Taking Inventory

Part of preparedness is knowing WHAT you have and WHERE you have it.
Since I am planning a move in the not-so-distant future, I have been taking inventory of everything I have.
I have to strip down to the *bare essentials* and slough off the *non-essentials*.
My first priority is:
Will it help me survive?
Second:
Will it be useful on a day to day basis?
Third:
Have I used it within the last 90 days?
Fourth:
Does it have over-whelming sentimental value?


Now, last night I went through all my photos. I had, literally, pounds of photographs. I discarded duplicates, pictures of places I had hung onto for some unknown reason and the like.
I had 17 pictures of the cabin I lived in in Montana. I kept one.
40 pictures of the horses on the throughbred ranch I worked on...discarded them all.
I kept pictures of my children, grandparents, parents, and such.
When I was done, I had enough photographs to fill up one good sized album or to put in a binder (*reminds self to get photo pages for binder!)

Tonight I will be going through my clothes. I know I will need 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of slacks, 4 blouses,2 warm long sleeve shirts, 4 tee shirts, 4 dresses, 2 light nightgowns, 1 pair of warm pajamas, 1 flannel nightgown, 14 pair of underwear, 10 bras, 1 shawl/wrap, 1 hoodie, 1 rain jacket and 1 warm jacket. OH! And socks--14 pair. Almost forgot the socks! Also, one pair of sneakers, 1 pair of hiking boots and one pair of dress flats. I don't wear panty-hose, so I'll find a corner of my bag to snug in my garter belt and several pair of stockings.


I have a HUGE library of books, but I plan on only taking two---maybe three. No more than that.
Not taking my dvd collection or my cd collection...okay, might keep a few of my c.d.s if I have room!
A small sewing kit will go with me, but all my fabric, threads, sewing machine, patterns and notions will not.
I hope to buy a laptop before I go, my bulky desk top computer will find a new home! (I will be using it as a trade-in on the laptop.)

The things worrying me the most are my *essentials*...I have a cast iron grain mill and a set of three cast iron frying pans. I can make do with just two of the frying pans, but that grain grinder will have to go with me!
My #10 cans of wheat, sitting snug and content in my pantry will find a new home---just not with me.

It is stressful sorting through everything I have managed to accumulate while living here in Texas, but it is important for me to *streamline. I basically, cannot take more than I can carry by myself.
Also, my carry on bags and checked bags cannot exceed 50 pounds each.
I will have one carry on (a back pack) and one checked bag.
So, my worldly possessions can not exceed 100 pounds!

Think about that for a moment and look around you...
Could you reduce everything you own to 100 pounds in two bags and still survive...not just survive, but prosper?

We should all inventory once in a while, and I also feel we should all shake off all the possessions that we think we own---but frequently end up owning us!