And So It Begins.

 I received the lock and key to my new storage unit and went to Sam’s Club to pick up the shelves I had ordered: four stands of five shelves each, four feet wide. I probably should have borrowed a friend’s pickup truck. It would have been much easier than carrying the shelving in the cargo basket behind my van. Luckily, they did actually fit—just barely—standing on end, and I am well supplied with ratchet straps.

I opened the new storage unit and unloaded my cargo of shelving. Last year, I helped a friend assemble identical shelving in her basement, so the process was easy and familiar, but it still took quite a while because it was extremely hot and I moved appropriately slowly.

Plans are, of course, an invitation to the Universe to mess with you. When I had set up the first stand, I discovered that my Sterilite totes are an inch too tall to fit on any but the very top shelves. That was disappointing. However, I am perfectly willing to have my supplies in smaller containers that are easier to lift. I just wasn't wanting to spend yet more money!

I was about to start the fourth one when my friend came with my wire shelves from Walmart. (They’re for the van project, so they’ll sit there until next week.) He helped me assemble the fourth stand, so that went more quickly.

By then it was definitely time to call it a day.  A long hot productive one.  

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss,

Okay, I have been running around living life rather than blogging about it, so I don't know if I have any readers left. Maybe I'll get some new ones. In any case, I'm reviving this blog for myself, in order to document a project I am starting formally, although it's been in progress since February. They say that a rolling stone gathers no moss, but I am living proof that that is bovine excrement. 

I have an extended van, a trailer, and a 10-by-20 storage unit. Since I am older than the internet and started reading long before the Kindle was invented, I don't mind having a storage unit. I do mind it being so full that I can't make good use of it.

So, this is a multi-faceted project which involves decluttering my van and remodeling it, decluttering my trailer and remodeling it, and clearing out a whole lot of stuff from the storage. I intend to do this all before I head south for the winter. A good bit of it has already been done—enough so that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know the level of comfortable clutter that I'm aiming for. The various obstacles that have kept me from doing this in the past have apparently gotten out of the way, so let the games begin!

My intention is to post regularly my progress, my process, and some updates on what's already been done. If you think decluttering a house is difficult, try a camper van that travels to two different centuries. My longtime readers will know that I do 18th-century historical camping, which involves a whole lot of additional stuff."