Stuff everywhere. How did we accumulate so much junk? Why did I buy this? What even is this? Garage sale time.

My parents, my grandparents, my fiancé and I have been preparing for a joint garage sale. I’ll be moving into a place when I get married in a few months and so will Jacob, so cleaning out stuff is a must.

I believe there are two types of people in this world. Those who throw stuff out. And those who don’t. I am anti-clutter and do not easily become emotionally attached to objects, so I’m a thrower-outer. My sister once kept chewed-up gum from a youth trip when we were kids. Just two examples.

I won’t go into who else in my family hoards and who throws out birth certificates, but I do know I’m sick of putting those little bright-colored stickers on things. My parents and I just got around to cleaning out a storage unit and going through boxes from our move to the West Lincoln home from Loyd Star. I also had boxes of stuff from my apartment in New Orleans that needed to be rummaged through.

Boxes everywhere. Not only does getting married consist of planning a wedding, but moving, too. The issue with Jacob and me getting married and moving into the same house together is this: he’s a get your hands dirty, bow-wielding, deer-cleaning, t-shirt-wearing, doesn’t wash his hands before he eats a sandwich after catching a fish, full-out manly man, and I’m a clean, lipstick-wielding, couture-loving, high-heel-wearing, never touch a raw fish, full-out feminine woman. His house looks like a bachelor pad with Browning logos and deer heads everywhere and my room looks like one of a Victorian lady, complete with lovely pictures and pink accents.

Compromising on décor is going to be a challenge, although Jacob is pretty lenient because he gets to have one room all his own to put all his “man stuff” in. I told him he could have ONE deer head in the living room and so he sarcastically asked me which one I thought was the cutest.

In order to get everything ready, rainbow-colored stickers must be placed on many various items and other items must be thrown out without certain people knowing. My sister wanted to keep a sticker that had been stuck on a sliding glass door for years, put there because she used to run into the door as a child, not realizing it was a door. In mid-sentence, as Kallie held the crumpled up old sticker, Mama grabbed it and threw it out.

“Kallie, you are not keeping that,” she said.

I laughed and Kallie will hate me for writing this.

But she’s sentimental. Her and Jacob. Sometimes I wish I were more like them.

I’ve been trying to pick out paint colors for the new place. Mama kept critiquing the paint swatches in my hand for being too feminine. Jacob might come home from the oilrig to a less-than-manly bedroom. I try to keep him pacified by reminding him that when we build our new house one day in front of the tree where he proposed, he will have an entire man cave that he can do anything he wants with.

However, lately, Jacob and my Daddy have been talking about building an entire man shack in the woods. Jacob said all I would need to do is bring them food occasionally. I fear I will never see my husband if a man cabin is built.

But, it would distract him from the pastel colors and missing deer head in the living room.

Lifestyles Editor Jessica Boyd can be reached at The Daily Leader at 601-833-6961 ext. 134, by email at jessica.boyd@dailyleader.com or you can write to her at P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602.