Spring is behind me, but spring cleaning is ongoing.
I have been looking at all my belongings in a new way. I'm critically assessing whether or not each item needs to make the next move. Do I really need that table? Those chairs? Will that bed fit? Am I ever going to flip open those books?
Our next move is going to be international. In the past, our relocations have included limitations on WEIGHT. I've had to pare down and fret about my belongings so that I didn't have to pay the overage fees. We've always had a generous allowance and we've never been overweight. The last move, we were allotted 22,000 lbs. But this next move won't be based on weight at all. It will be volume. That's right, this time, I have to worry that all my worldly possessions will fit in a 40 ft shipping container. It doesn't matter what it weighs, it's going by boat.
I'm not really good at spatial relations. When tested, I cannot do those 'what will this look like when it's folded up' scenarios with flattened boxes and dotted lines. I'm pretty sure I missed ALL of them on my last standardized test.
So, as I walk through my home, I know what all my stuff weighs, but I don't know who much space it will take up in a shipping container. This is all new to me.
What I have decided is that 'if it can go, it will go'. That seems like the better part of valor to go ahead and thin down the stuff. Sell, donate or junk the stuff that is not necessary or vital. I'm looking closely at my cold weather gear. We're going to the desert for two years, then probably to South Texas. Seems like all the parkas and down gear should stay in Tulsa.
The shelves full of books all need to be assessed. We actually do more research on the Internet than in our shelved books these days. I don't think a house is much of a home unless there are books in every room, but I'm sure I can eliminate a bunch of those that we currently have.
Preparing to move is going to go a long way to reducing the clutter in my house. Of course, there are simpler ways of clutter control.
--Sandee Wagner
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3 comments:
I think "refused" may be a strong word... I would LOVE to care for Chip and Sophie, I just know that we are not able to.
Be sure and send me the "rescue email" so I can let people in OKC know too.
Oh, and why can't the dogs go with? I know you have a strong reason or you wouldn't give them up...
Emm,
The Algerian government is not big on bringing animals with. Plus, I'm not sure I want to put the dogs through 15 hours in a crate, unpressurized cargo carriage, etc. spw
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