how moving rooms around can be a good thing

We are in the middle of a mini move, not a proper house move, but a really big bedroom reshuffle.  Miss E is moving into Mr B's study, Miss J is moving downstairs (see below) into Miss E's old bedroom, and Mr B is moving the study upstairs so the top floor is finally a proper parents retreat.   Let me tell you that moving three entire rooms is not a small job!!  We are all slightly cranky, Miss E cannot find her school shoes, and everybody's clothes are in the wrong room.  But it has been a good thing because it has made us go through all the stuff with a discerning eye, as in "do I really have to carry this upstairs".

I am not a huge hoarder, and we have moved continent twice, interstate twice, and house twice in the last ten years and decluttered every time, but I was still amazed at the stuff we have managed to accumulate in the three years since we moved into this home.  

Not that you want to throw everything out, I believe in hanging onto special objects from the past, but I was amazed at:

• Cables, how many cables can one house have?  It seems everything has a cable these days and somehow in three years, and multiple devices later, there are two boxes full of them.  Most of them turned out to be for out of date phones and cameras, a good cathartic toss in the bin.
• Warranties and instruction manuals - again amazing just how many there are, and how few of them relate to things we still have and use.  Goodbye
• How much paper we were storing in the study.  I had files and files of pages torn out magazines - pre Pinterest.  Another good thing to flick through and flip in the recycling.
• How many stuffed animals there were in Miss E's cupboard.  Actually this even surprised Miss E.  We need to find somewhere that we can re-gift these pre-loved toys.

It has been a little exhausting, but everybody is enjoying settling into their new spaces.  Miss E is flexing her teenage design skills and doing a lovely job of making her room really pretty.  Miss J has issued instructions that the dots on her wall must now be all pink, and only pink mummy (see a sneak preview above) and is enjoying being in a more grown up room.

And Mr B and I finally have a parent retreat all to ourselves.  I am looking forward to getting some art on the walls, Mr B is looking forward to be having a view out the window as he works.

The move has made me think about the other areas that have had things stored in them for the past three years.  Next on the list is the playroom cupboards, but I may need a break before I tackle those.  I will be sharing some tips on how to get your kids to declutter their toys when I do.  Meanwhile I will be posting some updates of the room changes soon, so watch this space.