I am currently in the process of packing up my life in Cork and moving it all back to Dublin. I haven't had to move out of Cork for about 3 years so I have accumulated quite a lot of junk. Thanks to my experience on the Camino, and my dad's vague threats about what he'll do if there's not enough space in the car for all my stuff, I am taking a slightly minimalist approach to the process and have donated a few bags of items to charity. Despite the significant dent that has made in my possession count there is still a lot of work to be done...
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| This filter makes my cluttered room look much better, even the bin bags look classy |
1. Physical Labour. For a girl who does as little exercise as possible it is TORTURE to have to bend and stretch and push and pull and lift and carry for any period of time. While reaching up to grab things off the top of the wardrobe I think I pulled something in my back. While contorting my body to fit in the gap between the bed and wall I definitely heard something crack. I don't want to alarm anyone but I have broken several nails. This is not a drill people!
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| The box of clothes I lifted earlier was heavier than this #truestory |
2. Bugs. For about 12 months I have had a "don't ask, don't tell" policy of sorts with the spiders in my room. I see the webs but I specifically do not try and source the spiders because once I know where they are I will constantly be watching them out of the corner of my eye. Now, as I am reaching into all the crevices of my boudoir I have finally located them and, surprise surprise, most of them live under and around my bed. Thank God I only have three more nights here. Furthermore, although they technically don't fall under the category of "bugs", the mice in the attic seem to be as excited as I am about the move. They are making more noise than ever! They may be having a turf war or a giant orgy - either way it is not conducive to a good night's sleep.
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| Seems pretty accurate |
3. Nostalgia. Of course, this is unavoidable when you go sifting through three years worth of memories. Especially when you are a minor league hoarder and have countless boxes of ticket stubs, theater programs, photographs and college newspaper clippings! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love taking a trip down memory lane. But that's just the problem! As soon as I have a set plan (eg. divide clothes into which to leave in Dublin and which to bring to Edinburgh) I immediately find my old glitter tattoo set and start decorating my arms with unicorn and rainbow art. Sure, it sounds magical but it is also extremely unproductive and time consuming. Which brings me to my next point...
4. Procrastination. Even when you have set the task for yourself it's so easy to fall back to the old college essay procrastination mind frame. Well, I've already tested all of my pens to see which ones still work and which can be thrown away so that's basically half of the workload done, right? I have to stop for lunch anyway. You know what I haven't watched in ages? Seinfeld! I'll just watch like 6 episodes, they're only 25 minutes long. Oh I better go down and chat to my housemates since we only have a few days left together. I mean, I'll need some of this stuff over the next two days so it would probably make sense to just wait until the actual day I'm moving. Suddenly dad's here and he's not too happy to find me still traipsing around the house locating miscellaneous items like I'm taking part in a scavenger hunt.
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| Darla gets it. Darla always gets it. |
5. Guilt. This is a real problem for me and there are several variations. First I find items that I have borrowed from friends and forgotten about. Should I admit I had them all along and return them? Or should I just keep it because I do really love this bag. But then I might accidentally wear it sometime when I go to meet her and she would think I had stolen it! Then there's the guilt of finding clothing that I spent more than €20 on and only wore once. Who do I think I am? Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith? Pfft. Plus, now there's the conundrum of whether I should donate the clothes I have only worn once or make a conscious decision to wear them as often as possible so the purchase doesn't seem like a waste.
The important thing is that getting rid of the old stuff leaves space for the new. I may be throwing out a lot of old Cork mementos but I'm looking forward to getting some new Scottish ones! After all, five years ago I packed up all of my most treasured belongings and moved to Cork. There is no doubt in my mind that it was the best decision I ever made. Here's to many more moving days in the years ahead!
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