Ready, Set, Pack!

The past few months, Andi and I have poured over every inch of our house and either sold, donated or purged dozens of items. Now, all that's left this week is to pack and move our things. Sounds easy enough, right? We're downsizing from a 3,000 sq. ft. house to a 2,000 sq. ft. condo unit, so the goal is to only bring what's truly important to us.

Two more "sleeps" in this house, then we'll officially move on Friday, April 1. I haven't felt very sad about leaving this place, but perhaps I'm too wrapped up in the process to notice. There have been a few moments, like bathing the kids in the bathtub one last time, that have given me pause. I remember cautiously bathing a tiny Baby Tory - still learning my role as a new parent - in that very same bathroom. But, of course, it's not the bathtub that makes that memory so special; it's Tory, and she's coming with us!

Purging / donating / selling so many of our things has actually felt therapeutic. It's crazy how much *stuff* a family can accumulate over time. Dozens of frames, knick-knacks and vases filled shelves and walls all over our house (things I didn't even like all that much!) and now they're gone. It's refreshing to open closet doors and see empty shelves and neatly organized items. Maybe a move every five years is necessary to cut down on the clutter.

Donating things has been a good lesson for Tory. She's watched with eagle-eyes as I've given away toys, furniture, clothes and other household items, and was upset until I explained they were things we no longer needed. "Now it's time for someone else to use them," I reminded her again and again. Then last week, I bought some Barbies from a lady on the local Facebook garage sale site. (I know, buying more toys is the opposite of what we're trying to do, but for $20 the deal was too good to pass up.) Anyway, Tory was OVER THE MOON excited about her new Barbies and accessories. She's played with them for countless hours. The other day she ran up to me and said, "Mom, now I see! That little girl was done with these Barbies so she gave them to me to play with." It clicked, and now she's been much more understanding of our moving process.

My dining room table was the only piece of furniture I felt sad about selling. I loved that table; it was a present from Andi's parents. Fortunately, a friend of mine bought if from us and that made it easier to let it go. It helps knowing their family will create their own memories around it. The new condo has a circular built-in table, so our family has been making do without a proper place to eat this week. I set up a picnic blanket on the floor of the dining room and not surprisingly, Tory and Aden were thrilled to eat there.

Good thing it's only for a week though, or Aden might starve. He'll only sit for a minute before he's off to the next thing.  

Andi hired a "mover" friend of his to assist us with packing boxes and moving furniture on Friday. So far, everything in the basement has been packed (downstairs living room, spare bedroom, laundry room, playroom and storage room). The kitchen, bedrooms and upstairs bathrooms are left and we'll tackle those when the kids leave for Grandma and Grandpa's house on Thursday.

It won't be long now!