Moving and packing and moving and packing . . .

Piles of stuff to go through, including my
recently finished laundry

Oh the joys of moving!  If you can't catch the sarcasm in the previous statement (due to the limited ability of blogging to project such emotions) I will spell it out for you: I - H - A - T - E - P - A - C - K - I - N - G!
The only good thing about this move (besides being the start of my career/what I want) is that I don't have to do most of the packing, meaning I don't actually have to physically pack anything (besides my suitcases that will be traveling with me on the plane).  I thought that meant the move would be easy.  What I didn't realize was that the most difficult part of moving is still mine: sorting!
Basically I have to sort everything I own into four groups: what will be going with me on the plane (mainly clothes and things I need for Gizmo), what will be coming to me in DC in a few weeks (called UAB for Unaccompanied Air Baggage), what will be going into storage (called HHE for HouseHold Effects), and finally what I will be getting rid of (aka, donating).  In order to pack all this stuff, I have basically made a giant mess in my place.  It helps that my sister moved out yesterday so I have her old room to put stuff in, but you are never aware of how much JUNK you own until you start pulling it out to move.

More piles, my sisters move may have
helped a lot, but in some ways has
made things a little more complicated.

I'm especially aware because someone is going to be looking at everything I own and has to be able to list it on an inventory.  What about all those little trinkets/momentos that I've saved from childhood (which I must admit have decreased in quantity over the years)?  What do they write on a box like that?  Childhood memories?  Or what about on the inventory list, do they generally group them, or will they have to list everything individually: glowworm (remember those things?), African woven bookmark that says "Stand as a Witness", seashells from Oregon, seashells from Hawaii, Funny money from sixth grade, etc.

Gizmo just had to help!  Well, really he just had to be in
the middle of it all!

Or what about the stuff that I've kept because I swear some day I'm going to use them in my scrapbook? Bus/trolley ticket stubs from my public transportation days in Russia, programs from theater shows/musical productions, etc, pamphlets from historical sites, and other papers.  How do those get labeled?  Crafts, or scrapbooking supplies?  I admit it is all a mystery to me.  And I guess that doesn't really matter since I won't be the one labeling them, but it sure makes me self conscious since a lot of those things probably appear as junk to everyone else.  And honestly, right now they are.  I just haven't used them in my scrapbook to enhance the pictures that I already have, or figured out what else to do with them.  And maybe some day I will end up getting rid of them, but for now I am not ready to let go of everything from my past.