Packing, packing, and Cleaning, and Why is my backpack to Heavy !

It is simply amazing how much stuff we have crammed into this little house. Our family of four, we are quite comfortable living in a 900 square foot house. You'd think 'small house = less stuff = easier to clean', but the math doesn't work that way. Not only are we taking our personal items out of the house, we are also packing for two trips - driving across Canada, then starting the world trip. Everything has to go into one of four piles;

1) Items that can be stored in a un-heated storage shed

2) Items that should not be frozen (electronics and batteries), to stay in the house.

3) Things we need for driving across Canada, including bikes and camping gear.

4) Things we need after leaving Canada

Easy Right -

Then there is the cleaning, all those places that do not normally get cleaned, and there are plenty of those places.

We are fortunate that the renter of our house does not have any furniture so we do not have to move out the big stuff, though we do have to disassemble the kids loft beds and re-paint their room. As much as I dread the packing and the cleaning - it is all good as we are also making a large donation pile of al those things we have stored for years and never used, and the cleaning - everyhouse, evey once in a while (we have been in this house for 13 yrs)..needs a good cleaning.

It has also been a busy week of saying bye to friends. For them, it has also been a busy week of getting ready for school, signing up for after-school activities. I will not miss the rush-rush of getting the kids ready for the school bus, making lunches, dinner, driving from one activity to the other, homework. Wait - yes, we will have homework, though it will not have to be crammed in at the end of the day.

Back to packing and cleaning ;>