One thing I learned trying to sell yourself as an actor, is that it is all about spin. So while I could just say I leave things until the last minute because I'm a lazy procrastinator, instead I'm gonna go with something about the glory of spontaneity, or of the importance of living life in the moment. I suppose the reality is somewhere in between. But our plans continue to shift ever so slightly, a few days here, a few days there. As actors we could never plan ahead for anything, and even though it should be easier now, we've just never developed those skills.
By lucky accident, our procrastination saved us almost $150 though. For the move we decide to go with one of those pods you pack up, and then the moving company moves it for you, and somehow our last-minute reservation ended up being cheaper than the quote we got a few weeks ago. Thank you angels! We've been going back and forth trying to decide how much stuff we want to save. I've been at war with STUFF ever since my first back-packing trip, which has been a very rewarding change for this former pack-rat. Once you live out of a pack for a year, you realize how little you really need to get by, and how all the excess crap we collect just drains your energy. However, we did buy a bunch of furniture here, and weren't sure whether it was better to move it, store it and use it again, or just sell it all on craigslist and buy new (or used) again when we finally get to California.
Math to the rescue again! We think we will be able to keep our leather couch (by turning it on end in the pod, I hope it survives shipping like that), and possibly a dresser. Not even counting any money we might make selling the rest, we'll save about $1400 by dumping it now, which to me seems enough to buy new stuff once we settle again. Plus just that much less hassle and worry, and I'm always a big fan of reducing hassle and worry.
We are also getting rid of all our CDs and LPs and lots of books. I'm fine keeping photos (we have a lot of those) and stuff like yearbooks, but lots of stuff is just taking up space. We've been reducing our CD collection for a few years now, and finally have it down to about 600 (from a high of 1400). We are going to donate most of it to a theatre company here in DC, which we feel pretty good about. I suppose we could sell it somewhere, which if we were uber-thrifty would be nice. But time is limited, and I just don't have the energy to go down that road. I'm all about saving money and being cheap, but sometimes it just feels good to make a donation that you know will be appreciated.
Question: should I save things just because they are autographed? I have a CD for "Three Wished For Jamie" (if you've heard of it, then you are a nerd!) that is autographed by Charlotte Rae. I love me some Mrs. Garrett, but I can't decide how long I need to carry this around with me. Ditto "Rags" and Marcia Lewis. Even worse is an LP of "Little Mary Sunshine" autographed by Elmarie Wendell, whom I worked with years ago in a production of "Gigi". She is a neat lady, but packing a single LP isn't easy! What would you do?
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here's what we do. Jeffrey and I each have one box that contains stuff that means something to us. If the box gets to full then we throw something out. Start a box like that and keep those items (like you mention in your last paragraph) in that keepsake box. It saves space, and still allows you to keep those things that are important to you.
ReplyDeleteI like that idea a lot Rick. I'm also with the guys from "Clean Sweep" (is that show on anymore?), where they say if something is important to keep, then it should be important enough to display or otherwise honor, not just stuffed in a box in the attic. My weakness is letters. Thank goodness for emails, cause my box of letters rarely grows anymore, but I have letters from relatives and friends from when I was younger that I can't bear to throw away. I did finally toss out all the birthday cards, but have saved all the letters that people have written me over the years. But it is only one box, so I allow the indulgence.
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