The more clutter I clear out of my rambling old apartment before the movers come, the more things I seem to have!!!
At his rate, how am I going to keep my packing for Rome down to only two suitcases? And a carry-on? I may need to smuggle a pack animal onto Air Canada to help me with the luggage!
A few days ago, I booked my airline ticket to Rome for Nov. 30, with a vague return date that can be changed. What's more difficult to change is Air Canada's parsimonious packing policy. One suit case per traveller. Madness.
Of course, for $70 I could bring a second suitcase; but a third piece of luggage would be ruinously expensive. So, I am facing hard limits.
Fine. I can work with limits and deadlines. And with the movers coming in only a few weeks, I've been organizing my things into categories:
a. Items for storage with the moving company
b. Items to store with friends (personal papers, my handmade ceramics)
c. Items for charity
d. Items for the rubbish (I really don't need to save mismatched mittens)
e. Items to take to Italy
It's that last one that's proving a challenge.
I'm a writer, therefore I need electronics. Seriously; no one uses the fountain pen any longer. A laptop, net-book, various power cords and plug adaptors. Headset for Skype. Cellphone and charger; iPod and chargers. External keyboard, mouse and hard drive. Camera and its charger. All to go into the carry-on along with $1,000 worth of prescriptions (asthma and ulcers get expensive.)
Books. I need to bring a few favourite books, plus Italian study guides, dictionaries (English and Italian.) A few CDs and DVDs (at least they're flat.)
A file of favourite recipes, especially for lentil soup (cheap protein); tax receipts so I can claim all those damned prescriptions; notes for both novels, the one that's completed and the work in progress.
Jewelry and cosmetics -- what if I stay a year or more? I can't keep wearing the same earrings! Sox and Spanx tights. Underwear. Jammies.
And the clothing -- oy vey! Winter boots, summer sandals and everything in between. (And no, I can't buy shoes when I get there. I'm very tall with long long feet. Nothing in Italy fits me -- other than the lifestyle.)
Work clothes, gym clothes, sitting-at-home-studying-Italian/watching-those -engrossing-Italian-TV-game-shows clothes. A raincoat, a wool winter coat.
I have lists, and lists of lists that I should make.
I think I need a Sherpa. Then, a scotch.
2 comments:
Sandra: Nice job with the blog. It's amazing how organized you can be -- in the midst of sorting and packing - a new blog has been planted and is sprouting! Brava!
Not sure how expensive Canadian post office system is but have you thought of mailing items ahead (not your scrips or electronics but clothes and shoes)?
Thanks very much! It's still a work in progress but it was time for a change.
I was shocked at how expensive it would be, via Canada Post, to send a package about the size of the average piece of carry-on luggage -- $200! Yikes; I'll just have to be ruthless in my packing.
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