Packity Packing...



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 One week (and a day) to go until the big move and I am feeling like we are on track with getting everything done that needs to get done.

The house is mostly packed. This week I am going to work on getting all of the books packed and going through our bedroom closet and the toy closet to purge unwanted things and then pack the rest up. Near the end of the week, most likely on Thursday/Friday I will pack our clothes, the few toys that I left out for the kids to play with, the dishes and pots/pans. On Sunday once everything is packed into the truck I will do a quick cleaning of the house before I pack the kids into the car and say adios (and good riddance) to the house.

I am really getting excited about moving away from here and my meddling in-laws. It will feel so nice to not be around any drama and to be our own family without any unwanted interference. My husband took me to see our new place and it is nice but most importantly it is in a nice area with nice schools. Plus it helps that we are far enough away that no one is going to stop by unexpectedly  :  )

One of my big goals was to plan our meals to use up a lot of the meat in our freezer and I have been doing pretty good, though I did such a good job stocking up before that we are still going to have to transport a lot of it when we move. I also have been sticking to a $50 grocery budget which has mostly gone to produce, milk and other necessities. No stocking up here, which kills me because there have been some pretty good sales on stuff we use but if I buy it then I have to move it and we have enough junk to move. Once we are settled I can commence on my deal shopping and build up our depleted stock of food.

So here is an outline of my plan for the week:

• pack books and movies
• go through closet, purge/pack items
• go through toy closet. purge/pack items
• pack craft stuff
• pack clothing, leaving out enough to wear for Saturday-Monday
• pack dishes, pots and pans
• pack cleaning supplies
• pack food
• sell kids' old clothing to second hand store
• sell Britax infant seat on Craigslist
• pack the rest of the toys (some will make it to the donate pile when the kids aren't looking)

I will feel so relieved when everything is packed and loaded onto the truck but then the dread will set in when I see all of the boxes sitting in our new place waiting to be unpacked. I also just want to say that it seems like I am doing the brunt of the packing but my husband has also been doing a lot. He is the official guru of dropping off donations at Savers, has been the point person of sales on Craigslist and will be doing the grunt work of packing the truck (along with his friend who is helping us). This is a team effort, except for the kids- they just seem to get in the way and like to whine when their stuff gets packed or donated.