Since we arrived back home almost 2 weeks ago it has been all systems go towards moving off-grid. This post is all about packing up and shedding excess.

I'm super excited about this move and have been enthusiastically sorting through three years of accumulated clutter.
We are selling and giving away most of our bulky furniture. We don't need it. Downsizing toys and clothing. The strangest thing that most of us don't really consider is the electrical items. I'm literally going through the various appliances and tech that we have, looking at the watt consumption. Most things over 500w are going. The reason for this is that our main source of power is going to be 6, 250w solar panels. We aim to attach a battery storage source but realistically at any given time peak output will be 1kw. So it makes sense to give up the unnecessary items.

I'm not a huge fan of buying new things and most of the furniture we have, had a place in someone else's home before ours. The best part is that the items of furniture we aren't taking have found other homes on the island, so I can rest at ease knowing that our move is not contributing to environmental pollution. (Everything here gets sent to the incinerator, which I will discuss more about in another post, as I'm currently campaigning to change this).
One such item I had difficulty letting go was a baby grand piano. It's a bit of an iconic emblem here on the island. It belongs to a lady who owns one of the local shops. Many years ago she gave it to the Island hall, as she had moved to a smaller house with no room for it, but they were unable to store it when other events took place. Over the years it has made the rounds in various houses here. The last guy who had it before me was moving back to England and knew how much I loved the piano and that I was looking for one to play. He didn't hesitate to entrust me with it. It lived in my kitchen for the first year and then we moved it into the living room.

...and here's a photo of the piano and more of my messy house. (Feeling a little embarrassed sharing this now but it's the last picture I have before the piano left.)

I must confess I hardly played it, but when I did the sound was beautiful. Perhaps I could have appreciated it more were the little dudes slightly older. It made a really good place to put our other music gear too. Hence the reason why there's a whole heap of what looks like junk on the top. It didn't affect our ability to play it though.
Sadly, I managed to find a new home for the beauty and we parted ways on Tuesday. I thought about how grateful and lucky I've been to be able to have this beautiful instrument in my home. Music is a really important aspect of my life. It is my go-to release when I am feeling overwhelmed or upset. I find by improvising with music it helps me to release those feelings, lifting my spirit and making me feel much better.

It's not the end of the line though. I will continue to play. I have a keyboard which will be coming with us on the move. As well as guitars and a really cool drum.

So that's where we are right now. It's a little emotional sifting and sorting. Particularly when finding old photos or a little piece of artwork the kids made sometime ago that fell behind that chest of drawers in the bedroom. By sorting through things it is also a way of cleansing stifled feelings. It's a time of great change, a little overwhelming at points but I'm super thrilled to be heading on the path that I've been dreaming about for years.

As one chapter in my life closes, I am grateful for all it has taught me and I look forward to what the new one will bring.

Have you made any life-changing decisions recently? If so, I'd love to read about them in the comments. <3

~ONE LOVE~

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