Raige Creations

My new mantra of late - That's One Less Thang. Even spoken like Forrest Gump . Because every time I finally get rid of something I have been trying to unloaded for a long time, or every time I cross something off my long, long list, or every time I pack yet another box, I utter: 'Well, that's good. One less thang!' A sense of relief, even though I have much, much more to do. Many more boxes or bins to load with things we just can't part with. Many many trips to storage, for the things we have to ship. Every day something added to the list that I can't forget to do. Thankfully, not really too much more to purge, compared to what we started with. But each thing gone, packed, and crossed off the list is one less thang. And that ain't so bad.  Do your mantras change?  Mine sure do, like here , here , and here just to mention a few. And one here that I still say so often   (thanks again hubby!) , as that day will soon be here where we ...

source  via Pinterest 'Think outside the box'   Yeah, right! Until all you do is try to fit your life inside boxes. Which is what you have to do when you move, which we are. All I do is figure out how to fit my life in to boxes!  How can I think outside the box?!?!?! Perhaps my goal should be this: source I am sick to death of boxes.  I may just get rid of them all!

The million dollar question. One that inevitably creeps into your head when you are preparing for a yard sale.  But even worse when hubby puts on Hoarders and refuses to change the channel for 3 hours. 2nd-Hand Tips You are going through all your worldly belongings, when questions like, "Do I really need 2 bundt pans?" enter your brain. Have I ever baked 2 cakes at the same time? Of course not! So the logical answer is,  "NO!, I really don't need 2 bundt pans!!"  Then, the thought creeps in, "But maybe I should save one for my daughter who someday might want to bake a bundt cake...." Hoarder. bestnatesmithever.tumbler.com After you have convinced yourself it is really ok to have only one bundt pan, you move on to more difficult things. Like collections of things hubby has been collecting for a gazillion years, each one painstakingly selected, researched, and purchased, then lovingly taken care of move after move after move.  With so...

'Times when the day is like a play by Sartre When it seems a book burning's in perfect order'... As I sit and stare at the boxes in the basement, living room, and piles of stuff throughout the house, at least I have this peppy tune to make light of the situation. I am prepping for a yard sale, compiling piles of our things that we no longer need or want. Add to that about 20 boxes of books just picked up at an auction, and I wholeheartedly agree with the lyrics posted at the beginning. A book burning may just be a good idea! A few of the boxes But no, these were bought in the hopes of re-selling to make a wee bit of money to actually help us in our move. The reality is that this is a task I am quite overwhelmed with. I love books, but this is ridiculous!  'Too much of a good thing can be taxing' , as Mae West said . A few more of the boxes If I had the time, it would be great to sort through, scan some, and read others, If I had time t...

I have been taking so many pictures these days. And no, not the fun, inspirational ones I usually like to take. I have been taking pictures of things we have to sell. source: zulily.com So lately, the way I am seeing my life is through all the crap we have, that we don't need.   How did we get this far away from living simply?? I don't want to see my life like that. In what way would I describe what life is like? There are so many options.........like monkey bars.... source: MotivateHopeStrength Yes, I am letting go of so much stuff!  So we can move on.  I can't wait to be done with the 'getting rid of stuff' ! It is hard to be letting go of some things. The change is hard, but I am ready to move on already. You could say life is like.......underwear? source: TARTORA Lingerie Ok...you could say that. And yes, I keep talking about moving, and yes we are moving, so you could also say that life is like riding a bicycle.... source: Move...

Spread your love and FLY! Just a feel good song today, much needed after a very busy weekend of letting things go.  We are cleaning out stuff, prepping for a move. Lightening the load gives a weightless feeling (for a brief time)! (Details not available as yet, just knowing we have to pack up and begin a new adventure.) I hadn't cleaned out my closets, dresser, or anything really, since we moved here! (over 3 years ago!!) Long overdue. And I will probably do it again before we move, getting rid of more stuff.  There is something quite lifting about letting go of things. Got lots more to purge, but I already feel the lightness of letting them go.  The reward - not flying - but less to hold me down. How often do you go through your things to lighten your load?

