Packing Day!

Oh. My. Gosh. I have been so busy these last few days, trying to get everything ready for our move. Anytime I say that to someone, they always respond with, "What do you have to do? The movers are packing everything for you." Yes, the movers are packing everything. But I don't want to send anything to Japan that doesn't have to go. So I've spent the last few days going through every room, the garage, and the attic, removing anything that can be trashed or donated. I had to go through my food and get rid of almost all of it. I washed just about everything in the house that could be put in the washing machine and spent all day yesterday packing suitcases and carry-ons. This is what our To-Do List looked like:

Want to know exactly what was on the list? Here ya go:

• Sort the garage
• Take recycling
• Clear out attic
• Clean out all rooms/closets
• Take donations to the local thrift store
• Clean out food
• Change addresses (bank, insurance companies, etc.)
• Pack luggage and carry-ons
• Set-aside all things we are taking home to family
• Wash: sheets, dishes, all linens, towels
• Mark landlord's things so they don't get packed
• Take out all batteries
• Take apart electronics
• Strip the walls of all pictures/wall decor
• Patch small holes in walls
• Clean the entire house

Everything that didn't need to be packed (our luggage, carry-ons, dog-stuff, and things to send to family) went into the guest room with instructions for the movers to leave that room alone. It looks like a wreck at the moment because I've thrown some things in there last minute, but I'll get it all cleaned up and packed this afternoon.

If my husband had been home more, I probably wouldn't have gotten so stressed out over all of this. However, he has been working all week and the last few days, was on night-shift. So I've really been doing most everything on my own while trying to keep the kids from getting into things and keeping them occupied. I am VERY happy to have the movers here doing the main packing for me. Once everything is packed up, we'll be on vacation visiting family and friends until we fly out at the end of July.

So... here is what my home looked like before the movers arrived this morning.

Pretty bare, right? 

I was quite surprised when the movers arrived at 8:30am (I was honestly expecting them to be late) and things are moving right along. 

It's a little crazy to see big wooden crates for our things. It makes it more real that they'll be shipped to Japan! 

I will add more pictures as the day goes along. Right now, I'm trying to keep the pictures to a minimum. I think the movers are a little creeped out when they see me trying to sneak in some pictures of their work....