About the boxes. . . .

Before we can list the house we need to clear out some of the stuff we've accumulated over the years. There are two other reasons for doing this.   1) we want to downsize and 2) there's more of a financial value on those items we keep because of the cost of shipping.  We are making regular trips to Goodwill to donate stuff and I'm posting things for sale on Craigslist--and we are making some progress.

And then there's the really good stuff we want to keep.  And that means boxes.  Right now boxes are a big part of my life--where to get them; what size to get; what type of box.

The most practical type of box is the good, old-fashioned cardboard box.  They are available from some dumpsters and we're beginning to figure out a sort of schedule for optimum hunting.   They

 come in a variety of sizes, are lightweight and easy to deal with.                                                              

Then there are plastic boxes.  My mother was very fond of these for storage so I have quite a number of them in various sizes.  They are lightweight and durable but don't work well for everything.  And I've found it a bit tricky to store them compactly while keeping track of which lid goes with which box.  The end result is that I have boxes without lids and vice versa.  But I keep finding more boxes and more lids and am hoping they will eventually all match up.

I know from past experience that everything we want to keep ends up packed and somehow there aren't too many extra boxes to dispose of.  And I know that I probably won't miss what I'm discarding.  And I also know that I'll appreciate simplifying and having less stuff.  But as I go through this process I'm reminded hourly that this isn't any fun.  I'd much rather be stamping or photographing (something besides boxes).