Change is on the horizon as the day of moving from The Netherlands for the Philippines draws nearer and nearer. The house I’ve lived in for so many years needs to be handed back to the housing corporation, empty and clean. Over the past four months, I’ve been sorting through a lifetime’s worth of belongings, a task infused with emotion by the passing of my parents. We called this place home for 31 years. Now, this part of my life is coming to an end.
You see, I’ve been living in this house for a long time, and I would have gladly stayed in it, but I am not allowed to by law. And thus, the house will be returned to a blank slate and ‘given’ to other people, to make what was once my home, their new home. It’s been a bit of a journey to get everything sorted out and I am still not completely finished. Over the last four months, I’ve been cleaning up and clearing out.
I’ve been selling all sorts of things – furniture, plants, clothes, pots, appliances, you name it. It’s been a mix of my stuff and things my parents left behind. We’ve collected a lot over the years. Unfortunately, I can’t bring everything. Some things are also not allowed to be shipped, lithium batteries for example. Oh, and I also have to trash a whole lot, as you can see in the photo at the start of this blog post.
It’s kind of weird to let go of things that have been part of our lives for so long. But I am always happy to know that our stuff will live on.
There was this woman picking up two boxes of Christmas decorations – the stuff mom loved and our family made so many memories with – and I asked here what purpose it was going to have. She said she was giving it to a nursery home. Well, now I know there will be a bunch of people probably around the same age my parents were, celebrating Christmas with our beloved Christmas items, decorations and accessories. A bittersweet thought.
I also created a food storage. Although partially for ‘unforeseen events’, mainly to save money as living costs started rising. This to help out my parents, who were unfortunately very familiar with money problems. I invested my own savings to help them and myself save money, by creating a storage of items that we regularly used. Rice, canned vegetables, tea, condiments, coconut oil, peanut butter, even some chocolate bars and bottled water.
I sold some of it at a cheap price, and I also decided to donate some. A non-profit organization came and picked up the food, and told me they’re sending it to families in Ukraine. The man who came to pick up the bags and boxes of food items told me that people wearing bulletproof vests would take the food (and other necessities) and deliver it to areas in Ukraine that have just been reclaimed. These are places where families have been hiding in basements and shelters for weeks because of the situation there. Knowing that the food from my parents and me will be helping these families is a worthy consolidation for the money I’ve lost over this.
Letting go of things has been a big part of this whole process. It’s not easy, especially when those things hold memories. But it’s also kind of freeing in a way. It’s like making space for new experiences.
As I’ve been going through all of this, my cats have been with me. They’ve been exploring the house as it gets emptier. I don’t think they know what adventure is ahead of them, and I’m glad they can’t stress about it as much as I do.
So, here I am, getting ready to leave this house and move to a whole new place. It’s a mix of feelings – saying goodbye to the past, taking my cats into the future, and wondering what lies ahead. One thing’s for sure, though – change might be a bit tricky, but it’s also a chance for new adventures.
Did you know?
I also vlog about my life through the lens of my cats, over on my Backyard Cats YouTube Channel! Feel free to head over and watch the videos I’ve created of my cats Tommy and Ricky. If you want to support me – and my cats – do give the channel a follow and maybe sprinkle some likes around. It only costs you a few minutes of your time, but it helps us out greatly!
