So day one has come and gone.
All of our unaccompanied baggage is gone. This is the express shipment that will get to us first (if we happen to get a house early).
I sent:
bikes,toys,books,crafts,towels,sheets,pots,pans,utensils,a wagon,laundry baskets,plates,pillows,shower curtain and liner,bath mat,knifes,blankets,toilet paper,and a bunch of jimmy’s army gear.
Today they also picked up our storage items. These are the items that we won’t need for three years. Remember, the homes are smaller there (especially the kitchens) and storage is pretty scarce.
For this I sent:
A ton of linens,our China, a lot of glassware, our dress form,typewriter,boxes of books/scrapbooking things/craft storage,a few tables and chairs,army gear,washer,dryer,refrigerator,some framed art,BIG toys,the crib, large weight equipment, our tool chest,dishes we don’t use,small kitchen appliances, etc.
Whew.
Oh. Did I mention that Jimmy didn’t tell me storage was coming today? UNTIL YESTERDAY? No? I didn’t mention that?
That’s another story for another day. Still too fresh.
Y’all. I know we are moving to Italy but it does not seem real. It just doesn’t.
When I stopped and read these boxes? I got goosebumps. I really did. I am so excited.
And tired.
Really tired.
Must go to sleep now. Love you all!
xo
S
Will you be able to access the stuff in storage very easily or will it be far away from where y’all could live?
It will be in the US! 🙂
Oh.. so an easy commute if you need it for a last minute dinner party or something! Ha
So exciting, scary and stressful all at the same time!! But you just know it will be the right thing to do and such an amazing opportunity for all of you!! I cannot wait to watch and read as you go along on this wonderful adventure!!!
Ok so I just have to ask – you sent toilet paper??? 🙂
Such a fun opportunity for your family.
I’m praying for you to have a safe move, transition, and fabulous living space and lots of rest all mixed up with fun & happy adventure 🙂
ya know when we lived in Greece (for 3 1/2 years) some toilets in some homes couldn’t have toilet paper flushed down them, so they had a little container next to the toilet that you had to put it in (blech!) Thankfully ours was a flushable one, hoping you get one of those too!! 🙂
Yes. I sent everything I like to have when I move into an empty house.
Oh gosh. What a move! Here’s to safe travels!
Oh if you aren’t taking scrap supplies will you still scrap?! Or are you taking a break & just blogging?!
You are amazing. I only moved across country & that was enough for me. Thinking of you & praying for amazing things for you all (even though I don’t know you IRL). Mel xxx
My dad was military and we moved overseas a lot growing up. What’s fun is coming back and getting your storage boxes… it’s funny the things you will find. For example, my cousin lived with us in Florida when she was in high school. When we came back years later and got our storage boxes, we only unpacked a few of them those first two years. Well, she happened to be visiting when we unpacked a box of my old toys… so this was about 6 years after high school for her. In it was one of my old chalkboards that she had written “Mel loves Richie”. Richie was her hs boyfriend.
My nomadic childhood made me want to live abroad and I’m currently in Germany with my husband and kids. We’ve been here three years and counting and I love it. I have to say, I’m so excited to have a scrapbooker/blogger I’ve followed for years (maybe since around the time Sadie was born) in my same time zone!!! I’m going to go follow you on twitter now.
I am taking plenty, just not everything. I don’t need my 6’tall swiveling card display rack, all of my milk crates, etc. I’ve purged down do one cropper hopper vertical display of patterned paper. The rest of the empty cropper hopper boxes went in storage. I don’t need everything I had to create. 🙂
What an awesome story!!
You know I have a very important question. I mean how can I not ask. Is the bust going with you? 🙂
wow! What a feat! Hope you got a deep sleep and feel a little more rested today. It’s a good exercise to think about – if I had to move Intl, what could I live without for 3 years!? and then ask if I could just live without it and maybe reduce a little more and donate.
Hello
I’m French and follow your blog for years… and post scarcely…
It’s wise from you to consider that our homes in Europe are (far) smaller than yours ! Cars, too… Everyhting in fact 🙂
I’m sure you will enjoy Italy, even if it’s really different from the US it’s a great place.
Let us know about it !!!
You are SO good at packing/moving/purging at this point! I’m ashamed about how much I’ve been dreading moving MYSELF (no family) from one tiny New York City apartment to another after watching you move your family via this blog three-four times now… 🙂
So the crib will be in storage while you are in Italy — for three years. Hmmm… Just kidding.
Stephanie, thank you so much for these moving details. My husband’s Army job makes it highly unlikely we’d ever move OCONUS, so this way I get to live vicariously through you.
Oh, and I’ve made the no-shower-curtain mistake before!
Good luck to you and your family – what an adventure!
Wow, I would’ve gotten chills, too!!
I felt your tiredness just reading this. Hope you are taking vitamins. Don’t forget those vitamins and for the kids too. And your favorite drugs.
I think the reality of being in Italy seems so unreal because you are so totally immersed in the huge logistics of getting 6 people there and planning for every eventuality. It’s exhausting just reading about it. Thanks for sharing it with us, it’s not like you haven’t got anything else to do……..
I think it’s so cool that the boxes are actually from the shipping company in Italy.
I like doing the different shipments – it forces me to be more organized. Good job reacting well and quickly to the last minute change about storage. That seems to be going on here (in Stuttgart, GE) a lot these days. My building had two different moving companies packing people out yesterday and they were throwing every curveball possible at these families. I’d advise to stay flexible, but who am I kidding – you are already doing that.
I remembered another one of my favorite sites for trip planning – Slow Travel. The bulk of their readers/users/posters are Italy fans, so the Italy message board is active and jam packed with info. They push a “slow travel” mentality, which is slowing down while you travel and taking in every single moment instead of running around and checking off lots of sights. Anyway, considering you will be LIVING there – which is the epitome of Slow Travel – you might find lots of great info on the site. It’s my go-to site for Italy (which I might be headed to, again in a few weeks).
http://slowtalk.com/groupee/?s=759607521&cdra=Y
YOU are amazing! That is all.
OMG, the first stage of the move! SO exciting/scary! Again, wishing you the best of everything in your move & sojourn in Italy {my favourite country in the whole planet!}
Wow, what an exciting adventure you are embarking on. I am thrilled for you all. My OH would be exactly the same about imparting the storage date information. Sigh. Wishing you bon voyage Stephanie.
I have a friend that lives in Florence and I send her wax paper because apparently it is not readily available in Italy. Possibly something to add to the list…
Good luck and I look forward to reading about your adventures!