We had to push back our departure date by about 4 days because, despite months of planning and preparations, there is still so much to do. When we announced this adventure we had a different camper -- perhaps you remember The Driftah? That camper did not work out, in the end, but we were very fortunate to find El Valor and a small utility trailer. This move is unquestionably the most difficult of our lifetime.
It isn't because we merely have more STUFF -- we do, but that's not the issue. Usually when people move they move room-by-room boxing up their belongings, scrawling something descriptive like "kitchen" on the outside. Everything is in neat little box-towers, and then they slide a dolly under each tower before tilting and rolling it away to be loaded in neat little towers in the back of a truck or moving van. Maybe that's just a fantasy, because no move I've ever made has gone that neatly, that smoothly. First, things that have nothing to do with one another always end up in the same box or bin. No neat little descriptor exists. My boxes have things like "wires, cycling shorts and tax shit." (I wish I were kidding but one of our bins actually has something to that effect written on it. Argh.) My little towers always crumble and something always gets broken. Even the stuff that's professional-quality packed.
The reason this move is more difficult than the others is that nearly every item must be analyzed before it gets "organized" (and I use that term loosely.) Some things are easy: sell the weight bench. I'm not storing another weight bench and set of weights for an undetermined period of time. Done that. Why do we even own this useless piece of equipment? With all the other things going on in our life, we never make time for lifting weights...except in winter when business is slow. So we sold the weights and gave away the weight bench. Done. Most things we had to really think about. Could we use this in the camper or on the trailer? Or should we store it for later? Maybe just sell it or donate it if nobody wants to buy it. This has been a tedious process, to say the very very least.
The other issue is, we didn't really know what we might need. A test-camp (as opposed to test-drive) would answer some of our questions, but not all. We did not know exactly what we would need or could reuse until the trailer was finished. For all you folks with homes WITHOUT wheels (ha), making these decisions would be like moving into a house that's not even built yet. Now that our vehicle configuration is set, and we know how much room we have, we have finally been able to sort our belongings. Final preparations are underway, even as I write this. In fact, David just came inside and asked that I help him outside. One sec, I told him...
Everything that was to be sold, is sold. Tonight we will finish organizing all the debris littering our front yard (tools, extension cords, screws and nails, I think I tripped over a bicycle pump a while ago, too...) Everything that was/is to be stored will be THERE tomorrow. Only two or three truckloads left to move; all but a few items is packed and stacked by the front door. Ready. With oddball labels, yes. The last day will be spent painting the office and Sage's room white, cleaning up the backyard, replacing three sets of blinds, and mopping. We are cleaning as we go so most everything looks great, but I'm leaving the mopping until the very end. Toddler. Terrier. The Husband. 'Nuff said?
Sunday morning, our new life begins. I have mentioned this before, but I want to remind you that after our journey gets underway I will be documenting our experiences at http://4x4elvalor.blogspot.com/. This blog will return to its original intent: to follow me on my personal journey as mother, wife, writer, etc. Special emphasis will be on living, working and traveling green with my family. Lastly, and also a repeat of a previous post, our business blog will discuss plants and sustainable landscape practices, showcase our projects, announce speaking engagements, and present the impacts of our journey on our business. That blog may be found at http://nativerave.blogspot.com/.
As always, I humbly thank you for reading about my family and our journey toward simplifying our life. If you like what you read, please recommend these 'spots to others. Grateful for you.
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