Loose Ends

This week one of my goals has been to go through the three boxes in my basement storage to remember what is there, and to at least pack all my winter clothes for storage. I accomplished the first task on Wednesday night, which felt very good. I found one box was full of all my holiday lights and decorations, so I don't really need to do anything with that- it will be stored as is. The other two boxes contained a completely random assortment of things- an old calendar that I had been keeping, thinking I would use the pictures to decorate; my old soccer cleats and shinguards; some pieces of decor that I don't have room for at the current apartment; and, oddly enough, about $3 worth of New Zealand currency! I had forgotten I had it, left over from my last trip. So now it's waiting on the mantle along with two travel combination locks, to be packed for the trip. I also found the wallet I want to take to NZ. It is larger and more practical than the one I am currently using. Everything else was either packed back into boxes to be stored, or put in the big box that is now in our living room, labeled "JETTISON." Right before we leave, we'll invite all our friends to come look through the things we are getting rid of, and give the rest to a secondhand store or put it out as a Free Box.

We are only waiting on one document to arrive by mail, and then we will have everything we need for the final step of our visa paperwork, so we can send that all off and rest easy. Because BUNAC has already accepted us into the work program and we have no foreseen obstacles in our way, it is highly unlikely that we could be denied our visas, so I'm not even going to worry about that possibility!

Another thing we are currently working on is eating our way through what is left in the cupboards and freezer, and not buying large amounts of anything. It's a major change of habit as I'm used to buying everything in bulk. But we want to get the most for our money, and right now that includes not having to get rid of food we've already paid for! What we don't eat we will give to friends right before we leave. Some things, like spices, we can store while we are away, but most things won't last nine months in storage. Almost all of my hard-earned garlic will be given away, which is hard to think about, but it also feels nice that so many of my friends are already clamoring for it :)

Any tea, sugar, or coffee we don't use I will donate to my office. Right now the things in most abundance in the cupboards are cornmeal, popcorn, whole wheat flour, and nutritional yeast. Luckily both Matt and I can eat our weight in popcorn dressed with olive oil and nutritional yeast! I will need to do some baking to get through the rest. We have dried beans, lentils, rice and pasta in small amounts, but we shouldn't have a problem making those into a few nice meals. As for the 2 years' supply of baking soda and salt, I think they would be fine stored long term in tightly sealed jars- that's how they have been in my cupboard for several months now. Does anyone out there know?