Stop & Chat: January 5: Introspection

This stresses me out. A LOT.

I'm finally typing this from the comfort of my desktop computer. I enjoyed certain things about the laptop, but this just feels like home.
Today was a rather boring day in terms of activities I can really blog about. Our household goods arrived mostly intact. In fact, the only thing we saw that was majorly damaged was my filing cabinet. The top is smushed down enough that the top drawer can no longer close, rendering the locking mechanism useless. Besides that and a minor tear in the couch that isn't worth making a fuss over everything was in great condition.

Except as I started unpacking, I realized the state everything was in. Electronics are dusty. Furniture has gunk built up in lesser used areas. Pots and pans have scratches and, frankly, aren't as clean as I'd like them to be.

These aren't issues that are due to movers. These are issues with the way I left these items. I had a true heart to heart with myself about the lack of care that both M and I have put into our possessions. The revelation wasn't pleasant. I had let things go. Over the course of the past three years, M and I have struggled to maintain a clean household and life. We did not hold each other accountable for our messes, nor did we really push for that extra level of cleanliness that I know we both can achieve. If I had it my way, we would throw out a significant amount of our small appliances, pots, and pans and start fresh. The realist in me knows that it's impractical and expensive to replace the cooking set we have. Mom and Dad gave us this set as it hit a decade in age, and every piece had been taken care of so well it seemed that we had a brand new set on our hands. I'm ashamed to think of how little care we've put into maintaining it.

I know normal wear and tear is expected on certain items but I feel like we've very much failed at doing anything on our parts to maintain the longevity of our own possessions. How horrid of a realization.

After a few hours of moping around and feeling sorry for myself I finally convinced myself that this was no way to approach the situation. M and I have talked and we have established a higher expectation in the state of this house from here on out. We will unpack and re clean anything that needs it, toss anything that is beyond salvage.

On a side note, our linens and clothes did not handle the trip very well. There is a definite musky feel and smell to them that I know was not there when these things were packed. I made damn sure that every bit of cloth in that house was cleaned and dried and smelling fresh. I think this was more due to spending two months cooped up in boxes either on a ship or in a warehouse.

Spending the past two months living with limited personal possessions was very liberating. Even before our stuff had arrived I was joking with M about cancelling our delivery, telling the movers to keep or get rid of everything, and continuing to live with what we had at hand at that moment. Obviously that did not happen, but we are very much going over everything with a fine toothed comb and weeding out a lot of unused items. Before the movers had come to pack everything in the States we had already cut down on a lot of possessions. We were allotted 4,000 pounds for this move. Half of what is usually allotted in moves, because it was impractical for the military to find us a place in Korea that would fit 8,000 pounds of items. We only took 2,500 pounds, down from a combined 3800 moved last January. Granted, a huge chunk of our items were taken to my parents' for safekeeping/leaving behind while we were in Korea. But I'm very much hoping to cut down even more. I'll be sure to keep you guys updated on that!

Semi-downing post aside, an overwhelming majority of my day has been spent unpacking. I got the guest room all set up with its furniture. The bed just needs some linens before the room will be fully functional as a bedroom. I feel so fancy actually having a guest room! With a bed! Eep!

Okay, I think I've had enough time to sit and think and type for the night. It's back to work for me! I can't even try to work on a haul post to distract myself from unpacking as M has the laptop with all of the pictures. Guess I have no choice but to unpack... :)

Were you as irresponsible with your possessions as we have been when you were in your early 20's?