Choosing what to bring

I promise this will be my last post today. 

When thinking about what to bring, think about the following things:
How long will you be there?
What can you live without?
What can't you live without?
Do you really need to bring 14 pairs of shoes?
Can you afford to buy new things that you leave behind?
Can your electronics be used with an adapter so you don't need to buy new ones?
If you can afford to buy new stuff, can you find it there?

After you've answered these questions, my number one suggestion to you is CLEAN HOUSE!  Remember, living quarters are much much smaller in the UK.  I haven't even moved yet and I'm still worried that we'll end up bringing too much stuff with us.  Anything you can live without, I would seriously consider getting rid of, unless you're coming back.  I stored all my scrapbook/cardmaking supplies.  Sure I can live without them for three years, but I certainly didn't want to have to start from scratch and buy all new stuff when we get back.  I did minimize the stuff I stored however.  I pulled out a lot of things I didn't think I'd ever use, and put them in our garage sale. 

I threw out a lot of shoes.  I was saving a few nicer pair in case I needed them.  Let's face it; I'm a stay-at-home mom.  I don't need fancy shoes.  If I get to the UK and suddenly have a job and fancy parties to go to, I'll buy some nice shoes.  Until then, out with glam and in with comfort.

I searched online to see if my skin care and cosmetics are readily available in the UK.  Thankfully they are, but I still stocked up on some skin care items because 1) they're small and won't take up a lot of room when packing and 2) they're cheaper here.

So that's basically the mindset I'm having about all our stuff.  If we can live without it for a while, do we really need to keep it?  If we do, then it goes into storage.  If we absolutely cannot live without it, or can't afford to buy it new, it comes with us.  So far, the things that have fallen in this category are: our bed, our son's furniture, our kitchen table and chairs, our clothes, whatever electronics we can use with adapters, my knitting stuff (a girl's gotta have one luxury, right?  Afterall, look at all those shoes I'm not bringing!).

That's my moving lesson for the day: minimize minimize minimize!!