Stuff

With less than a week to go, I'm finishing up the sorting, selling, giving and packing that comes with leaving a place I've lived for two years and moving to another country. I'm condensing a house partly full of stuff into two airline approved size suitcases, so I've been dealing with a lot of stuff.

The living room set up with give-away stuff

Some things are easy to part with - secondhand clothes, half-used sunscreen and already-read magazines. I've been surprised at how emotional parting with other things can be though - a pencil sharpener sent to me by my sister, pretty potholders that I've used for the past two years, and a dress I brought from home (even though its in bad shape now!).

Some books and DVDs - sad to see them go, but books are heavy!

I think part of the difficulty is having to make so many decisions and parting from so many things at once. I have been reminding myself though - it's just stuff. To be honest, I probably won't miss most of it, and can replace pretty much anything if I need it. I think the separating is harder than actually being without the stuff.

From L to R: stationary, magazines, candy, toys, food, toiletries

Plus it's been a blessing to me to bless others with my stuff. I had a number of other missionaries over to look through and take what they wanted, and then over lunch today, all of the LCORE office ladies came in and took the rest. I'm so glad that they will use the stuff they took and really appreciate it. Rather than traveling across the ocean to sit in my pretty-much-full closet, those clothes will be worn and appreciated for a long time. :-)

LCORE ladies pausing for a group shot after their "shopping" spree