Those of you that follow me on instagram will know that we’ve had all sorts of adventures (most of them resulting in disappointment) with regards us moving to our “forever” family home.

After yet another purchase fall through we now find ourselves in a situation where we need to sell and move out, but don’t really have a new home to go to as such (I promise I will write what will probably be a long and dull feature about the entire debacle, as soon as I can actually muster the motivation).

Only last week we found ourselves what is very close to, our dream house in a chocolate box village in the country. But after everything that’s happened, I won’t believe it until I have those keys in my hand. And even if everything does go through as planned, the earliest we will be moving in is the end of October. We have agreed to complete with our buyers on the 9th September. They have been waiting for us for months so we feel it’s only fair that we allow them to have their dream home. The joys of a chain.

This essentially gives us 7 weeks of limbo. We didn’t particularly want to sign up for a rental lease – the very minimum is 6 months so we could end up spending thousands on a property we don’t actually need for the contractual duration. I had a light bulb moment where I suggested perhaps we could find a long term “holiday let” of sorts – and low an behold, we have found a pretty little cottage about 3 miles from our current house. It’s small but perfectly formed. Ahem, small being the operative word.

I know “Living With Less” is very much a current trend, and even though we have always wanted to have a good old sort out, the truth is we don’t have much choice but to only keep the things we really really need. My parents have kindly offered us temporary storage in their garage and annex – but it isn’t infinite, and items like our sofas, beds and kitchen table will take up the majority of the space available. And we certainly can’t take much to the cottage apart from a suitcase each, some of Mabel’s toys and James’s Nespresso machine (because you know, essentials.)

Disastrous-moving-experience-so-far aside, James and I are quite laid back in that we’re not (yet) in panic mode. We know we just have to get on with it. Besides, with a toddler in tow what else can you do? Stressed and narky parents would not be conducive to the fact we hope for as smooth a transition as possible for Mabel.

Last week we ordered a skip, it is already full to bursting. So we’ve ordered another one. I already feel item by item that little bit lighter. It’s difficult to describe exactly but it does seem like the perfect opportunity for a fresh new start. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to start living with just a couple of kimonos, bare feet and a vegetable patch, but I am looking forward to a life with less clutter and unnecessary things.

My next big job is to sort through my embarrassingly large stash of clothing. As superficial as it may sound, I am dreading the task ahead – I donated several bin bags full of fashion to a local charity shop about 18 months ago and it took me forever to part with pieces that admittedly, I hadn’t worn for over a year and probably never would again.

Have you ever had a big clear out? Ever missed anything you re-housed in the skip? Feel much lighter and brighter because you are living with less?

Oh and if anyone could recommend some under bed storage (preferably with dividers) or clever compact ways of storing underwear and whatnot then I will love you forever.