Packing. Did not exactly learn my lesson.

Before moving to France, I wrote this post about my regret of the amount of STUFF in my life.

Now, that we're packing to move back home, I've realized I haven't completely learned my lesson. Our first phase was packing to move out of our studio as we left to go to Germany and Belgium. We took two huge bags of clothes and shoes to La Croix Rouge, shipped 4 boxes of books through the Post Office's Livres et Brochures rate (about 14€ for 5 kg), and abandoned office and kitchen supplies in the apartment. We were left with two big rolling suitcases, two backpacks, a duffel bag, and my oversized purse. What do you think? Is that really bad for 10 months of living here? I remember when we arrived at the airport in September, an American couple, who had the same amount of luggage as us, said "we have a lot, but we're here for two weeks." I just smiled. Comparatively, we've done ok. But I want to do better!

Luckily, our landlady was able to keep our extra luggage during our travels. Today, we recuperated our bags to bring to them to our friends' place, where we're staying until we leave Paris.

Oh my gosh. Still too much. We also made the less than brilliant decision to go from Paris to Dublin for 2 days, then home to Indiana, meaning we have to lug everything to Dublin, and then again to Indiana. This also means if we have extra bag or overweight fees, we'll have to pay twice.

Fortunately I have learned to live without as much clothes as I used to have. And without a microwave. And a TV (although we cheated by watching movies and TV shows on our laptop). And there's nothing wrong with liking books, right? I might need to give some serious thought to a Kindle, but I really just like the feeling and the smell of a real book.

On the other hand, I need to stop keeping ridiculous little things that add up: brochures, museum leaflets, class notebooks and worksheets.

So, here I am, trying to get rid of more still. I did buy a few more things today, but don't judge me! I bought chocolatey goodness gifts and tea from Mariage Frères for myself and a certain tea-loving friend.

Trop de choses

C’est encore trop tôt à commencer à faire nos valises, mais puisque des locataires vont venir bientôt (avec un peu de chance), il nous faut entreposer tout ce qui ne nous accompagnent pas à Paris. Et ça, c’est beaucoup.

J’essaie de le faire dans des phases, pour que ça ne devienne pas trop stressant. Aujourd’hui, c’est phase 3. Comment est-ce possible d’amasser tant de choses ? J’ai pris deux boîtes de nos vêtements au magasin à notre église aujourd’hui. Mais il reste beaucoup que je ne porte jamais. Et les livres. Et les trucs ! Il y a beaucoup qui appartenait à ma mère. Je sais que je n’en ai pas besoin de tout.

J’aimerais vivre plus simplement : acheter moins et donner plus. Nous ne pouvons pas apporter un énormément de choses en France, alors peut-être je peux apprendre à vivre avec moins.

English Version

Too much stuff

It’s still too early to start packing, but since we’ll have renters coming soon (hopefully), we have to store everything that we’re not taking to Paris. And that’s a lot.

I’m trying to do it in phases, so that I don’t get too stressed out. Today, it’s phase 3. How is it possible to accumulate so much? I took two boxes of clothes to the thrift store at our church today. But there’s still a lot that I never wear. And that still leaves books. And…things! There’s still a lot that belonged to my mom. I know that I don’t need all of it.

I would love to live more simply: buying less and giving more. We can’t take a whole lot to France, so maybe I’ll learn how to do with less.