Last weekend check list of THINGS TO DO:
· Pack suitcases – MissM and I have to include a few things for Singapore and remember to pack ‘winter’ clothes for when we arrive in London.
· Work out what goes in the boxes to be posted.
· Sort out pantry/laundry items for Wednesday.
· Locate the instruction manual for everything in the Apartment
· Take down paintings with the 3M tape
· Pack ornaments back into original boxes
· Take down photos on MissM’s memory wall and all her artwork in Kitchen and bedroom and store it in a safe, flat place for shipping
We started packing our suitcases today. After deciding what to take for the next 4-6 weeks vs. what can be shipped it was pretty quick. We’ll finish of the clothes/toiletries on Wednesday when we move from the apartment into the Pan Pacific.
Not sure why, but DH decided to check online with the airlines to see what luggage allowances we had. He’s flying Virgin Atlantic and it’s cheaper for him to take 2 extra suitcases than to post two boxes. So he’s schlepping 3 suitcases with him; one with his clothes and the other two filled with a few coats, boots, coat hangers (you never have enough in serviced apartments or hotels), toys/books for MissM and a few items of clothing we took out of our bags.
We’re only sending one box, and that will have a few toys for MissM, some books, and larger bits’n’bobs that won’t fit in the suitcases.
While he was re organizing that, I sorted thru the fridge and pantry in readiness for Wednesday mornings ‘shopping’ opportunity. Several friends are coming over after drop off for a coffee and to ‘shop’.
Take a minute and walk into your kitchen. Have a good look around the fridge, freezer, then your pantry, under the sink, and the laundry.
Whatever you have right now has to be sorted and ultimately got rid of cos you can’t take it with you.
That’s the reason for Wednesday coffee’n’chat. The girls will come and simply take whatever they want/need and the remainder gets binned. So that we can go to Sainsbury’ or Tesco’s and start all over again – from scratch.
That’s another fun excierse you might like to try.
Close your eyes and imagine a totally empty fridge/freezer/pantry. What would your inaugural shopping list contain? Would you shop for everything the first outing, or aim to have a full inventory within a month? Two months?
I’ve fallen in love all over again with the very un-environmentally friendly zip-lock bags. I started to use them when we first arrived cos the freezer section is so small in our fridge/freezer that the Tupperware took up valuable space, whereas the zip locks stack flat. I still used Tupperware for the pantry, tho again, smaller shelving space meant a lot of it wasn’t used to its full advantage.
I was going to ask the girls to bring their own plastic ware to transfer food items, but thought WAIT! I can use the zip-lock bags AND wash all the Tupperware now – save me doing it on Wednesday.
It’s taken 3 kitchen drainers to wash/dry all the Tupperware. I realized while I was washing it, it’s about 25 years old! I was working on The Sunday Telegraph newspaper, and selling Tupperware after work on weekends.
When they say it has a lifetime guarantee, they really mean it.
The instruction manual was easy - 3rd drawer filing cabinet.
The walls look so bare now most of the paintings and MissM’s artwork is down. Blu-tac is brilliant. Not one mark on any surface. Those 3M sticky Velcro things are awesome, tho they can give your hand a sharp SLAP as they pop off the wall.
Don’t know about you, but I always try to keep the box the item comes in; all my platters are in their original boxes in the buffet; they stack neatly and don’t get knocked. So replacing ornaments into their specialist foam surrounds, into their original boxes was a fun exercise with MissM.
We’re in the apartment 3 more nights; so the rush will be on Wednesday to wash’n’dry the next few days clothes, linen and towels, ready for the packers on Thursday.
I’m playing Words with Friends on my iPhone with MsA in Sydney and she texted to ask ‘ aren’t you frantic?’ and I’m like, no, we’re very organized’
And we are.
We are by no means expert at moving, but gosh, even in the 11 years DH and I have been together, this is our 7th move, (our 3rd international) so we’re pretty good at it.
MissM’s only 7 years old, and this is her 5th move!!!!!!!!!!!! Tho probably the first one she’ll actually remember.
DH has uploaded all our travel plans onto TripIt, which is great as it saves me having to write all the confirmation numbers, ticket references down. If you haven’t downloaded
TripIt, you must!
With friendship
x
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