Forgotten treasures arrive...

[Alice Abbott]

When we left the UK just over a year and a half ago we literally took with us what we could stuff into the car. All the rest of our possessions were either sold or given away - with the exception of what we thought at the time were treasures we couldn't part with. We left these in a colleague's garage in a small trailer he no longer used. He has just very kindly driven them down and I've been unpacking. So we now have....

Four matching pairs of lovely lined cream curtains which aren't actually long enough for any of the windows we can get to at the moment even though they are "full length" by English standards. They might fit upstairs once we have a floor up there I suppose.

Three boxes of books. Some of them are my old text books but we have cookery books, gardening books and novels too. Fortunately Mack made some lovely bookshelves from some of the old wood we've been given so they have a home straight away.

A bag of clothes which includes suits, frocks and high heeled shoes (what WAS I thinking about?)

Wedding present stuff like matching china and silverware and wine glasses. That will stay right were it is in the boxes as I don't see us doing any entertaining (or certainly not any that needs "posh" stuff) any time soon.

More wedding present bedding, unused duvets and bed linen, plus a table cloth. Not likely to be using that last one I don't suppose but the bedding is welcome!

Some nice brass and copper bits and pieces I had forgotten I had bought just before we left.

A huge box of giant lego which I can't imagine how got in there. I thought we had given it away. The kids have dived on it and have been squabbling over it ever since!

Electrical goodies which are pretty useless here at the moment as we only have an extension lead and double plug courtesy of our neighbours. So I have a kettle, my wonderful coffee-maker, a hairdryer, an iron (haven't missed that in all the time we've been gone!) and a vegetable steamer. None of them will be used in the foreseeable future but it's strange to see them come out of their boxes with their funny English plugs.

My old hand operated sewing machine and big sewing box. I'm going to rescue these for use now. I have a big box of fabric I was given on one of my bartering missions. I'm going to try a few simple pinafores for Pia for the summer - poor child has nothing to fit her this coming year. She prefers wearing absolutely nothing or just her panties but we DO have to go out occasionally!

Photo albums, certificates and other bits of "important" paperwork.

I love having all this stuff back but isn't it strange that you pack things away as "can't live without" treasures and after a year and half you just can't generally remember why you bothered?

Our friend Richard is probably going home tomorrow and he's leaving the trailer with us as he's moving house and has no room for it any longer (hence the visit now to drop off our things). It will be SO useful as we have all the bits on our car to use it. We've plied him with home made wine and rabbit stew and other than he has had to have a sleeping bag in the corner of the living room (which is still Luke and Pia's bedroom too for the moment) he has loved his visit and says he'll be back to help out when we start on the upstairs floors this spring!

[Nomada]

They might fit upstairs once we have a floor up there I suppose.

If they don't fit and you can't bear to part then re-purpose them into tablecloths or other soft furnishings.

Know what you mean about the stuff you can't live without. I'm decluttering (well, trying to), I think if you dont even remember you owned it, you probably don't need it! Lots of stuff is going!

Sounds amazing what you're doing (sneaked a look at your blog).

[Silver Ether]

our son started the process of scaling down his possesions I suppose a couple of years ago and every time he moves he goes through the process again and he to wonders why he kept certain things ... his whole life is now in about 8 boxes with a few things in his room here... I have to stop him getting rid of everything I am sure there will come a time when he will regret some of the books he want to get rid of so I keep claiming them ... maybe its for my benifit ... I can't let go of some of his past ... oops sorry about that went on a bit ... I am glad you have enjoyed opening your boxs... High heels in the garden ... you could star a trend ...

[Green Aura]

You could use the tablecloth you no longer need to lengthen the curtains that don't fit - if they remotely match at all. Then line them with something warm and you've got perfect winter curtains. I had a pair of old gold-coloured velvet curtains, sewed strips of some old, old red velvet on the bottom to make door curtains - now no draughts from the shop area! They look a bit odd, but I think they suit me perfectly

[Millymollymandy]

I know you don't have a beaten earth floor any more but I've been having visions of posh cream curtains hanging up over a mud floor whilst you potter about making holes in the floor with your high heels.

Glad you have your stuff back - it's fun unpacking things you haven't seen for a while - it's like Xmas all over again!

[homegrown]

Just think you can use the curtains for motivating OH to start on the floor upstairs, threaten to make them into a pinafore for him.

[Annpan]

Yay for the sewing machine, you will always need it

Just think.... a year and a half ago you thought these things were important enough not to throw out. One day (maybe in another 18 months) you will have a wardrobe to hang lovely dresses and suits in, and a kitchen to steam vegetables and make coffee in and you will have to have yourself a dinner party to celebrate it all.... then you will maybe be glad you kept it all.

You are just going through a phase of mud floors, no electricity, etc, etc, one day you will be at the other side of it all and maybe glad you held on to such things.

I have cleared out to many times and about a year later I decide that that I do want to wear silk headscarfs again, or I get invited to a posh doo and have to buy a dress, or I find a use for that old hideous fabric that I hated. Though I must admit I have never regretted getting rid of the electric wok

Anyway, my point is, I always wish I had held on to some things maybe you will be glad you did.


And... throwing out Lego?????? with 2 kids?????? Are you INSANE Glad they are enjoying it

[Alice Abbott]

Yes I don't quite remember what the story was with the Lego. I think Luke had had it for quite a while when we were in the UK and had become bored with it and I thought it might take up too much room in the trailer. It fills a crisp box so there is a lot. I obviously had more room in the trailer than I thought and shoved it in at the last minute.

I love MMM's vision of me in the high heels! Actually the floor was becoming a minefield before we had the boards because the kids delighted in sitting on their camp beds and tunneling the earth up with their toes. We also got the point of banning all drinks in there. And poor Morris Lurcher had to spend most of his time confined to the kitchen whenever it rained because he can't resist the camp beds and a wet hairy lurcher throwing himself on a dusty dirt floor and then trying to lie on a bed is not a good idea. As we have no doors other than a lovely new oak back door with no hole in the middle (no door "furniture" either but Mack has it soaking in a tub of oil and it might be back later this week - we are using a bucket to keep it propped open or shut at the moment so thank heavens for crime-free rural French living) it's quite hard to keep him out. He usually ends up in his basket with a length of rope tied to a very convenient iron ring sunk into the stone wall. I wonder if that was what it was used for originally?

Yes, we have come a long way, haven't we? But dinner parties and posh frocks? Perhaps not yet...

[theabsinthefairy]

I know how you feel Alice.

When we moved we packed a 3 bed house, garage, toolshed and workshop into a 7.5 tonne truck, so a lot of stuff was sold beforehand, and then once we got here everything went into the barn until we had rooms to put things in.

Oh it was like Christmas every few months - 5 months in we had a bathroom so I could unpack the bathroom things, then 12 months in we had a living room and it was so exciting opening those boxes - except for the life of me I could not work out why I had bought some decorative things with me - maybe that stark white wall decorating style rubbed off me, so I sold another load of stuff at our village fete last year.

Unpacking soft 'posh' towels and bedding was the best bit, after living in army surplus for months - because army fatigue green doesn't show the dirt and washes well.