The start of Something New

The start of Something New.

A seed has been planted; various ideas are taking shape; plans being drawn up and it's time to move on.
Things are moving at an alarming rate at the moment, and when 2016 draws to an end, so much in my life will be about to change.
I had no idea that handing in my notice at work would have such an effect on everything, and it is exciting.

The start of 2017 promises more change as well, but you'll have to wait and see what those are.

My current situation is as follows:

• I have quit my job - last day 10 January '17
• I have moved out of my flat in London
• Currently couch surfing

It started out with a messy flat, boxes everywhere, bikes in various states of undress as I prepared to move. I knew I had a lot of stuff, but crikey, the stuff was everywhere! Eveeeeeeerywhere!!

Pens, paper, photo frames, magazines, books, DVD and CD collections, candles, rubber ducks in the bathroom, how do we end up accumulating so much?

The flat slowly became cleaner and tidier as more boxes, dated clothes and wine glasses got shifted out. Freecycle is amazing for shifting stuff you no longer want or require, with the rest goes to the local charity shops. By the end of the weekend charity shop runs had crept towards double figures, and I knew most of the staff by name.

Rather sparkly

The end result?

A sparkling, spotless and empty flat.

Here's a little test for you to do at home.

Take a look around your room/house/flat/shed and estimate how many boxes you think it would take to pack up all the items in it.

Got the number?

Wrong!

Things learnt so far.

1. Packing up and moving house is stressful. Stress. Full.
2. Take the time. Be as organised as you can.
3. Family and Friends are valuable commodities to have at times like this. Rely on them. I came close to losing it a few times over the past few weeks. Friends can verify that, but at the end of the day the work needed to be completed,  those boxes wouldn't pack themselves.
4. Do we really need so much stuff? In this current world of consumption, I realise even I was guilty of having so much more than was necessary.

Stay tuned for my next update...2017 is going to be a belter of a year.