“Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter.” John Muir

We moved into our new “old” house almost three years ago.  At that time we had to downsize everything, because the house is half the size of the one we left behind.  Since both my husband and I had a huge collection of stuff, that meant letting go of a lot of things that were dear to us.  Since that move, we’ve been struggling to unpack all the things that managed to get stored in our one car garage and shed.

Some things we simply could not part with.  We’ve come up with a way to reuse some of the excess baggage which will never make it into the house. Instead we’ve begun to use some of those things in our outside area.  We have a large lot, so we’re filling the space with interesting recycled furniture, newly created sculptures out of odds and ends and things that we’ll never use again.

Being married to an artist has a lot of advantages, because this man of mine has the vision to see things and how they can be used to become part of the environment.  For a couple years we have had piles of unused wood stacked in various locations in our yard.  At one time it looked like a giant Jenga game.  He is now making use of those pieces as part of the landscaping.  Many will get sculpted, some won’t, but they’re being used instead of being piled into a heap.

We’ve created several little sitting areas, which each has its own personality.  Secret gardens and places to sit, also allow us to work and relax in those areas, because we can take little breaks as we work.

Eventually, our yard may become a showplace or an eyesore, depending on your point of view, but in the meantime we’re putting our excess baggage to use in new ways and we might even be able to get a car into our garage.