They work really well, don’t
weigh anything, don’t require measuring, and take up half the space of my
economy size detergent buckets. But now I have 4 giant detergents and fabric softeners
that I suppose I’ll be using for the next year in order to free up some storage
space. Dryer sheets are a bit trickier because at first I couldn’t locate them
at any of the stores. I ended up spotting them at Tesco though, so I have peace
of mind that when I run out of the two boxes I brought, I’ll be able to find
more.
Also, we brought 2 cases of black beans thinking that we wouldn’t be able
to find them here. They aren’t at every store, but I have been able to locate
them at two different spots so I didn’t need to buy them beforehand afterall. Also,
salsa and taco seasoning. There has been an explosion of Mexican food items
available in Aberdeen so tortillas, salsa, and taco seasoning are usually
available at any grocery store.
Less
specifically, we just brought too much stuff in general. If I could do it
again, I would just bring my furniture, kitchen supplies, wardrobe, and a few
food ingredients for my Tex-Mex and Cajun recipes.
I think I just took for
granted how much storage space we had in Houston. Yes, our house there was
smaller than our current home, but we also had 2 hall closets, a garage, an
attic, pantry and 4 bedroom closets. Why not hang on to that rice cooker that
you’ve never used if you’ve got the pantry space to accommodate it? Having
things neatly put away mislead us to believe that we didn’t have that much
junk, but when the movers started rolling in 154 boxes, it got pretty
overwhelming pretty quickly. And then there are things that I swore we donated.
Things like these vases we bought at Kirkland’s when we were broke newlyweds.
It wasn’t until we got them home that we realized they emulated naked African ladies
and I have been trying to get rid of them ever since. Yes, I’ve been trying to
off load these for 4 years, yet somehow, someway, they are sitting in my house
right now. How does that happen? I’m convinced it’s either a horror story or a
practical joke that Jon is playing on me.
And of course, I’m wishing we didn’t
tote our non-living-room-fitting sleeper sofa all the way across the pond just
to get rid of it in a fire sale for about 1/10 of what it’s worth. Speaking of which, any Aberdonians interested in a brown leather pull out couch? Entertaining all offers! Oh wait, it won't fit in your house either? Figures...
Time will
tell: These are the items that I’m unsure of how much use they will get while
we’re in Scotland, but would definitely be useful in several other potential
locations.
Two sets of patio furniture. Two
sets. Of patio furniture. In Scotland. Since 90% of the time it’s raining and below 50 degrees outside, I doubt
these will get much use. But you never know. Every once in a while Scotland
will surprise with a week straight of sunny skies and mild temperatures which
are perfect for barbequing. Even so, it’s doubtful we need both sets, and for
now, our garden looks a little bit like a white trash backyard. I'm predicting a theme party pretty soon.
We’re just waiting for a
sunny weekend to get it set up properly. Judging by the current 5 day forecast,
that might take a while.
My elliptical machine. We originally bought the
elliptical machine so that I wouldn’t have to join a gym in Houston. The
traffic there was so bad that I knew I’d never get in my car to travel to a
gym, and I definitely got my money’s worth out of this exercise machine on days
where it was too hot to jog outside. Now that we’re in Aberdeen, it’s never too
hot to jog outside, and on rainy days, I can always catch a Body Pump class at
our health club.
As of now, our elliptical has not even been turned on in Scotland.
I think it may get some use in the winter months, especially if there is snow
on the ground. I’m already bad enough at driving on the left hand side of the
road, so I doubt I’ll add in icy roads en-route to the gym to complicate
matters. And also, the elliptical is definitely something that we would use the
heck out of if we were to move to a place like Bangladesh where it’s just too
hectic to run outside.
We’ve already
donated 3 giant trashbags full off stuff, and thrown out 2 more. We’re making
a donation and recycling run tomorrow to off load the next round. I will make sure that the African vases are out of my posession once and for all. After
that, I think the junk will at least be manageable.
I wish we’d taken more
advantage of storing sentimental items with our folks. Jonathan brought enough
memorabilia with us to start his own museum. We obviously can’t get rid of his
whole life history, but it’s hard to carve out a place to keep it. I had one
tub of old yearbooks and photo albums that I left at my parents’ house, but the
rest I just had to chunk.
I never would have guessed that Jon was the more
sentimental of the two of us, but I’ve got the evidence to prove that he is.
It’s actually really sweet. We had a pow wow on the floor where he showed me
all of his old football photos and high school photo albums. It kind of made me
sad that I couldn’t pull out my own for show and tell. But at the end of the
day, I’d rather have a de-cluttered house then one filled to the brim with
sentimental objects that I might pull out once a year when I'm feeling nostaligic.
An attic or garage would be a simple fix, but it seems the Scots have a thing against storage space. For now, we're just having to use a spare bedroom for storage, and we're very grateful to have that.
But man, oh man, what I would give for an attic. Or a garage. Yes, Mom, I know: you told me so.
Oh but Laine I am so glad that the rocking zebra made the cut :)! Miss your beautiful face!
ReplyDeleteLaine - we don't have a garage or attic either, its horrible! I feel for you!
ReplyDeleteI love these posts! And I love those Kirkland Vases, bahahahaha!!! Not enough to take off your hands, but it is a funny story.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I have family send me is American foods/candy. I do miss it, but it isn't like they don't have food here in Scotland.
We have an unfinished attic in our flat. Surprise surprise! That's the whole reason we took this place. Now, we don't have closet space but beggars can't be chooser's right? The Scots must have something against storage space.
We stored our memorabilia in our family homes. Sometimes I do wish for old items to look through, but I know they are safe and sound in my sisters attic.
I laughing out loud with the 2 sets of patio furniture. Ha! You should definitely have a party. Use those babies up!
The elliptical will be nice in the winter! I'm jealous! I want your leather couch.
Woah Woah Woah...you're suppose to put those packs directly into the washing machine?!?! That explains a lot. I've been putting them in the tray for normal detergent...and finding about half still lining the bottom of the tray when the load's done! I've even resorting to popping the bag before putting in the tray. I'm so disappointed in myself...hahaha!
ReplyDelete