Pack rat? Not so much

If anyone wants to pack up the house for me and go through all of my stuff, I would not stop you.

I'm in the process of slowly packing up the house.  I figured if I started now and didn't wait until the last minute it would make the whole process better.  I keep telling myself this lie in hopes of it coming true.  The truth is going through all of our stuff is just as much a pain in the butt as it is any other time I do it.

Andrew and I went through a bunch when we put the house on the market the first time.  The key difference is I'm going through all of our stuff by myself.  Why is this making such a difference?  I don't keep stuff just to keep stuff or because it was sentimental to my second cousin removed by marriage and it was passed down to me. 

I'm not a pack rat.  Andrew isn't a huge pack rat, but he feels bad getting rid of stuff given to him.  He doesn't want to hurt people's feelings.  I, on the other hand, don't really care.  If it was a wedding gift and is still in the back of the closet, I will obviously not be needing it at my next house.  I will not be packing and hauling it over in order for it to sit in another closet for years before it can be tossed.  There are a few exceptions.  Family heirlooms stick around.

As the packing continues, I have divided our things into three categories: keep, donate, and trash.  The system seems to be working for me.  I've packed up most of our upstairs.  The entire guest room and bathroom is packed up.  Most of our game room is packed.  I'm going to tackle the dining room and boys' rooms next.

On another note, Cullen is almost fully recovered from croup.  He still has a bit of a cough, but his voice came back.  Andrew and I both have colds from his lovely sickness.  Sawyer had a fever, but luckily hasn't developed a cough.  Jackson seems to be the only one who was able to stay healthy.  I'm just glad it wasn't any worse.