Inventory

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.