The horror of too much stuff!

Yesterday we had lunch at some friends of ours we haven’t seen in a while. They are currently in the process of emigrating to Australia. He is leaving next Sunday to find them a house there and she has to finalize all the packing in the next three weeks plus look after their two small children (3 and 18 months).

Their house is understandably a bit of a mess right now and they are sorting through all their stuff but I was still horrified! They have a large five bedroom house and absolutely every room feels like it is crammed with stuff. 

A lot of it is children’s stuff (which seems to be stacked up in every room in the house). How many bits of plastic do you really need to keep a child occupied? How do mom and dad feel being constantly surrounded by all this garish plastic bric-a-brac? I think if I had to pack it all up I would first have a serious cry since the task seems monumental then I would call in local charity and have them box-up and take-away every stack I point my finger at. 

                                                            This could never be me!

A move is always a good time to have a serious purge but most of it looks like it will go with them to Australia since the company is paying shipment costs! I compare it to the one meter cubed I brought with me when I left Belgium and it just seems crazy.

Anyway it is their choice I guess but does affirm to me how much my perspective has changed since choosing a more minimalist lifestyle.

Otherwise we are doing ok with our baby list so far. We have almost all the items I thought were essential and I haven’t caved-in to extras yet.

Yesterday Hubby said neighbours wanted to give us a travel cot and he was keen. I said no. We do not have the space to store one (we don’t have a garage or store room). He said we could use it for baby to sleep in, I said yes but we agreed to have her in the bassinet we already have and then transition her straight to a mattress. If we do go visit friends and want to put her down for a nap we can always put her on a mattress there with some pillows around her. So no travel cot. I am happy about that. I feel like our flat is clean, de-cluttered and sober. I find it peaceful this way and want to preserve that peace, something I think will become even more important to me once I am in all the chaos that can be looking after a small child.

Anyway tonight those friends are coming to visit us and I am very curious about their reaction to our flat, maybe they will find it too austere and small. To each his own.