Packing

Today is packing day.  Everything I own is currently in a basement apartment that I live in.  Over the last few months I have been examining everything, and deciding its value both financially and sentimentally, and weighing that with the cost of shipping it to the NL or storing it in Canada.  I feel like I'm back in economics class studying opportunity costs, several times an hour.

By the time I'm moved, I will probably have 4 large, 3 medium and a few small suitcases worth of my own stuff in the Netherlands.  One is already over there, and I just finished packing the second :)

This is an overwhelming task, mostly because there is no formula that helps me decide what to take, what to get rid of, and what to ask my very kind and generous parents to store at their place.

In October Martin took an extra suitcase filled with my stuff back to Barneveld with him.  That suitcase contained a few things that are pieces of home for me: Christmas decorations, some books, and a few sentimental things, like a mug and blanket that were given to me by friends.

This next suitcase has some kitchen things that I really like (serving platters, my late grandmother's cookie racks), and some hobby-related things for me.  I think what I have packed now is what is most important to me.  Through this process, I am realizing what is really important to me: a couple little things that feel like home, books that I have learned a lot from, things that make my house feel nice, and things that I like doing as hobbies.

Although it's a little overwhelming to go through everything, it is really quite freeing when I empty boxes of my stuff that have been sitting around here for a while.  I'm looking forward to getting back to the very basics :)