I have SO many thoughts going through my head these days! {it is even interrupting my sleep, which is not really common for me usually, but this week it is !} It was hard to pick just one Thought of the Day, I have more than one huge thought plaguing me on a regular basis these days. I am currently going through my year end reports for the taxes, and am realizing what a tough year it has been. Change after change after change. When one thing wasn't working, I tried another, and then another. source: behappy.me As disappointing is was to see on paper just how difficult the year has been, at least I gave it my all and kept trying.  Plus, I have been confronted with a coming year full of other big changes.  A new chapter, I like to think.  {Someday, I  will  write a book, and there  really will  be chapters.} But these changes are daunting , kind of scary, and are making us examine the past 10 years of our lives. At times, it doesn't seem ...

Just a small complaint today. Well a few rather large ones actually. We need to move these things from their current location, and let me tell you I am extremely tired of moving things.  If there IS a bright side, we only have these things to move at the moment.  We have managed to sell many of the the displays we ended up with at the close of the business.  I should be thankful for that. And I am. But, we still have large, heavy things to move.  It is seemingly neverending. The sad thing is, I suspect we will be moving things many more times.  Either moving things from storage to the booth, or slowly moving things we don't need from our house.  We are trying to lighten our load. Moving, moving moving. The last move was quite the ordeal , and I do not want to have another "adventure" like our family move here. Never, ever again. All these moves now I hope will make our next family move much easier than it was last time....

Yup, I am cold.  But, I haven't been outside, but I have been in the basement to store some old files.  Old files that we are not supposed to throw away for at least seven years, but now have filled up my filing cabinet so that I don't have room for the new stuff.  It is the first attempt I have made to take care of year end stuff. Mainly, I am trying to get motivated to compile everything needed for the dreaded taxes. But so far, cleaning out the filing cabinet is as far as I have gotten. And since under the basement stairs is a good place to store such piles of papers, I was under there digging out my bin of papers. The floor was cold, the basement cold, and my bin was jam packed. This lead to searching for a file box, which incidentally was full of stuff that wasn't files.  So, I had to empty it, find places for that junk, and then put the new old files in the file box. I was down there for quite a while, in only my fuzzy socks , leggings, and a sweatsh...

photo courtesy of: Blue Rage of Asheville I spent most of the day Thursday on the internet, reading blogs, writing a little, browsing Pinterest (I know, I vowed to stop , but Thursday was just one of those days.....). I didn't go for a run, in fact I didn't even get dressed until 2 o'clock. My original plan was to check all my emails, maybe finish my blog I started, go for run, and then accomplish more of the de-cluttering . What happened was the internet sucked me in, again . I wasted the majority of the day. I know this has happened to you once or twice, right? I couldn't help but wonder if we all wrote on typewriters, would be be more productive? (You can actually buy this great typewriter pictured here !) What do you think? Would you go back to writing on a typewriter if it meant you would write more, and write better?

source: Pinterest I am working on having less. I need to have less, because all that we have is stressing me out ! Less furniture ~ it is too hard to move and we know we will be moving sometime in the future even though we don't know when. Less papers ~ they are heavy, both physically and mentally. My mother hoarded papers, I am so afraid of doing that. Less Kitch ~ I vow to keep only the most meaningful and beautiful. This is hard to purge, because we are collectors of the unique and interesting, and so have cool old bottles, tiny sculptures, beautiful scrimshaw, hand painted eggs and feathers, great vintage lamps (yes, we have been hoarding lamps of all things). Each thing is great, has meaning and a special place in our hearts. These are the tough things to let go of. Less blankets ~ seriously we have so many! But I feel like I can use them as batting in quilts, so I hang on. But maybe it's time to let a few go. Less Kitchen things I never use ~ will I ever make 2...

source: alainn bella Well, hopefully I can get through more of my list, but as you know, procrastination is one of my talents . This Tuesday, I hope to clear off our dining room sideboard. It is an antique, beautiful, and perfect for collecting clutter. I am hoping to sell it off, with the dining set, and simplify our lives a little more.  No big, heavy and difficult to move, clutter inducing furniture. It is a never ending battle we have against clutter. Every few years I get the itch to get rid of a huge amount of things, and this year it is hitting me strong.  So today, I hope to continue the purging. I have already purged some of our Christmas decorations, de-cluttered my dresser and nightstand (also clutter magnets), filed and got rid of old papers that piled up in another room, and finally have the kitchen pared down a bit.  My Sideboard Clutter Magnet photo: Raige Creations Now on to dining room and sideboard clutter! I know it doesn't look look T...