7-6-5-4-3-2-1

This is the countdown to our departure for our travels for four months.  Jeff has been saying for a couple of days that he is starting to realize we are leaving "soon".  Today I realized it when I started to clean out my closet and the medicine cabinet for the renters to move in.  Do I want heavy wool layers or light cotton layers?  T-shirts or fleeces? How can I pack for 3 seasons into one wheelie (albeit 99 l volume)?  Should we bring aloe vera "just in case" even though it takes up too much room.  How many bandaids will we use? I counted out the exact number of q-tips we would need.  Every inch matters. I bought extra allergy medication since we both have allergies.  Do they sell loratadine in Europe?  How many things will I bring that we don't use?

I dread the vetting process we will go through over the next few days.  Jeff will challenge my thought process for choosing certain things, sometimes failing to implement the same strict logic with his own choices.  We will laugh at each other and ourselves, grit our teeth, sneak a few extra things in the wheelie's pockets and know the other person will be proven right before the end of the trip.  Will we get out the door in just 5 days?

I am reading The Happiness Project which I read about on HeadButler.com.  While looking through the bathroom cabinet and closet I was amazed at how much "stuff" we had accumulated in just the 7 short months since we have been here.  Now I can understand how the author of The Happiness Project could get such satisfaction from culling 7 bags of give away clothes from her closet.  I felt good just consolidating 3 bottles of ibuprofin and packing enough q-tips to throw away one 500-count container so we only have one left.  Getting organized, cleaned out and aware of the cabinet contents DOES make me happy!  Time to go read the next chapter!  and start making a serious packing list!

Blue skies!