Nineteen

1. T minus 87

Today is our 19th Wedding Anniversary and a time to reflect on the past as well as look to the future – I share here  wedding pictures from that day almost two decades ago. These come from Anita’s Creative Memories scrapbooking album.

Final Push

T minus 154

We’re on the final push 🙂

Everything in place for tomorrow’s Open House Sale. Just tidying through. Elephant (what’s left of it) is in the garage. A busy day of tidying by Anita, Heather and Geoff and a final push from us all and we have a house which can be seen 🙂

After all the tidying a pause for Pizza

Saturdays

T Minus 160

Saturdays are probably my favourite day of the week. Waking up in the morning with a whole day ahead of you and a blank page upon which to write your life.

At the moment (of course) life is pretty full of sorting, shredding, boxing (things not people), dumping (things not people!!), tidying, painting the list goes on… And so Saturday is pretty much mapped out.

Today Anita is out at Woburn Sands Band Playing Day. Matt is off on a youth weekend away and Bex will be off to a party soon. So here am I.

This morning has been a mix of dumping and then food shopping, before putting a wash out (it’s dry and sunny).This afternoon the joys of gloss paint await.

Later we are heading out to a friends Big Birthday Bash. This is actually a fund-raiser at a local Leisure Centre in aid of various African Development Projects. However, this deserves a post of its own so more later. I’d better get painting before Anita gets back!

Week End

T Minus 162

Weeks Fly By

I cannot believe how fast time is going – when we started this blog  it was T minus 190 – 28 more days have flown by since.

Last week went by fast – this week has flown by even faster. I think having a focus i.e. our leaving date is part of the reason. Once the house is put on the market – I am sure time will fly even faster. That still is a way off though as we are still house clearing.

This week Anita has been off work and her parents (Heather and Geoff) were up. Between them they have done so much:

Heather has helped us clear surfaces and the kitchen is looking suitably sparse.

Tidy Kitchen

Cleared Surfaces!

Also the Bathrooms have new floors replacing the tired old ones – thanks to Heather.

New Floor

Geoff has helped with various DIY tasks I just never got around to – the door frame in Bex room and the upstairs banisters have benefited from his hand. Additionally cupboard doors have been repaired and skirting boards painted  along with aforementioned banisters and lots of doors. It’s funny how you live with things for so long and only get around to getting them fixed before you leave.

New Door Frame

Banisters replaced

Warning Wet Paint

Bruce (my brother-in-law)  came over one day to help painting – so a big thanks to him too.

As for Anita – lots of paperwork scanned and shredded – lots of clothes, DVDs and  games sorted and books boxed.Grouting and oven cleaned.

Games ready for sale

After all this  tidying the loft left overs still clutter our lounge and conservatory. It seems never-ending.

Stuff to sort in the Conservatory

Even bears have to go!

Part of the lounge

Tonight and tomorrow, my job is to carry on sorting and dumping whilst Anita is out on Band business. We have an evening off attending a Birthday Bash / Charity Fundraiser of which more tomorrow evening.

Next week Anita is off work again so more of the same.

Geoff and Heather plan to come back for a couple of days next week too, to finish some uncompleted tasks and the following week my mum (Jane) will be down helping inside and (weather depending) out.

We could not do this without their help and it’s great they can be around. Our aim is to have everything sorted for next weekend.

Next weekend is a big weekend

On Saturday we are having an Open House / Garage Sale from 10:00am to 6:00pm –  the plan is for people to come over get some good bargains and we can lose some of the enormous quantity of goods which fill every corner. Anita has sent out invitations via Facebook and hopefully folk will come.

On Sunday we will be  heading to the Car Boot Sale at the Bowl – with an aim of getting rid of much of the rest. Anita and I will be assisted by Mum,Heather, Geoff, Stephen,Fiona, Mel and Bruce – so between us we hope to be successful.

If the next week is anything like the last two we’ll be at the Car Boot Sale in hardly any time at all.

Phasing Out!

T minus 172

“tat”, “jumble”, “goods”, “superfluous”, “shipped”, “stored” and “packed”. All phases of reduction we’re going through.

Let me explain…..

What you leave behind.

T minus 176

One of the biggest challenges we face in the coming months is what we’re actually going to need in Mwanza and what we will leave behind in the UK. We will be provided with a furnished house in Africa, which will be great – though this will be basic and will need to be added to. Some items will need to be sourced locally. Apparently even though it might seem difficult on first impressions, you can get just about anything if you look hard or wait long enough. Even so some items which are cheap in the UK will be expensive in Tanzania.

Deciding exactly which items to keep and which to sell / give away is going to be a conundrum. Anita and I have always had a tendency to hoard and in common with most people in the West we have probably had an excess. One look in my wardrobe tells a story.

We’ve not been extravagant by western standards but we have far too many clothes. I have loads of Vinyl which I never play (though some has been converted to mp3), an old video recorder and a DVD player – that’s just one cupboard. We will really need to trim down the quantities – some clothes will never be worn so it should be easier but then there’s sentimental value.

How many versions of Monopoly and Scrabble do you need? We have loads.
Then there’s the book-case.

Anita was into scrapbooking for a long time and we have so many albums which would fill our luggage allowance. These will probably be digitised.

When it comes to DVD’s there’s a lot to filter out. Probably keeping the box sets and the series but even so…

Apparently there are no copyright laws in Tanzania so downloading is common practice. Added to which there is a community library among the expats.

So what to take and what to leave behind?

This weekend we’re making an inventory of everything we have. A long job that needs doing. Wish us luck!

The Day After

T minus 185

A busy day of clearing yesterday focussing mainly on the kids bedrooms.

It was all bit overwhelming at times.

However it is now done and we have clean and tidy rooms ahead of today’s visit by the valuer.

The bin men will have their work cut out today but it’s all been worth it.

Dropping Mum back today and then the rest of Half Term has to be devoted to school work. So the loft will have to wait!

For now the Garage is full – but tidy and ready for a Car Boot in the coming weeks.

Garage, Shed and Kitchen

T minus 187

A good morning and another trip to the dump leaves the garage a lot clearer. That which remains will go to a car boot sale – we’re currently looking at 23rd March – so stay tuned.

The afternoon it’s the turn of the shed.

Inside Anita has started on the Kitchen clutter

Meanwhile looking to get house valued – regardless of renting and selling. This is booked for Wed. Once we know we can form up a decision either way.

We’ve now had application forms for the kids at Isamilo. This will be a formality (we hope) but still needs to be done.

Let the Clearance Begin

T minus 189

Today is the start of Half Term and the start of the long process of clearing the accumulated detritus of 26 years in my own house (and 16 in this one). We have been ruthless! Anita in the bathroom clearing out numerous bottles of lotions and potions some of which are years old – including some small bottles of aftershave which I will miss 😦 . I on the other hand started on the Garage (with Mum who is down for the weekend). Several trips to the dump later we have made inroads – though there is a long way to go.

More garage tomorrow and then the loft – that is going to take a long time – some of the stuff came straight from the loft of our previous house 16 years ago and has not seen the light of day since.

It may seem a long time until we go – but a holiday week like this is a golden opportunity to get started. Certainly we are considering the options as to whether to rent or sell and may need to leave the house  before the summer depending on the best option.