Today I finally started working on our inventory. If you have never had to do an international move, you may wonder what I mean. For insurance purposes, we need to itemize our entire house right down to the number of teaspoons. It gets complicated because I actually need to determine what is going to the UK and what will go into storage. If it is going to the UK, I can ship about 1000 pounds in air freight that will arrive in about 10 days or it will go sea freight which will take about 5-6 weeks. I have to remember to have school clothes, lunch boxes and backpacks in the air freight. Once everything is itemized and categorized it needs to be given a replacement value in the currency of the location where it would need to be replaced. Those items in storage get valued in US dollars and everything going to the UK needs to be valued in GB Pounds. What is interesting about this is that it is replacement value, so the leather sofa costs $x in the US, but it will cost more than X times the exchange rate ($1.63 to the pound sterling) since everthing costs more in the UK (like an additional value added tax of 20% making our 8% sales tax look like chump change). Do you have a headache thinking about it? I do! That is why there is a glass of wine at my elbow and I have taken a break to write this.
If you have seen some of my latest status updates on facebook, you will see that I have been getting punchy today as I have taken the first steps toward pulling together our inventory. First, I found the file I created upon moving back from the UK in 2008. This is a great starting point as it has some given values for tons of stuff in the house. Then I started going through the master bedroom. To be honest, the reason I get rid of stuff is that it seems a bit embarrassing to have to list some of this stuff and give it a value. How much stuff have you stored in a Rubbermaid storage bin and put into the back of a closet or in the attic to go through later or just because you weren't ready to deal with it in any other way? Now pull it out and inventory it. Suddenly the value has dropped as quickly as the value of a new car as it is pulled off the lot.
As I go through old t-shirts and suits that have not been worn in a decade, I put more and more in the Goodwill bin. I never could have parted with some of it 10 years ago, but today it's a bit easier. Styles have changed and I wouldn't be caught dead in some of this stuff. In the case of some t-shirts, they were from former boyfriends and I really don't need to wear those around the house as reminders of all the men that taught me what I really DIDN'T want in a husband! Don't worry, I didn't toss the INXS concert t-shirt or the Chi Omega rush shirt. Some things need to be pulled out and worn around the house, like the wedding dress that I just had to take out of the box for the first time in 12 years. I have been tempted to put it on for years. I actually wanted to get it out on our 10th wedding anniversary, but I got nervous that it wouldn't fit. Knowing that it will be years before I can be tempted again, I took it out. First of all, it was my dress in the box. I was never 100% sure; you hear stories, you know. Then I quick showered to wash off any sweat; don't want to stain it. Then I stepped in and zipped it up. I am not saying it was as comfortable to swish around in as it was 12 years ago, but it zipped and there was not sound of stitches popping! It's back in the box and in the pile to go into storage. Katie has seen it and can decide if that is her dream dress. If it isn't, no problem. That means more chances for me to be taunted by the dress..."don't you want to see if I still fit..." I can't wait to see what I find next in a closet as I continue on with the inventory. One room down, plenty more to go.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Home is Where the Heart Is
A home is where the family all comes together. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to have a place for a table to share meals and beds to snuggle in safely. A room with a couch for watching movies is also a plus. Well, we have found such a snuggly home in the UK. Our new address will be in Camberley England. Steve found us a great home. It looks like any 1970's construction around Naperville, but our goal was not to be charmed by the house. We want to be charmed by all of the adventures we will be able to enjoy. The modest home allows us a little extra cash for those trips that I have already started planning (more on that later!). There are four bedrooms that aren't too much different from what we have here, other than the master. Steve and I are spoiled with our master suite now and will be able to look forward to returning to it. In the meantime, we will be a bit cozier and maybe have to rethink the wardrobe as we will have to share (*gasp*) the closet.
There are two big differences from the home we are in now versus the one we are moving into (besides 700 sq ft less and no storage in the UK home). The first is that there is only one bathroom for the whole family to share. There is a half bath on the ground floor, but otherwise we will all be tripping over our wet towels in a very modest (read that as small) family bath. I don't believe there are any closets for storing linens or towels. This is going to be interesting. The next difference is there is no basement, so no place to let the kids run wild and let toys be free from their confines. Life will need to be more orderly and some of those toys will have to take a break and go to storage for a few years. The children are already balking at my directive that only 7 stuffed animals per child would be allowed passage to England. I see some negotiating on this item in the near future.
