Packing

Packing, cleaning out closets, selling furniture and getting rid of unnecessary items that have been stored for years, sorting through old paperwork and shredding bills from 2003....yep, this has been life for the last several weeks.  What do you do with that half burnt scented candle that you like? You can't move it with you half way across the world, you can't sell a half used candle, does anyone else want your half used junk? What about a bottle of old hairspray or a partially used bottle of lotion? What about all those CDs you collected in college that were so cool at the time, but haven't been listened to in years?  The list could go on and on.  If we were just moving states many of these things would move with us, but moving overseas makes you take a much harder look at all your "stuff" and really evaluate its worth.  It is sort of a long, slow, deep purging process. 

Packing

Just had to put in a plug for these. Discovered zip-lock vacuum seal bags. Totally crazy. This is our queen sized comforter and 4 decorative pillows. These little inventions definitely make packing much easier.

You know the many "cleansing" diets that are out there?  The ones which make people drink weird colored juices hoping that this will make their insides pretty again? Our packing process has nothing to do with juices, but it has everything to do with cleansing.  We are cleansing our outsides.  Getting rid of the junk. Ever so slowly we are seeing the results. Rooms are getting emptied, things are given away and a few precious items are being stored.  This outward cleansing process though, also seems to be giving me an inward makeover as well.  As I evaluate each item my grip on things begins to loosen.  Learning to let go has been hard and at times heart breaking, but also freeing.  The outside results are clear to anyone who walks into our home, but I think my heart, my insides are getting cleansed too.  Funny how that works.