This is My Life

This is my life.  Packed up, stuffed into suit cases and boxes and…being stored at my parent’s house :-)

I’ve always been sort of spread out.  I have NEVER taken all of my things out of my parents’ house.  There’s always something…well, if I’m being honest, lots of somethings…left behind.  It makes me wonder how many people ever truly remove all of their things from their parents’ houses.  And if they do…how long does it take them?  Makes me feel kind of bad about all the crap I hang onto really…
Moving on…quite literally actually :-)  I started out with 2 bags.  And then, through cunning research and a few heart attacks, I realized it is actually MUCH cheaper to check more bags than it is to ship things.  Did you know that a “large” flat rate box through the United States Postal Service, 12”x12”x5.5”, maximum weight 20 lbs, is around $53?  FedEx and UPS are even more!  Yet checking a 55” bag up to 49 lbs is $50.  So for the same price you get WAY more space and about 2.5 times more weight.  So I said to myself, in my best practical English way, “Right.  Well then, 3rd bag it is!” 
And I felt a bit bad about it.  I have never checked more than two bags.  3 bags seemed a bit much.  But, when you think about it, I did take 2 checked bags for a 4 month trip to England.  So considering I’m actually MOVING to England, 3 bags really isn’t that unreasonable.
So I packed 2 bags and 2 boxes in one day!  I bought a new piece of luggage, on sale!  Ugly thing, but…I’ll have no trouble picking it out :-)  I shipped the 2 boxes that morning for an amount I’d really rather not discuss.  I was 15 lbs over weight on one bag, which is another $50.  I stuffed and crammed and tried to fit all the rest in my carry on.  Then I saw a quilt my grandmother made that is all Christmasy and would be PERFECT to have at Christmas time.  And there was my husband’s jacket, which he insisted I didn’t need to bring…but things kept adding up….and it was getting REALLY hard to pack and I was looking at shipping even more things….and I actually contemplated taking a 4th bag.  A 4th!  But I dismissed it.  I wasn’t going to be one of those people.  4 bags is ridiculous!  Of course…it’s not like it’s just a trip…I am moving there….
So that evening my dad and I got back from our trip to Target and I had a lovely new 28” duffel bag that I got for $20!  And…just so I wouldn’t have to take my mother’s carryon…that she LOVES…I also bought the matching carry on to my new ugly bag, for an amount I’d rather not discuss.


(Actually…it’s kind of growing on me.  Kind of.  But I DO like the design of the bag itself.  Notice how there’s a cute little handle at the top.  And the hinge is on the bottom, not the side!  Ok…yes it’s ugly.  But I’ll always be able to pick it out at the baggage carrousel.  I might not want to claim it…but I’ll know it’s mine :-)



My husband is being SO sweet about the amount of luggage I am brining.  His only real concern is where to store the empty bags once I’ve unpacked :-)  But what he doesn’t realize is, the duffle bag folds into another little bag that is only about…hmmm…12”x12”x5.5”…interesting.  Ok…so it’s probably only 10”x”8”x1”.  But the other sounded funny :-) So that folds up nice and small, and my carryon can fit in my large check bag.  And the 4th bag is his beast of a suitcase…so that’s his and not my fault that it takes up room :-)  Oh yeah…and there’s the case I borrowed from my parents…perhaps my new big bag could fit inside?  :-)
So…two days before I set off…and I was all packed.  Which quite frankly is a miracle for me.  Normally I am frantically finishing the day OF flight.  I’m sure I’ll still be tweaking tomorrow…but 3 out of the checked bags I won’t be touching, they’re all between 47 and 49 lbs, so nothing else could go in them anyway.  The duffle is only at about 30 lbs, but it’s stuffed to the brim.  The only thing I really need to work on is my carryon and personal item, both of which are almost done (and I can’t really complete packing those till the morning of anyway).
I guess my philosophy of not panicking because “no matter what I get packed or don’t get packed, I’m getting on that plane!” worked!
Passport/Visa – √
2 Suitcases…ok 3 suitcases…no 4 suitcases! – √
Carryon w/3 days worth of clothes…just in case, important documents and items VERY dear to me (yes, including a teddy bear…in fact THE teddy bear, Winnie the Pooh) – √
Personal Item with lots for me to do on the plan, half of which I probably won’t even get to  – √
Leaving behind things I’d like to take that my parents will very kindly ship to me (I did say it would make a lovely Christmas present…and I meant it!) – √



Now we just have to get it and 3 people in the car…brilliant!
And so…I am (mostly) prepared for my journey, leaving one home for another.  Wish me luck and stay tuned for the adventures to come.
See you on the flip side!