There have been a couple of occasions over the last week or so where discussions have touched on the stuff in our homes.  As we creep closer to the end of our adventure here, conversations, at times, are around the move back to the UK and what we will return with or in many cases without.  We arrived with six suitcases, a car seat and a stroller and a little while later our shipping arrived – which in the main was toys, a few more clothes and a couple of pictures of home.

We spent the first two weeks in a hotel and we needed the time there to purchase and order the things to make a home.  The practical things to fill a kitchen and the furniture to enable us to sleep, sit and eat a meal in comfort.

Our furniture in the main came from one store and once it was delivered, along with all its coordinating components of lamps, rugs and matching knick-knacks, we magically created the framework of a home.

I have never before been in the position to walk into a store with a budget and just say to a salesperson we need: a master bedroom set, a child’s bedroom set, a lounge set and a dining room set.  They must of rubbed their hands with glee at the commission they were about to acquire!  (We also did this with an empty dollar account as we were waiting for expenses, but we really wanted the order on track for moving in as we didn’t want to have to stay in the hotel any longer than necessary…and they were great and got the wheels in motion with just a promise that we would be back in a few days with the payment.)

The stuff in our home in England was an amalgamation of items collected over a long period and the result of two homes brought together to become one.  The move here provided an opportunity to reduce, sell and donate as we made the decisions on what we could fit into storage and what we would ship overseas.  We were forced into having a thorough cleanse of the clutter and deciding what was really important to us.

The recent themes at my mom’s groups have been about clutter and space.  Mom’s with new babies dealing with the expectations of managing the home and tending to their new offspring; along with how taking just a few minutes on tackling one task can make a huge difference and help you feel better and happier.

I’ve tried to be really good with our main purchases, just getting the things that we really need and will use on a regular basis.  I haven’t always been successful with that and I have got things that have sat unused or are items that are just nice to have… a little bit of pretty, for when someone buys you flowers for example.

Note: photographed on the kitchen floor due to the general state of my counters!

It’s amazing how when you start with a blank canvas of a house how quickly you can gather the stuff of life around you.  We have toy explosions, craft projects, school work and general detritus everywhere.  Somehow the doing of life has always got in the way of my tidying of life.  I have a relaxed if not horizontal approach to housework, its not high on the list of things that make me happy or make me tick.  It’s clean (in the main) and the laundry gets done and there is food and plates to eat it from, but there is always stuff.

One of the questions today was about what you remember about your home from your childhood.

Whether the bathrooms were cleaned regularly or the floors cleared of toys (which they were) isn’t the first thing that springs to mind.

What comes to mind for me was the way my mother could always make a meal stretch to another seat around the table.  No-one was turned away and friends were welcomed and looked after.  My memories are about the people and the meals, the sense of extended family and community.

Home is about the sanctuary of family, the place we seek comfort and rest, and the people we invite onto our journey, who we bring into our tribe.  It isn’t really about the stuff or the flowers, but they are pretty!