Bill’s mom used to say that when she felt overweight and would put on a belt it was like tying a string around the middle of a sausage. That’s how I feel about taking the contents of a 4000 square foot home and putting it into 645 square feet. Something’s got to go. Appropriately for a move to France, there’s a bit of déjà vu here. Twenty years ago Bill’s parents sold their house, bought a big RV trailer, and went on the road year-round. To dispose of the family ‘’treasures’’, all the siblings gathered at what the parents considered a joyous occasion since they were getting to realize a long held dream to travel full time. The kids, however, had not a dry eye as they received photos, tea cups, Christmas ornaments, and other prized possessions that would not fit on the trailer.

Currently at our house it’s kind of the same, minus most of the tears. We’ve gone through numerous closets, cabinets, and shelving units deciding who we thought would want and actually use what we’ll be leaving behind. We did discuss having a garage sale but decided that we’d much rather give it all to charity rather than stand in the sun for 8 hours negotiating prices only to end up with a total of $400 in our pocket. Some things are easy: canning jars and equipment went to a friend with a massive backyard garden. Everyone we know already has at least one slow cooker (we did have 3) and no one seems to want our fondue set even though we actually used it quite often. In France we may replace that with a raclette grill for a similar melted cheese treat.

One thing that should make this process a bit easier is that we plan to sell the house furnished. Since our new place will be move-in ready, it just seems to make sense to leave the house here in an equally welcoming state.