So as we prepare to move to England we do so with the comfort of knowing that this house has been let. Now that the paperwork has been signed with the tenants, we can mess our home up again. The kids are thrilled by this as making the bed everyday is a very daunting task during summer vacation. Over the next week we will be moving stuff from the basement to the bedrooms as a way to classify what goes to England and what stays. When it is all sorted, we will wonder why we actually need all that stuff that is going into storage. But there is no need to fret about that today; we can address that when everything comes out of storage in three years. Then we will open the boxes and put half of it at the curb.
"Oh, I can't think about this now! I'll go crazy if I do! I'll think about it tomorrow." (Scarlett O'Hara - Gone with the Wind)
There are two big differences from the home we are in now versus the one we are moving into (besides 700 sq ft less and no storage in the UK home). The first is that there is only one bathroom for the whole family to share. There is a half bath on the ground floor, but otherwise we will all be tripping over our wet towels in a very modest (read that as small) family bath. I don't believe there are any closets for storing linens or towels. This is going to be interesting. The next difference is there is no basement, so no place to let the kids run wild and let toys be free from their confines. Life will need to be more orderly and some of those toys will have to take a break and go to storage for a few years. The children are already balking at my directive that only 7 stuffed animals per child would be allowed passage to England. I see some negotiating on this item in the near future.
So as we prepare to move to England we do so with the comfort of knowing that this house has been let. Now that the paperwork has been signed with the tenants, we can mess our home up again. The kids are thrilled by this as making the bed everyday is a very daunting task during summer vacation. Over the next week we will be moving stuff from the basement to the bedrooms as a way to classify what goes to England and what stays. When it is all sorted, we will wonder why we actually need all that stuff that is going into storage. But there is no need to fret about that today; we can address that when everything comes out of storage in three years. Then we will open the boxes and put half of it at the curb.
"Oh, I can't think about this now! I'll go crazy if I do! I'll think about it tomorrow." (Scarlett O'Hara - Gone with the Wind)
Friday, July 1, 2011
Preparations Underway for Big Move
So, a month has passed. I have stayed away from blogging because we actually had a few weeks of nervous anticipation as we anxiously awaited the final approval of the job offer. There were several days, almost a week actually, when I did not even want Steve to call me from the office as I kept thinking the call would be to tell me that the approval came through when in fact he just wanted to know what was for dinner. I not so kindly asked him to only text me until approval came through.
With all approval in place, things have started moving. Steve has had an opportunity to start house hunting in the UK. Due to the timing, I will be unable to participate in the process except through viewing listing online. Thankfully so much is on the internet that it is a better process than seven years ago when we first moved overseas. It has been a trying process as we attempt to balance commutes for the kids to school and Steve to the office and try to minimize time in the car for everyone. The budget is the biggest constraint. The kids are resigned to the fact that they will have to be very selective in the packing toys to go with us. Many things will have to stay behind as it appears the house will be a bit smaller and we won't have a nice big playroom for them. In addition, the boys will have to share a room. It isn't the first time that the kids have shared rooms, but before it was always by choice and not necessity. We talked today about how we aren't going to spend all of our time in the house anyway since we will want to do so much exploring of the countryside. Katie just asked if we could see something other than just castles!
I am hoping for good news from Steve tomorrow that we have a lease settled on for a home in England. Then our focus will be on getting a the house here let. Our fingers are crossed that we are close.
With all approval in place, things have started moving. Steve has had an opportunity to start house hunting in the UK. Due to the timing, I will be unable to participate in the process except through viewing listing online. Thankfully so much is on the internet that it is a better process than seven years ago when we first moved overseas. It has been a trying process as we attempt to balance commutes for the kids to school and Steve to the office and try to minimize time in the car for everyone. The budget is the biggest constraint. The kids are resigned to the fact that they will have to be very selective in the packing toys to go with us. Many things will have to stay behind as it appears the house will be a bit smaller and we won't have a nice big playroom for them. In addition, the boys will have to share a room. It isn't the first time that the kids have shared rooms, but before it was always by choice and not necessity. We talked today about how we aren't going to spend all of our time in the house anyway since we will want to do so much exploring of the countryside. Katie just asked if we could see something other than just castles!
I am hoping for good news from Steve tomorrow that we have a lease settled on for a home in England. Then our focus will be on getting a the house here let. Our fingers are crossed that we are close.
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