Life's a Stitch

Or in this case stuff out, stuff in. First some background: when the kids were small we moved from a 2300 sq ft house to one that was 1800. Adjusting to the smaller space we adhered to a strict rule that if something new came into the home, something of equal bulk had to be disposed of. This worked well until ten years later when we moved to a 3200 sq ft house, a quarter of which was unfinished and served as a storage area. The stuff in, stuff out rule went out the window, or  more specifically, into the storage area. Our stuff, our kids' as well as their friends'. As we were moving we discovered boxes belonging to five additional people. 

Technically our new house is the same square footage as the previous one, however, the bottom level is a rentable suite, so we're downsizing again. We did a fair job of paring down, but now have to bring in a few replacement items without the worry of enforcing the "rule." First was a dining room set, the old crumbling chairs set into the free pile, and the table given away. Being over budget on our renovation, we watched Craig's List, our requirements being eight chairs with lumbar support and an extendable table. Mission accomplished. We found a vintage teak Danish Modern set with eight chairs. It is however, missing a leaf, but if we need the extra table room we'll use a similar sized board and cover it all with a tablecloth.

My next project will be to re-cover the seats:

The other item belonged to stuff out without the intention of replacement. I was the proud owner of a pro series KitchenAid mixer in cobalt blue. It was considered kitchen art, pretty to look at, but hardly used as it was so tall it was difficult to move out from under the upper cupboards, plus I'm not much of a baked goods person. I happily gave it to my daughter and her keen-to-cook husband. 

In a twist of fate I found myself the owner of a brand new, smaller series KitchenAid mixer in Cocoa Silver, that matches my new kitchen perfectly. It wasn't just fate, it was an example of excellent customer service. We selected a builder's package of appliances and the refrigerator is backordered until August. Without asking, the company offered us a loaner fridge, a partial cash refund for the inconvenience, which paid for the dining set, and the gift of the mixer. Time to expand my baking repertoire.

Truth be told, we still have lots of boxes to unpack yielding stuff that needs getting rid of. It's overwhelming, but we're plugging away slowly but surely.