Saying goodbye

I’ve written a lot lately about the need to let go of the past, but there are also times when we don’t necessarily want to let go of the past… but we are forced to let go.

This past weekend was one of those times. My father-in-law passed away in April, and it’s been very tough on my husband (and me, truth be told). My mother-in-law passed in September 2012, but she had been ill for many, many years and it wasn’t all that devastating to my husband. He had dealt with the pain of losing her back in his late teens.

With his dad, it was different. His dad was a huge part of his life and they were very close. While his passing wasn’t exactly unexpected, it certainly happened much, much faster than we thought. We just didn’t have enough time, although I suppose we all say that when anyone dies.

This past weekend my husband had the sad task of packing up his dad’s condo and selling most of his furniture at a garage sale at my sister-in-law’s house. For the most part, we didn’t want to keep much of his furniture. My sister-in-law is taking most of the dining room set (a family heirloom—way too big for my small house) and we took the hutch that went with it. But the rest had to go.

The garage sale also presented us with an opportunity to get rid of some of the things holding us back in our own home. We sold the kitchen table we had bought about 15 years ago in our apartment in Toronto. The table had been sitting in our garage for years (we really only need one eating area—again, our house just isn’t that big!). We also, finally, said goodbye to the old green loveseat.

The little green loveseat… older than me!

The old green loveseat belonged to my in-laws. They bought it years before my husband was even born, and just looking at it, you can tell it was purchased in the psychedelic ‘60s! With down cushions and velvet upholstery, that little love seat was comfortable and well made. We took it when my father-in-law sold his big house and moved into a condo, and I even created my entire living room decorating scheme around this dang couch!

Time for a change…

But again, it was time to say goodbye. Both of us were getting tired of the old décor. We were tired of the green, and our own beige couch that desperately needs replacing (especially after SOMEONE decided to draw all over it with marker that we can’t get off). We are giving my parents our dining room set next year (it belonged to my grandparents) and we’re aching for something new, fresh and clean.

So out the green couch went in the garage sale. A young girl heading off to university and furnishing her first apartment bought the couch. She was very excited about the “funky green couch” and we felt good knowing it was going somewhere it would continue to bring good memories.

The garage sale and condo clean out was also a good opportunity to continue my own cleaning mission. This time, I enlisted the kids to clear out their rooms and find stuff we could sell. Here’s a bit of the work they did:

Apparently, when you are eight, you have to make a mess before you can actually clean anything up.

And when you’re 11, you also have to make a mess…

One of the end results of the clean up.

Finally, now that it was out with the old, it will soon be in with the new. After the garage sale, we ordered a new sectional sofa for our basement, which we are redecorating (new flooring, paint, etc.). It arrives in mid-August.

I can’t wait for this puppy to arrive in August!

At the same time, we bought a new couch to replace the beige living room sofa. Don’t laugh…

Um, what?! Are we really buying another green couch? Wait a minute…

Okay, so this picture is a bit misleading! We did indeed order this couch, however I didn’t just sell a lime green couch to buy another lime green couch! We ordered it in a soft taupe-grey colour to fit the décor I have in my mind. This is another room that will be getting a “refresher” soon, as will the boys’ rooms. We’re not painting the living room though… it will be getting the new couch, a new area rug, new pillows and a few other new pieces. Other pieces will either be refinished or painted to spruce it up. I can’t wait!

Just kidding… this is the colour of the new couch.

It’s really a sign we’re all moving on and letting go of the past. We’re taking this opportunity to upgrade and refresh our surroundings—a great way to make everything “cleaner.”