So much stuff....

It's funny. I never think that I have a lot, until I try and pack it. Then I realize that I have way too much. I've already down-sized several times in my life. 11 years ago when we were preparing to leave the States I had yard sales and gave away so many things - I thought that I was truly living lean. A few years ago after my children left home to get married or study I purged again. It felt good to declutter (is that really a word?)  Then last year we moved to a small one bedroom apartment. I thought that I was being ruthless with myself and had gotten rid of all the unnecessary items. But now I'm moving again, and this time it's another international move, where you need to list every item that you are packing. It's forcing me to really think about the items that I'm bringing, and if it is worth it to hold onto them.

All of these items have been sitting in boxes in our garage for the last few weeks - did I miss them? Not so much.

                                                                          
How much do you really need? And how long do you hold unto items that haven't made their way out of boxes in the last 8 years and you're not sure you'll ever use again but somehow they have a claim on you? Like these, ahem, bunnies and cows? Hey, they were cute back in the late 1980'S - and some I loved making, and others were gifts from dear friends, but they don't quite fit in my house style now that it's 2012....

                                                                             
Or what to do with the curtains that I had specially made for our last apartment? They didn't fit on the windows for our current apartment, and I have no idea where we'll be living in Cork. (That will be a post for another day.) So, do I keep them or toss them?

                                                                          
How do you decide? Does stuff have an expiration date?