Stuff to Bring to an SCA Event

I am supposed to be "packing" right now for Glaslyn Defender of the Flame, which is tomorrow, and I am partially packed but I just can't seem to get the final push over with, so I thought I'd write about it instead. Maybe this will guilt me into getting prepared.

There is so much stuff to do to get ready for an event, and we are just "daytripping" this one because it's only about 40 minutes away in Sanger, TX. We are providing some toys and a play area for the children, and I am doing a painting banners class with them in the afternoon.

Things I need to do:

Lay out garb, jewelry, shoes, etc. for tomorrow

Lay out kids' garb, jewelry, shoes, etc. for tomorrow

Make sure kids take a bath

R to get camera charged up

get out stuff in garage and pull it together

make list of food and beverages I need to pack in the am so I don't forget something

Find brown tablecloth for Feast

Find clothespins

Don't forget to pack a cutting board and knife for the cheese

Things we need to take:

Children's pavilion

Rugs for same (ground may be wet)

Children's toys in plastic storage box (packed)

Children's Painting supplies, paper towels, wipes, painting shirts, banners, etc. for project (also in plastic storage box)
(mostly packed)

Personal pavilion (10 x 10 popup)--see garage

Personal camping chairs (4)--see garage

small square metal table and large round table for eating and snacks--see garage

Cooler with food, wine, beer, sodas, water, etc. for lunch and snacks (shopping done today; pack in morning)

Feast gear for eating snacks, table covers, etc. (packed)

mugs and goblets (packed)

Feast gear for eating feast, including silverware, bowls, napkins for 4

Archery gear (for all four or just for husband and one daughter?)

Cloaks (if staying late after Feast for Bardic competition)

Some sort of purse basket with personal items

Rain gear and umbrella (to ward off the rain spirits)

Wow, that's a lot of STUFF!!!!!

We are a stuff culture, and that even extends to the SCA. It is actually similar to medieval times when people moved their furniture and their whole household around to different houses, which is what the royal families and their entourage did. You just have to pack up a lot of stuff and drive a long distance (fortunately in a car instead of on horseback), then unpack it all.

But people in medieval times didn't have so much stuff; at least, I don't think so. The furniture was all designed to break down so it could be moved, and it was mostly tables, bedsteads, and boxes or trunks for storage since there were no plastic storage tubs.

Now we have all the electronics, and decorative items (they hung fabric on the walls but that was mostly for warmth), and kids items, and lots more clothing because it doesn't all have to be handmade. We have telephones and computers and cell phones and CDs and DVDs and stuffed animals and scrapbooks and craft supplies and paper shredders and bags of pure junk that we don't have time to go through (just surveying the office right now).

Sometimes I feel like I am drowning in junk, and even having a garage sale and then giving some of it to charity just seems like a drop in the bucket. I wish I were a minimalist but I am definitely not.

I saw a recent TV show on hoarders and I am determined not to become one, but I am seeing some of the same tendencies. The tendency not to want to get rid of things, in particular, is one of my biggest faults. There was one lady who had so much stuff in her house that she could not use her front door. Just stacks and stacks of clothing, papers, boxes of stuff. Most of the clothing was in piles and was from a thrift store, because she was not rich. She could not find her bed. I don't know how she got dressed in the morning. She worked with a therapist and they were getting it cleaned away but it took months and months. There was another lady who was an "organized hoarder." She had all the plastic tubs but 37 flower vases. She was a mom who kept shopping and buying stuff and there was no place for her husband and kids to sit. She couldn't cook any dinners because there was so much stuff in the kitchen. She was moving stuff around from room to room and making some progress with the therapist but it was slow.

It is really scary to see people who live like that and I am not going to become one, but I can certainly see why it happens! You don't clean out stuff often enough because it's hard to get rid of it, and you keep buying more, and pretty soon there's no room for anything, so the new stuff goes on top of the old stuff.

So from now on, I think I need to devote 2 or 3 hours a week to going through stuff and trying to get rid of stuff or clean stuff up. Of course, I've said this before, but--maybe at least I will get some more of those plastic tubs, Eh?

Pleasant Valley Mom (back to work now!)