This picture I posted reminds me of another move, a decade ago. As a family we have moved 10 times, not a record by any means. But these overseas moves have all come with their own challenges. Unlike being in the military, Jon and I are paying our own shipping and taking advantage of the opportunity to get rid of what we no longer need. That means agonizing over decisions on whether to ship, sell or throw away.
In our early days of moving positions it was much easier. Most international schools paid for a generous shipping allowance and we were able to donate our castoffs to our cleaning lady or nanny. We simply got on the plane, and left someone else to clear out our stuff. I do remember the enormous relief when we finally managed to sell our 30 foot sailboat and car days before we were due to leave.
We had our work cut out for us when moving from Kwajalein after happily filling our family housing for eight years with necessary clutter. We had patio sales, we advertised in the local printed newsletter, and even created a personal website where people could buy with a click of a button. As there was no online Facebook market place, we relied on the island's 'Bargain Bazaar' to take most of the items, like clothes, that we couldn't easily sell. The local charity shop could get things into the hands of the local Marshallese who use them, rather than have the items ending up in the trash. I remember this as a stressful time, as we haggled about prices, and whether we were too quick to part with the children's legos...
Upon leaving Sofia, we had sorted our possessions into three piles: one for the shipment to Kuwait, another to be shipped home to Minnesota (like skis), and another to be sold (electrical goods). The last pile went to the only people we knew locally, our teaching colleagues. Because we didn't have an easy way to off load household items, we ended up with more going to Kuwait than was wise. We simply created another problem for ourselves when we had to deal with the wine glasses and corkscrews upon leaving Kuwait.
Throughout all our moves, we never ended up shipping furniture or larger items like a car. Those had to be bought on arrival. Yet we continued to lug around those homey items like paintings and puzzles as if we couldn't do without them. And every time our shipment arrived in a new place, it was like unpacking our lives all over again.
The internet has made it easier to buy what we need overseas. It has also made it easier to sell these same items when it is time to move on. Today I posted several inexpensive household items on Facebook Marketplace. Normally I would have donated them or had a patio sale. I have put things outside in a tub marked free, but often the tub is taken and the things dumped in the trash. So I felt it best to post them online. Within minutes I was contacted by various users asking for the items, information about them or where they could pick them up. It descended into chaos, with multiple bidders and paperwork and even on person asked me to deliver the items to them! There is no easy way to separate ourselves from the clutter that we feel we need to live comfortably when it comes time to move. The only answer is to stop moving. But I do like the act of passing on my possessions to others so they can enjoy them as much as I.
share and remember
No comments:
Post a Comment