75 days to go

What a month! On the day we’d originally planned to fly over to Melbourne we hear that we’d legitimately be allowed to enter without quarantine. That’s playing it safe for you, I guess! Haha.

Our new date is January 15th, so the countdown re-begins!

In light of the official GO, we’ve been packing. So, this post may be a long one! Hold onto your COVID masks.

The Before/Afters

This is my slow-progress project here.
I may have mentioned this a few months ago, but there are a couple of physical games I’m trying to complete before we move so they don’t need to come with us. It’s an unreachable goal, but I may as well try. Two of those games are Rock Band games, of which I have borrowed certain instruments in an attempt to get as far as I can. I know I won’t get there, but it’s been a great way of ensuring we stay social during this busy time.
For funsies, here are the games I’m trying to complete before we go:

The Rock band instruments are in a section of the house that I haven’t been taking photos of each month. The main reason being is that the corner of the house it lives in has gotten messier as time’s gone on, and it doesn’t make for great before and after photos.

As promised, I did bring the top items down a shelf! Is that all I did? No! I also passed on some clothes. Yay me!

I am most proud of this photo. It’s been a lot of work getting the garden up to scratch. The BBQ is now gone which leaves this area completely finished! I still have a few items in the garage to clean up which I keep forgetting about. But I can’t promise any pictures of there, since the garage items will probably be a last-minute pack.

As it was looking more and more unlikely that we would go back into lockdown before we left, I took the liberty of passing on our gloves and surface sanitiser. We plan on buying some less industrial-looking masks before we go, but in the meantime, it’s handy to keep our existing ones because who knows when New Zealand turns back into an apocalypse!

Haven’t seen this area for a while, have you? Haha! That’s because forcing Kyle to take the vitamins he bought is a lot harder than I expected. And so not wanting to become a nagging wife, I came to terms with the fact that the vitamins in the bottom left-hand corner will just have to be thrown away. I had to tell myself to suck-it-up-buttercup, and move onto something I could control. Like myself! #LifeMotto

I think I said I didn’t have much more to do here, but I found some more stuff to get rid of. That first shelf, directly above our recycling bins, went through an almost 100% cull. It’s looking so much tidier now, and the stuff left there will be last-minute discards. Except for our Universal cups… I’m still trying to convince Kyle to get rid of them.

It’s probably coming time to start packing up the rest of these books… A home is not a home without books. intense sad face

Ok, enough sadness! This is my project for November.
This PC needs to go! We aren’t taking it with which means I need to get all my unsorted junk off there and put it onto Trade Me.
My second project is that desk. The drawers are full of papers, knickknacks and electronics. If I manage to get both projects done by the end of November, I’ll be one stoked puppy.

Last month, Kyle and I came to an agreement. I was starting to be a typical nagging wife, asking him every other day if we were keeping item X. For the sake of our relationship, we wisely decided to delegate the packing more evenly. He looks after his stuff, and I look after mine.
I couldn’t be prouder, because the very next fortnight, he packed a box full of games and called it a day!
A zoomed-out photo of this shelf is below.

Same shelf but from further away! It’s the only thing to look at, really. The rest of the room just looks like the same junk but in different spots. Ha!

The space underneath the washing basket is completely clear now! I could have done this a long time ago, without the need for a Melbourne-move as motivation. But I’m glad it’s finally clear. Now I just need to keep up this only-keep-what-you-need attitude for the rest of my life and I’ll be sweet!

You’re just going to have to believe me, but there are less stamps in the After photo!

The Personal

What to say, what to say…

Well, this time it’s real. No more pretending we’re moving. We have a date, and Australia will actually let us in this time.
It’s been a blessing, actually. See, it turns out my brother got an invitation to spend Christmas with his girlfriend’s family. And my sister can’t travel to New Zealand without having to quarantine. So had we gone, my parents would have been completely by themselves for Christmas for the first time since I was born. So, I’m really glad we’re here.

On the flip side, this move becoming real has done a real number on my appetite. After deciding that January 15th would be the day, I couldn’t eat breakfast, had a little lunch, and declined most dinners. Thankfully, I had my Life Group praying for me and giving me advice on how to change my diet so I don’t die. The loss of appetite went away after about a week. No doubt, though, it may come back when we buy the tickets. Ha!