Packing Up
In early 2022, we were feeling the need to make some decisions on our next steps, and whilst there were still a lot of questions left to be answered, there was a strong sense that it wasn’t in the house and location we currently were. The house went on the market and our stuff went into storage. It was left in a very different state from how I found it when it was purchased 7 years ago. One of the memories that gets recalled frequently about the state of the house was removing 5 layers of carpet from the front bedroom, one on top of another. The whole place was feeling very sorry for itself and nothing worked, including the toilet and the central heating. The shower was held together with gaffer tape, there was lots of damp and many different smells, none of them good.!
Over the next 7 years, the whole place was gutted; plumbing, electrical, damp, kitchen, bathrooms, loft extension, new garden and summer room. There were huge transformations to both the inside and out. Initially, the bathroom of the house had been at the back of the kitchen, which was removed and the whole area became a kitchen. The bathroom was relocated to a bedroom upstairs and eventually a new bedroom and ensuite was created in the loft. Some before and after images from various spots in the house:
Everything other than what we would need over the next few months was packed into moving vans and placed in the safe hands of the Lock n Store Longwell Green, Bristol. We would go on to spend much time over the next 9 months, in the brightly lit corridors, arranging and repacking things, downsizing our locker space, getting things we needed at various stages. Then eventually moving everything out in many trips using our van.
Moving all your “stuff” multiple times really does give cause for evaluating if all these belongings we amass serve us. There is also something about seeing the full lockers with items in their raw, condensed form, without any sheds or cupboards or shelves to disguise the true volume. Nearly 2 years on, with some boxes still packed away, I do very much miss some things, especially from the kitchen. The micro planer and the pestle and mortar haven’t met the rigorous value-add required to be accepted into the precious caravan space.
