Two Suitcases Again!

We’ve managed to get around our self-imposed two suitcase limit since we returned from Hawaii last fall (when you fly, you really need to keep your luggage to one checked bag). When we went to Peru in November, we had things we needed to move there, and when we returned in February, we were trying to bring back items that would not survive shipping.

We’ve been in the Chicago area for five weeks, and tomorrow we turn in our car and fly to Norfolk, VA, pick up a different car and head to Virginia Beach, VA for a month. I am looking forward to new surroundings, and I don’t mind packing, but I didn’t realize how much stuff we extracted from the storage unit while we were here. It all had to go back.

I also hadn’t realized how much beach glass, rocks, beads, shells, and metal bits I brought back from Peru. My packing usually begins with craft supplies, so that I know what needs to be stored, and I don’t run out of time and have to jumble everything into boxes. Little did I know! After three afternoons of sorting bits of glass and deciding what I might be able to make in Virginia without a lot of equipment, I surveyed my table and could barely tell any difference.

In the end, I filled one of those under-bed type storage boxes to the brim with materials, measuring spoons, future resin casting projects, even a small sewing project that I am just not going to get to in the next 24 hours. In addition, there was a box of finished items too bulky to take along (I am taking my entire inventory of jewelry…lol…must keep my Etsy shop going http://Llywindatreasures.etsy.com). Another box held paper, stationery, and envelopes, and another was random items that didn’t fit a category, like the finial from our porch railing in Peru that just came off during repairs in February. It’s an odd, handmade shape, and I decided to keep it. Some people’s sentimental items are family heirlooms. I have a finial from my front porch.

I filled one half of a suitcase with items I want when we return to Peru at the end of May. I left the other half for Jonathan, who dutifully filled it with things he will want before we leave the US again.

Yet another suitcase was filled with clothing we are leaving in storage for the present. A box was full of kitchen items, and another had a Christmas ornament I brought back from Peru, a book I just finished reviewing, and a tea cozy that needs stuffing.

After that, we each packed the suitcase we are taking with us. I hated giving up my extra pairs of shoes, and my bedroom slippers. I travel with walking shoes, sandals that double as water shoes, and flip flops that are also my slippers. I will miss my various shoes of other colors, shapes, and materials.

I dropped two bags of clothing and household goods at Goodwill, threw a few outworn items in the trash, and we still had a full carload of suitcases and boxes to stow in the storage unit. It was raining while we were there passing suitcases and boxes across the deep puddle that forms in front of our unit every time it rains. The rain ended just as we returned home (surprise!).

On the bright side, I met my packing goal of not having to wrestle with closing my suitcase. It zipped without anguish, and easily fit my pillow in the top section that I save for the purpose. My carry-on is biggish, but that is due to my Etsy collection. We’ll have a fresh start in Virginia Beach–I can’t wait.