Help - need motivation - emigrating and need to pack!

[purpleturtle]

I've reached a brick wall. We need to take the stuff we need for the next 6 months or so out of the house by Friday. Basically, that's clothes, a few toys, and some essential books.

We're going to Australia, so I won't be needing any winter clothes there, but we're coming back for a month over Christmas, by which time, hopefully, all the house contents will be making their way to Oz.

A friend has taken dd and ds off my hands for the afternoon so I can pack, but I've lost the plot a bit. Can't do it.

help! help! where do I start?

Depends which part of Australia as it is winter there ATM and it does get cold in some parts eg. Sydney/ Melbourne.

I'm going to Perth, and Suzywong keeps sending me weather reports! Doesn't get so cold there.

It will happen, I'm sure, but I think the denial is just wearing off...

put music on loudly and do it room by room?

You've hit the nail on the head there, desperatehousewife!

I have made this job difficult for myself by having Pickfords come in to do the packing. What I need to do is make sure that anything we don't want shipped - either because we don't want it all, or we want to take it with us - is out of the way by Monday. Somehow, there isn't the same sense of achievement attached to sorting through the contents of a cupboard without actually packing it into a box. so it's rather heavygoing for me.

Loud music, though, maybe that would do it!

Pack as if you are going away for two weeks, then put in some games/books.

We 'moved' to Australia with three cases for a family of three; came back with six 9 months later.

THank you SueW. I think I may well be applying your rationale to my suitcase in the morning!

Pre-move declutter is the worst if you've got packers coming in IME. There just doesn't seem to be an incentive.

So I'm finding out. The hard way.

SueW is right. When we emigrated last year - we came with three suitcases ( for 3 of us) - mostly clothes and a few toys for dd1. We then had three boxes of stuff sent ( earlier actually) but that was it.

2 things influenced our decision to bring a large proportion of our house contents:

1. We are hopeless at selling stuff. I find it very difficult to put a price on something, and ususally end up giving it away, or taking a pittance for it. Getting rid of it would have ended up a very expensive business for us!

2. We expect to be moving around every few years from now on, and we wanted to be able to make a new place feel like home quickly, which we thought might be helped by having our stuff with us. There is a strong possibility, however, that having done it once, we come up with a new strategy next time!