What will we do with all our stuff?

Planning a move to another country is a lot of work. So much so, it's almost easy to forget the actual "moving" part of it. One way or another, we need to empty out the house and figure out what to do with all our belongings. What's coming to Lausanne with us? What's being stored elsewhere? And what's going to the trash?

Some people actually enjoy the process. Ashley, for example, loves moving. She likes going through stuff, packing it up, renting a moving truck, the whole thing. Not me. This stuff gives me nightmares.

My biggest concern is that we won't be able to bring everything we need to Lausanne. This is an even bigger deal now that we need to account for Little Marshmallow too! Sadly, we just have to accept (and budget for) the fact that there are things we'll only be able to buy once we arrive in Switzerland.

To be fair, we have been doing a good job of prioritizing, planning out how our move is going to work, and actually putting the plan into action. The first step has been to try and eliminate some of the excess. We've already started selling some books and other things we know we won't need. We've gone through closets a couple times and picked out some clothes to donate. We've also been asking family members if we could borrow some closet space or a corner of their basements to leave some of our things, which I am sure they are thrilled about!

Going forward, here's what our plan looks like:

• Ongoing: Inventory/categorize our belongings according to one of four options:
  - 1 - Will bring to Lausanne with us.
  - 2 - Will give to family members so they can bring to us when they come visit.
  - 3 - Will give to family members to store in their basement/closet until further notice.
  - 4 - Will keep until just before we leave, then throw away.


• Ongoing: Give small amounts of things from categories 2) and 3) above to family members whenever we see them.


• September/October: Take the sad but necessary step to put our house on the market and get it sold. Make arrangements with the buyers to continue living there until our departure date.


• To be done before mid-november: Figure out what baby stuff we will buy here in the US before we leave, and what we will have to buy in Switzerland. (Ideally we'd buy everything here since it will be so much cheaper, but sadly it could be tricky to bring things like a stroller with us). Go ahead and buy stuff. Tell family members we hope they won't mind bringing a ginormous box of diapers whenever they come see us next year.


• Ongoing: Continue selling and/or donating furniture and other stuff we don't want to keep.


• Mid-November: Get a moving truck (already booked!), and load it with big items like our furniture, grill, television etc which we will keep in our family's basement while we're away. Make sure we also take things like diapers for them to bring when they come see us in Lausanne. Drive said truck to family's house. Once we arrive, make sure everything is properly organized and labeled: "Bring to Lausanne when you visit" or "Keep in Basement until further notice."


• A few days before the move: Take the sad but necessary step to sell our cars. Rent one car to get us through the last few days.


• The day of the move: Throw away remaining house stuff that we won't bring with us. Say goodbye to our beautiful first house, and probably cry a little :( Bring as many bags full of stuff with us as the airline will allow us (and/or as Marshmallow can carry).


• Throughout december: Buy necessary baby stuff like a crib, stroller etc in Swiss Francs. Ouch. Buy things like a blender and other household items we won't have room to bring, in Swiss Francs. Ouch.


• 2014: Look forward to visits from family members, who will bring all the pre-selected items we had left with them. Hooray!