I am back in Ireland and slightly over my jet lag.
We have started the process of sorting through and clearing
7 years of a life in a Home.
There is something cleansing about sorting through
the back of dusty cupboards.
It feels good to bin, keep, charity shop, through all of the useful
and useless, meaningless and full of memories, debris that one accumulates.
While the process is cleansing it is also incredibly emotional.
Moments glimpsed in an old photo or a card made by a child.
It is difficult not to dwell on each piece of my past.
I am excited about our new adventure and showing the Kids the city and all it has to offer,
but that doesn't mean it is not with some sadness that I pack away
the detrius and say goodbye to this House that has been our home, the place
where my children have become little men.
As it happens This person whom I find so inspirational is also
relocating to a different country right now.
She has some very inspiring recent posts about her process.
Having lived the last 2 months out of a suitcase I am being
ruthless and attempting to apply the 'love it or leave it' mantra to
everything I place in the "keep" pile.
Also we will have to fit it all in to a 2 bedroom NYC apartment.
With this on my mind I received this post in my inbox just now, from
E J Carr , the photographer responsible for this Helen James shoot
letting me know about this article in The New York Times
letting me know about this article in The New York Times
A Tiny Victorian Cottage in The Catskills
From The New York Times
You don't need a lot of money or square footage to make a beautiful space
Here are some initial photo's of our little slice New York Real Estate
Very much a work in progress but it's a start
Posts
HI helen, inspiring about your move. Our recent experience in leaving Ireland was much the same in the packing process. A note: the NY times article isn't my photo. I sent it over because I have such a sense of your esthetic. I'm pleased you enjoyed it. Ej
ReplyDeleteYour new home is so beautiful! And I can absolutely empathize with the feeling of packing a life up and shipping it across the ocean. I don't think I felt like myself until those treasured boxes were in my new home. I felt really disjointed thinking of them in warehouses and on planes. But, there's something optimistic and liberating too about the process and just the act of taking stock in that way can be so meaningful.
ReplyDeleteWishing you well!!
Best of Luck in NY! It really is liberating living out of suitcases - makes you realise how little you need.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'd like to visit that Charity shop after you drop off :-)
your place looks fab. I can so associate with the 7-year haul. I moved this time last year though not over an ocean (I did that seven years before that!); my move was from a small apartment about ten blocks away where my husband and I had lived with our two boys for 7 years. I was amazed at how we had squirreled so much into our small space, and relieved to give so much of it away. I'm sure and certain that there must be something lucky and feng-shui about purging every seven years and reevaluating just what is important. Good luck shaking off stuff!
ReplyDeletehow exciting... and to ny... i 've made two big moves: rotterdam to london to australia, ready again i think. it's always difficult what to keep and what not, i liuke an abundance of things.. all the best helen.
ReplyDeleteThanks all , so great to hear all your stories and experiences
ReplyDelete