One room at a time

Getting organized and killing clutter isn't easy.

My solution: move.

There is something to be said about unpacking and repacking your possessions every two years. You realize how much unnecessary crap a person accumulates and exactly how unnecessary it is. Even though the movers box up every item in my house, I still "organize" it weeks before they arrive. To me it's a healthy cleansing process of eliminating unwanted or unneeded things.

I tackle one room at a time and do not work on the process for more than two hours. You would be amazed by all the items that Benny and I have collected along the way. And most of it we do not need any more. Or we can't remember why we have it or who gave it to us.

For example, on Monday I cleaned our tiny kitchen. Here is the extra stuff I found.

* About 20 wine glasses, eight champagne glasses and four margarita glasses. Now I know that we drink, but we don't drink that much.

* Three lunch sized coolers. You know what I'm talking about: those small travel coolers. We have a total of five. Why? We get free ones at promotional events and keep them for some unknown reason. I made Benny decide which two to keep. He decided to stick with his tried and true Twins lunch cooler. Good choice, Benny.

* Five vegetable peelers. Apparently I either forget that I have a potato peeler or don't like it so I buy another one. This is ridiculous. Good thing my mom gave me a Pampered Chef one for Christmas. I can actually work that one. The rest are banned from my kitchen.

* One cookbook. I had no idea where this cookbook came from. I pointed the finger at Benny. He must have bought it once. Then he pointed it back at me. I must have purchased it at a flea market. Finally we figured out that it was a bridal shower gift. Good lord. That was way too much thinking involving a cookbook.

So that was the kitchen. Today's mission is the living room including a healthy stack of books, CDs and DVDs.

Travel orders!!!!

This news made me stand up and clap my hands tonight: We have a flight to Okinawa.

The travel orders for Benny and I were completed today. We fly out of Oxnard on March 30 and arrive in Okinawa on March 31. We change planes at LAX and Tokyo.

We know when we are flying to our new location. I can write it on the calendar. I can tell my friends and family members when they ask us.

This is a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders.

My teeth aren't going to Japan. Only my cavities.

Remember my excitement over getting my medical paperwork completed for the move. Today, my heart sank.

I had my six month checkup at the dentist. She found three cavities, so I'll be back on Monday for fillings. More fillings. Sigh.

And she thinks that I'm grinding my teeth and recommended wearing a mouth guard while I sleep. I tried to tell her that I'm sure the teeth grinding is stress triggered. It's only temporary. Once I get to Okinawa and get settled, I'll stop. She didn't believe me. So now I have to research if our insurance will pay for a stupid mouth guard.

With Benny sleeping with eye goggles to protect his eyes after LASIK and me wearing my mouth guard, I'm pretty sure all romance will be gone in the bedroom.

I passed! I passed!

Since Dec. 6, I've been carrying around a 10-page medical questionnaire. It's my overseas medical screening paperwork. What it is exactly means, I have no idea. All I know is that I need to have it completed and returned to Benny before we can move forward on our travel orders for Japan. (Translation for those not working for Uncle Sam: We don't know when we are flying to Japan. We find out after Benny hands in this packet.)

Filling in the bubbles of this questionnaire hasn't been easy. First I had to contact my hometown hospital for a copy of my records. I needed to prove I received my vaccinations as child and teenager.

The next step was a trip to the clinic here to fill in the blanks on my vaccinations form.

A stop at my dentist's office was painless. She signed her page in the packet. My teeth are ready for Okinawa.

All that remained was an appointment with the overseas screening doc, which I had this morning.

So I showed up all nervous about it. Why was I nervous? Who knows? Anytime I am evaulated on ANY level, my heat beat quickens and my blood pressure rises. What if he doesn't approve you, the doubting voice in my head repeated.

After my temperature was taken and my higher-than-normal blood pressure was recorded, I saw the doctor. He didn't even sit down. He flipped through my packet filled with my blood, sweat and tears.

"Are you in reasonable good health?" he asked.

"I like to think so," I responded. He is still standing. He signs the form and hands it back to me.

"Good luck in Okinawa," he said while walking out the door.

I passed! I passed!

Whew.

That was painless.

A Wedding

We took a timeout from planning our overseas move to celebrate Jason and Melinda's wedding. It was an ourdoor ceremony followed by an afternoon of wine tasting. Cheers!

Should it stay or should it go?

It's Saturday night. It's not late, but I'm exhausted. All I want to do is sleep, but I can't. Too much caffeine is my guess.


So I'm lying in bed staring at the ceiling thinking about the checklist of things I need to do in preparation of our move to Japan. Mentally I'm running an inventory of every item of everything in our house and trying to decide where it will go for the next three years. Will it be put in the pile marked “give away to a good home.” Will it be sold at our upcoming and yet unplanned yard sale? Or will it sit in storage in Port Hueneme until our return to the states? A great way to spend a Saturday night, huh.


When we told people we were moving to Japan, the first thing they asked was, what are you doing with all your stuff? Generally residences is Asia are more compact than the United States McMansions.


Benny and I have already downsized once. When we decided to live in a Silver Strand Beach bungalow for the location and not the square footage, several boxes did not get unpacked. Today those boxes are in our storage shed. What's in them? Fancy dishes that we have never used. Fancy silverware that we have never used. Mementos I use to keep on my desk in Yuma. Everything else is a mystery. That makes making a mental checklist of what to save, sell and store mind-bending.


So that is what we don't know.


This is what we do know:


Grill. The Hummer of gas grills (which Benny could fit inside) will be stored in Port Hueneme courtesy of the Navy.

Green sofa. Hopefully sell to a good home. We need to post the ad on Craigs List pronto. Same goes for the refrigerator, washer and dryer. Now Benny is giving me the look. The look that we are storing the world's best fridge. Time to update the list.

Hammock. Going to Okinawa. Hopefully we will have a patio to put it on. Keep your fingers crossed.

Our bed. Going. But I'm having doubts on the bench and night stands. Maybe those should be stored.

Futon. Going. This will be our sofa and guest bed.

Dining table. This is either getting sold or stored. Decision hasn't been made yet. We are planning to take our coffee table and cushions and start eating traditional Japanese style by sitting on the floor.

My car. We are selling it. Hopefully days before our move.

Benny's car. Again, selling it. Hopefully to Benny's brother Jon.

Nobody said downsizing is easy. Nobody.

See it is a crazy bridge

Our turn

Colleen & Adam on the crazy bridge

Japanese Tea Gardens

Benny and I got a little taste of Japan when we visited the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Francisco.