It really felt good to finally start organizing our stuff. I've been thinking about this for so long. We realized a few things: 1) we have a lot of stuff and especially a lot of toys, and 2) it probably won't fit into 3 cars and UAB (unaccompanied air baggage- State gives us 700lbs of stuff that will be delivered to our VA apartment), since we are taking the crib and the toddler bed too (plus our desk files that we did not get a chance to purge). So it looks like my husband will make a trip down to DC to store some stuff in my parents' home for a week. Thank goodness for them. But part of me is bothered- why do we have so much? I suppose other families coming from far away have to make the decision either to send the extra toys/books that won't fit into UAB to storage or get rid of them. I've given away so many toys and books. I've decided to keep the stuff that is age appropriate, even if they don't play with it much, but I'm starting to rethink that policy. And I will certainly do a major purge before we leave for post.
Anyway, here's a pic of L playing in the UAB pile. Here's an example of stuff: I've let go of dozens of stuffed animals they don't play with. L has a series of about 10 that she adores, and then there are some others they love, but don't play with daily. I put a hamper full of those in the UAB pile, and of course she found it. I'm not taking hundreds of stuffed animals to Mumbai or Pretoria. But for now, I'm going to let them have their stuff, I guess.
(a note about the pumpkin for our non-FS family/friends: we don't know how long we'll be in DC. We could be there up to a year without access to our storage stuff, so we have to bring everything we'll need. I'm bringing the Hanukkah box, too...even though we just celebrated it. We'll hopefully need our beach/pool toys, beach umbrella, and summer clothes- we hope to stay in DC long enough to enjoy the pool at Oakwood!- but we decided to leave those here in NY for a few more months. We'll come up and get them when needed.)
5 comments:
Yes, not knowing how long you are going to be in DC makes it harder to decide what to put into UAB vs. HHE, especially for seasonal items...
Best of luck!!!
And yeah, in the FS you kinda have to get used to purging with every move...
By all means, purge. It is really embarrassing when the movers weigh your stuff and tell you how many hundreds of pounds you have in toys alone.
I always hate the build up before pack out. It makes you realize how much CRAP you have. :)
Purge, purge, purge. You will acquire more, always. Don't get too rash though, I've tossed a couple of things and regretted it later. But, I've never regretted downsizing on toys. They play with what is available, period.
The piles are so hard. So very hard! Congrats on your husband getting a transfer to DC! That is fantastic.
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