empty of our stuff, but our storage unit was very full. We had plans for reducing it even further, but that was going to take more time. Arriving in Pocahontas on a Sunday, we developed a plan for each day. We bought a shredder and a printer with enhanced scanning ability. This will allow us to digitize records that we may want to keep and shred everything else. Both are going to get a lot of use. We then found another consignment store in Richmond that was interested in several more boxes of items. We donated more items to Goodwill, and some tools to Cabin Work Week at Pocahontas. We donated a mirror to help furnish the Nurse’s Cabin at Pocahontas that will soon be put into service as a bridal changing area near the Powhatan dining hall. This is something the Cabin Work Week volunteers have put a lot of effort into making a reality.
Not a pretty sight, but our storage unit is just big enough to hold what we weren't yet ready to let go. As for the rest of the contents, it will take time, but we plan to keep up a steady pace to whittle it down to what we actually want to keep.
All cleaned up for a night out to dinner. Family Time
So, we made time to just enjoy the family while not working on the move. We played games, and watched movies. Dave tried with a little success to get our turntable working to play our old albums, which piqued the interest of our grandson. Pulling out boxes of memorabilia simply labeled “Bonnie”, we spent an evening laughing over the things in the box and sharing memories. We had our first experience at a Korean BBQ and discovered a Richmond institution called the Sugar Shack, which serves up unique and delicious donuts.
So, we made time to just enjoy the family while not working on the move. We played games, and watched movies. Dave tried with a little success to get our turntable working to play our old albums, which piqued the interest of our grandson. Pulling out boxes of memorabilia simply labeled “Bonnie”, we spent an evening laughing over the things in the box and sharing memories. We had our first experience at a Korean BBQ and discovered a Richmond institution called the Sugar Shack, which serves up unique and delicious donuts.
The tractor is on its way to have its makeover. And we watched with fascination as the entire family worked to service and then prepare a recent addition – an antique tractor – to be painted. The final coats were applied after we left, but the transformation was dramatic.
