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Decluttering, Benny and Paperwork - Paris Friday Update

Declutter My House
My full-time job right now is getting the house squared away for us to be gone for two years. Mostly that means decluttering, donating, selling (AKA Craigslisting) and organizing.

The 142 Picture Books I Donated to Bernie's Books! 
When I get to the "Packing Step" of this move, I don't want to dig through the unusable detritus that lives in our house. Once it's gone, all the good stuff should be sorted together.

For example, all the yoga mats not eaten up by Lando our dog should be in a tidy pile so I can pack them up together. Or the mystery and expired items under the bathroom cabinets. Or I'm only considering the books we LOVE to read.

Because maybe, just maybe, we'll have a someone living/renting our house while we're away. Or maybe we'll list it on Airbnb, or something crazy like that. (Those plans are still being ironed out.) Which means all our personal junk needs to be sorted and stashed away.

Decluttering also means more meaningful shopping. This is my current checklist when I'm evaluating new (and used) STUFF:

  • Will I want this in Paris?
  • Will I use it up in the time before we move to Paris?
  • Will I want it in two years when we get return from Paris?
That's really all it comes down to. And it's helped me be more ruthless about things I'm normally wishy-washy about. How much do I really want that?

Consulate Success! 
We devoted a day this week to drive into Chicago (the horror show of commuting traffic) to visit the French consulate and apply for our residence visas AND stop by the Spanish consulate for updated paperwork for me, too. As you may have noticed from last week's update, this visit has been weighing heavily on me so I was THRILLED when it all went off without a hitch. I had all the documents they asked for and got exactly what we needed to knock this off my Master Task List. Wohoo!

Benny's New Place
Another update from last week ... we found a great home for our Benny beagle at a friend's house in Chicago. Honestly, this couldn't be a better fit for Benny or the family. And we can get updates on how well he's fairing. Another success for the week.




Related posts: 
The Paris Move
All my Travel stories
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