We have never been good judges of how much time and effort is needed for the tasks of packing and moving.  Despite extensive planning, this again was the case on Wednesday, May 21^st — the designated day of our departure.  The only item listed on the schedule for the 21^st was “Let the Adventures Begin!,” as this was the day that we were to pack our camping gear and clothes into our small SUV (a.k.a. the “Escape Mobile”), turn in the keys to our apartment, and be on the road by noon.

We knew that the goal of moving all of our remaining possessions into a 15×10 storage unit was a lofty one, but we did not realize that moving everything over the course of one day was an impossibility because we had not fully accounted for just how much we had.

The big stuff is obvious

The process of downsizing had begun in early April with the help of Craig’s List, friends, family, and a slew of non-profit organizations who were willing to take some items off our hands (thank you!).  All furniture was either gone or its destination was determined well within the set time-frame. The only clothes that remained were those we were taking with us and they were tucked out of the way in our closets.

Having the apartment essentially void of furniture gave us a greater sense of progress and accomplishment than what was actually the case.  It is not that we had completely forgotten about all the small stuff, just some of it.  Plus, we didn’t fully appreciate how it adds up. It was what I like to ironically refer to as a not seeing the trees for the forest situation.

It is the stuff in the nooks and crannies that you don’t always fully recognize, properly deal with, or you simply forget about. You know, those places where you bury things you don’t know what to do with – the things you don’t have a need for, but because of some attachment or another, you can’t simply get rid of either.  Places such as behind the closet doors, underneath the bed, under the kitchen sink, and the back of a bathroom cabinet.

Moving necessitates dealing with the nooks and crannies. It requires confronting attachments and making decisions about all the small stuff which, I think, was probably the hardest part of downsizing our life into a 15×10 storage unit.

Despite this, I’m happy to say that our adventures did begin on the 21^st – just about 10 hours later than planned.

Good-bye Austin!