Saturday, August 30, 2008

Packing and Stuff

We're well into our packing. We do a lot in spurts and then sort of get confused and don't even know what to do for a while. We are having a garage sale right now, which isn't going that great. I'm sitting in the dining room watching for cars to come by because it is too hot to sit outside. Rand finally caved and went to bed (he worked graveyard last night). I'm hoping we just make enough money to go out to dinner tonight! We just sold our barbecue for $10....no wait....I think it might have gone for $5. This is more like a give away, really. That's okay because there is nothing out there that we are going to be able to bring with. In fact, there should probably be a whole lot of other stuff out there. I seriously wonder if we are going to be able to fit our belongings into that truck. We are renting the same size truck we drove to get down here but we have a lot more stuff. But it isn't just stuff. We didn't have a couch, the kids didn't have beds or dressers, we didn't have patio furniture, the kids didn't have a school table, and that's just the big stuff. Now we have all that and I don't think getting rid of the barbecue is going to make nearly enough room in the Uhaul. We shall see. Rand swears he can pack the truck better this time. I am prepared to leave all the patio furniture behind. It is big and bulky and awkward, AND we didn't buy it (it was given to us) so I don't feel AS bad having to leave it behind. I keep looking around wondering "What can we get rid of?" My answer is, "If we can't afford to replace it, then we have to try and keep it, unless we totally don't need it or want it." I can't find anymore of those things so we are going to have to try and make it work.
That was a ridiculously long paragraph about packing. How boring.
The poor kids don't have a clue really. Brendan asks again and again how this is going to work. "How are we going to take our calendar? How are we going to take our beds? Are we going to take our toys? What about my bike?" Then he goes a little further... "Are we going to take our doors with us? What about these cupboards? How big is the truck going to be? Will it be that big? Will it be as big as that?" On and on. Wyatt, on the other hand, has only picked up on the fact that it is going to be a long, long car ride. He keeps suggesting that we take a plane because planes can go a lot faster than our car. I just tell them it is going to be a lot cooler where we are going and we will have all the same toys, beds and bikes! We are all excited for cooler weather. Riding our bikes in sweatshirts and hats! I'm so excited for a change in the weather! Enough of the eternal sunshine and unbearable heat!
So, here I sit, contemplating getting another box out and getting some stuff packed up. Part of me really wishes we could just pack it all, load it and drive off tomorrow. Dragging it out makes it so hard because I have no idea what order to do this in. Leave the kitchen for last or just keep out a couple things and pack the rest now? Pack up the school stuff except for the basics? How about the kids clothes? When do I pack those? What gets stored? What stays with us? What goes in a suitcase for the car ride? Ahhh! It's so overwhelming. I should just think like Rand, "Just bust it out! Pack it up! Just do it!"

6 comments:

Amy said...

Your paragraph was not ridiculously long or boring. We all need to vent sometimes :) Having made a cross-country move (okay, we only crossed about HALF the country, not nearly as far as you, but still ...), it is a long, tedious and overwhelming process. I remember standing in the middle of a room and not knowing what to do next, even though I knew everything had to eventually make it into a box. I would just want to cry from boredom and frustration. (By the way, are you tired of being on a constant lookout for boxes yet?? everywhere I went I was looking for big boxes -aaaaggh!) Anyhow, just try to break it into smaller chunks and do a little every day, and eventually you will be all ready to go. :)
Where are you guys going to be living once you get here?

Kaylee said...

Hi Amy! We are 99% sure that we are staying at the conference center for a max of 3 months while we house-hunt. I'm glad to not have to unpack and re-pack the boxes, but just like our move to Phoenix, it will be hard to store everything and not really have access to any of our stuff....except what I strategically leave out to NOT be stored! So hence the complicated packing process...Keep it, throw it, store it, leave out for the conference center, leave out for the car???? So many options! :) Can't wait to just get there.

Anonymous said...

Having also moved 2 times in the past 2 years I will tell you the one thing the packers told me. Always start in the kitchen. It is the last thing you want to do and the most time consuming. Yuck! I hate the moving process.

Anonymous said...

Kaylee,

I'll tell you one thing about leaving stuff behind. You absolutely won't miss it! Okay, I'll tell you another thing. Everything we left behind in Indiana has returned to us in a way. We left bikes, someone gave us bikes when we got here. I gave away all our patio furniture-it wasn't much to look at but.. We now have more not much to look at patio furniture. WEll you get the idea. If it doesn't fit. Leave it! God will replace it when you get here.

Kaylee said...

good advice ladies! thanks.
i gave away a bunch of stuff yesterday morning to a friend who was going to take it to her church. some of it i was having a hard time letting go of, but knew that it wasn't necessary to keep (like some of the kids "baby" stuff. that stuff is easy to replace when needed) we came in to do school and our new memory verse for the week was just for me: 2Cor. 9:7 God loves a cheerful giver!
good-bye stuff!

Anonymous said...

As long as you pack all related fishing items with care, preferably in a separate truck with lots of padding, you will be fine. The rest of the stuff is expendable.
Uncle Bubba