Confessions of a Reluctant Unpacker

I’ve shared some of my “issues” before, but here’s the one I feel worst about. I truly hate unpacking. From trips to big moves, I hate it all. The reasons are not clear to me. But I have only a certain amount of unpacking energy that has to be used quickly before it goes away for months or years.

I got a good burst shortly after we moved into the Bobcat Lair, and it was really draining. I had to give myself rewards to keep going. Having to fold every single box into a flat shape and smooth out all the paper so it could be recycled was the worst. We made so many trips to Goodwill and recycling, ugh.

So, some stuff that wasn’t mandatory did not get unpacked, such as boxes from the bedrooms and the boxes full of knitting magazines since 1980. They all ended up stacked neatly in the garage, for “later.”

Some boxes that I thought belonged to my son went in our underground “dirt room.” Sounds good, but Anita discovered a few months ago that moisture was seeping in and messing up the boxes. She dragged them out and put them in our unfinished wine cellar. And there they sat.

We couldn’t even get to our wine fridge or liquor. Don’t worry, we bought more. And so it sat. I promised Anita I’d get my unpacking mojo eventually.

Eventually arrives

Who knows what happened. Maybe the full moon, maybe the dog days of summer, or maybe I felt so good that my anxiety spell had passed that I got manic…who knows?

Actually, I think I know what happened. Recently Anita shocked me by announcing she was going to stop storing masses of recycling in the garage and taking it to our very unpleasant recycling facility.

You see, our quaint little enclave doesn’t have recycling like the rest of Austin, which is a long story I have no inclination to tell.

So, we’re just using the trash dudes (we keep reading that so much recycling goes into landfills anyway). That meant suddenly I could walk in the garage!

And suddenly I could get to the boxes in there. It was my turn to shock Anita when last night, I announced I’d brought in some boxes to unpack.

And I did! And we wadded up packing paper to throw it away. It felt like Christmas. Who cares that it was the hottest day of the year! We found mirrors, Mom art, and more!

I have stuff to take to the ranch and some stuff for Declan, too.

But wait

Yes. I had promised to do something about the moldy boxes so we can finish the wine room. Today I still had my mojo, though, and hooray, we did it! I found a couple boxes that were mine, and aww, I found the beloved childhood treasures in these photos. I also found the children’s books I was saving for grandchildren. These all have a bookshelf to go on already.

Other stuff went out or is going to Goodwill. And before we put anything back in the dirt room, we put in a plastic moisture barrier. We think Declan’s stuff and the knitting boxes I just didn’t have the energy to go through yet will now be fine.

Next?

I still have energy to keep working on the garage boxes with a goal of a neat, organized space in August. I’m proud of myself for doing my least favorite thing. I’m always happy when it’s DONE!

Goodbye mess!