Stopped complaining and I am doing

I've been complaining about not having a space to work on my making buttons, painting, sewing, or do any crafts at all in this house since I built the house in 2003. I also complain that I have some cool vintage things to sell, but I can't find them.

It's a cute little house that was built on a low budget. It has the things that are important in Florida. Concrete block walls, metal roof, and even metal studs instead of wood. What I didn't have built was a garage. And since it is a Florida house it has no basement or any real attic space. I have the basic rooms: a small living room, a galley kitchen, and just a space by a window where the table is. It's a wonderful space for dining in front double windows.

I love my little house. It is not a model home that I chose.  I designed it myself with paper and pencil. What fun! I always enjoyed sketching pictures of houses, especially quaint ones with porches.

But, oh dear me, what was I thinking? I am a collector of so many things, and as a homeschool mother, we also collected books and a million other educational items, globes, blackboards, maps, math games, etc. Not to mention the normal extra things that do not go inside a house: bikes, tents, camping gear, skimboards, hula hoops, skates, scooters, soccer balls and on and on.

I bought a shed, and then another shed, and now we have sheds that are stuffed with "stuff." I still have no place to work.  I have been complaining about this for years.  I was always brainstorming how to solve the problem.

I thought about buying a shipping container for storage so the shed by the house could be my studio. But they cost $1600. Not too bad, but I would also need to bring in a few dump loads of fill or gravel and they said I need railroad ties to set it up off the ground some.

I thought about getting another shed. Went to Home Depot and they had one the right size for $3,850. It had 2 windows, but it was chemical treated pressboard walls. Not to mention, I don't have over $3,000 to buy one.

I'll need electric and insulation in a shed to make it an actual workshop or art studio. That's even more money.

I have tried many times to empty my shed and remove enough things to make at least some space to work out there, but the little space leftover always gets filled again. I showed the shed to my friend April who recently moved back here from another state and had not ever seen this shed before. She said, "Judy this is a case of that TV Show, Hoarders where they make people get rid of things. You're a pack rat."

Yesterday my friend came over and bit by bit, we picked our way through it. Not all the way through it. But my pickup truck is loaded high with items going to be donated this morning.

In 20 minutes someone is arriving to take 2 cafeteria tables I freecycled last night. As soon as they leave, I am driving my truck to CARE (Center for Abuse and Rape Emergencies). They have a shop where they sell things. And do I ever have things for them to sell!!

That will be the first load.

My goal is to save nothing unless it is in use. If I am not using it, but plan to use it someday, it is going.

I am going to work with the existing shed, and instead of buying another shed, the one I have will be insulated and have electricity. I will be able to move my workshop out of my small bedroom. I am so excited about this, but may suffer anxiety as I unload things I have been moving around with me for many years.

My kids have things they want to keep and that is understandable. We are going to cut an attic entrance in the ceiling in my daughter's room and cut plywood for across the trusses to make a storage space. My two daughters can put things they want to keep in the attic crawl space over their bedrooms.

My daughter is going to start thinning out her books by selling them on Amazon. A nice job for her.

The many small things I have accumulated over the years because of operating an antique store up north and just because I love old things, will be in tubs in the newly found workshop where I will be able to list them for sale on Zibbet at my Wild Goose Chase shop.

Besides small antique and vintage items I will most likely be selling the many supplies I have also pack ratted over the years because I was going to make something out of them "someday."