packing
Well, my love seat went home with its new owner yesterday, and the couch is scheduled to do the same at some point this week if not today. The sole "furniture" I will have will be my card table, a couple large boxes and some empty bins ;) I was able to get through a lot of stuff yesterday, though.
It amazed me yesterday, as I sorted more things into what I'm taking, what I'm storing (not much), what I'm giving away, that after all the stuff I've sold, given away, thrown out, or piled up to be donated, I STILL have so much stuff. Really sobering. A lot of it is clothes, and some of that stems from needing to dress professionally for my job and have enough both business casual and business professional attire when each is merited. But then there are casual non-work clothes, workout clothes, swimsuits, fancy dresses, casual dresses, etc. It's unreal. The good thing is, clothes don't weigh much, and if you roll them tight enough, don't take up a lot of space.
I had to make a hard call yesterday. I'd been hoping to bring my KitchenAid stand mixer over with me, and use it with a transformer for the time we're over there. My logic was that they're expensive, so it would be worth taking it as opposed to trying to find a new one over there. After purchasing a piece of luggage that was just barely too small to transport it IN the box, I took it out of the box and wrapped it with blankets and pillows in the suitcase. I still didn't feel good about that. So, with counsel from Mom, it will stay here with her. Not only does that ease my mind about it traveling and getting ruined, but it also gives me so much more space to pack in. I know it shouldn't be a big deal, but I really like using it in the kitchen.
The only other really hard call (more so than this one) was my books. Letting those go was harder than I would've expected. I kept a few of them, which my parents will store for me, but the majority of them are given away. I think it even surprised me how attached I was to them, but I realized that sitting in boxes in someone's basement for 4 years means they're not being read, and potentially being damaged by mildew, etc. So, hard things on that one.
But at the same time, having to move out of my apartment in a week and bringing a load of stuff with me to Australia in July is just increasing my anticipation for this adventure. It will truly be a fresh start for so many reasons, and while I'm packing, I think of it in those terms. Jesse said someone he knows told him "don't look at something and ask if you want it, start by saying, 'what can't I live without?'" Although I haven't been great at following that, I think it's good advice for packing up a life and plotting a new course. Learning not to hold on too tightly to possessions, as awesome as some of them are, and trust in God's provision for the next adventure. It's an interesting place to be, for sure.
It amazed me yesterday, as I sorted more things into what I'm taking, what I'm storing (not much), what I'm giving away, that after all the stuff I've sold, given away, thrown out, or piled up to be donated, I STILL have so much stuff. Really sobering. A lot of it is clothes, and some of that stems from needing to dress professionally for my job and have enough both business casual and business professional attire when each is merited. But then there are casual non-work clothes, workout clothes, swimsuits, fancy dresses, casual dresses, etc. It's unreal. The good thing is, clothes don't weigh much, and if you roll them tight enough, don't take up a lot of space.
I had to make a hard call yesterday. I'd been hoping to bring my KitchenAid stand mixer over with me, and use it with a transformer for the time we're over there. My logic was that they're expensive, so it would be worth taking it as opposed to trying to find a new one over there. After purchasing a piece of luggage that was just barely too small to transport it IN the box, I took it out of the box and wrapped it with blankets and pillows in the suitcase. I still didn't feel good about that. So, with counsel from Mom, it will stay here with her. Not only does that ease my mind about it traveling and getting ruined, but it also gives me so much more space to pack in. I know it shouldn't be a big deal, but I really like using it in the kitchen.
The only other really hard call (more so than this one) was my books. Letting those go was harder than I would've expected. I kept a few of them, which my parents will store for me, but the majority of them are given away. I think it even surprised me how attached I was to them, but I realized that sitting in boxes in someone's basement for 4 years means they're not being read, and potentially being damaged by mildew, etc. So, hard things on that one.
But at the same time, having to move out of my apartment in a week and bringing a load of stuff with me to Australia in July is just increasing my anticipation for this adventure. It will truly be a fresh start for so many reasons, and while I'm packing, I think of it in those terms. Jesse said someone he knows told him "don't look at something and ask if you want it, start by saying, 'what can't I live without?'" Although I haven't been great at following that, I think it's good advice for packing up a life and plotting a new course. Learning not to hold on too tightly to possessions, as awesome as some of them are, and trust in God's provision for the next adventure. It's an interesting place to be, for sure.