That Light

I started this post on Wednesday morning and have only just found time (and internet connection) to finish it.

Remember that light at the end of the tunnel that I mentioned a little while ago? Well it wasn't the end of the tunnel. It was a train. Heading in my direction. Moving has been a dreadful, dreadful task of humungous proportions! When I thought we were nearly there, we were nowhere near it! Even now, with the carpet cleaners coming this morning (Wednesday), there's still several loads of gear on the verandah to make it's way to the farm. How one family of four can have so much crap is beyond me. Having such an enormous house doesn't help. We could always find a "place" for something. The situation is a little different at the new house. With just the two of us now and a much smaller house I'll be doing a second cull as I unpack. The kids were only 10 and 15 when we moved into this one and because we doubled in available space compared to the first house we lived in for 15 years I think we just brought everything here and put it away...and I've sure paid for that as I've pulled it all out of the cupboards.

Our life is different now; no school, no sport, no extra-curricular activities, no kids living full-time at home so we can downsize pretty well everything (eg the 40 towels). All those books and projects (Beavers, Possums, Ancient Egypt etc that I kept); all the uniforms and footballs and cardboard (just in case); years and years of beautiful ballet costumes that the little kids in Prep Green are going to enjoy dressing up in; 26 years of tax records stored in the spare room top cupboard that wasn't opened for 10 years; the list goes on and on...and how many platters does one really need? Surely not the 15 I had that someone who walks into Lifeline will now be able to enjoy. So much stuff. Just stuff. I am on a mission to lead a minimalist and simplified lifestyle.

And the cleaning. I can't even begin to verbalise the massive, massive job it's been to clean a house this size on my own. Every cupboard vacuumed and washed out; every wall dry mopped with a micro fibre mop; every window, all 70 of them, washed twice, inside and out (once to wash, once to shine) - that's 280 windows in total; the kitchen (the stove, ugh); the pantry with it's french farmhouse look with the rough, painted bricks that look well, like rough painted bricks; the window screens (only 23 windows have screens); the list goes on and on and on.

I had planned on employing a cleaner but I left my run too late. I could only get someone to come and help for a few hours on Tuesday but what she did in that time was an enormous help. She mopped the walls with a t-bar and used a disinfectant. The effect was startling; even though the marks didn't come off the freshening up of the walls was obvious. She also had a spray bottle of liquid that lifted 10 years of lime scale off Megan's windows where the bore water sprinkler had drifted. Once she had gone I felt the load start to lift; and then once the carpet cleaners came I felt lighter again.

Friday 6pm - I've just been to the house and officially handed it over to the new Manager's wife and given her the run down on it's little idiosyncrasies. What an enormous relief. The responsibility is no longer mine. Goodbye house.