I’m selectively organized, lol!  In my job, I can organize down to the last minute.  It’s what made me a good nurse, and now, a good travel agent.  But when my mind gets overwhelmed like I’m finding with this decluttering and move process, my default is “Lalalalala, don’t confuse me with anything, don’t want to hear it!” (Cover your ears for the full effect).  This is why my husband and I are such a good tag team.  This dude has a list as long as my arm, lol!  I’m headed to St. Maarten in 2 weeks and will be armed with “the list”.  Stuff I take for granted like, can I get my favorite mascara on the island or do I need to hoard it here and bring it with me?  Ladies, amirite?  It matters, trust me.  We all have that one favorite “thing”.  Men do too, I know this!  I have to price out various items and determine if I can even get others on the island.  I’ve got to figure out where to buy cat food since we don’t feed the cats just “any food”.  Simple things I take for granted simply by running down to Publix or the pet store.  We’ve been adding to this list just about every day as things occur to us.  If you’re not detail oriented, and even if you are, start early and often writing things down.  I am also super glad I thought to make this reconnaissance trip before the final move in September, and highly recommend you do this too, most especially if you are literally selling everything and starting over on the island.  During this trip, I will be in seek mode, covering all the questions on “the list”.  I will be buying some initial pieces of furniture and electronics.  I will be arranging power and internet.  I’ll be setting up a mailbox.  I’ll be stalking the “Buy, Sell, Trade” boards right up until I board the plane on September 5th so that I can arrange to purchase any items I see there that we need.  Obviously, this won’t all happen at once and my dear husband has allowed that our place will probably resemble a campground for a few weeks until we can get all the furniture and comforts of home in place, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay.  Temporary discombobulation for a life in paradise.  Yep, worth it!

An interesting question was posed to me yesterday while talking with a dear friend about our move.  “Aren’t you afraid that moving to the island will find that you take it for granted and no longer appreciate it?”  It’s true, visiting our island paradise once a year certainly does make us appreciate its beauty and everything it offers.  However, upon reading that question in our chat my immediate gut reaction was the other side of the coin.  I imagine some of you will identify with this.  My first thought was, “God no!”  It will be so nice to take it slow and easy!  For the first time since we discovered the island in 2010 we won’t have to rush through in 8 or 9 days a list of “to-do” items as long as our arm.  Or worse, because we have to rush back to a ship.  We’ll be able to leisurely savor every bite of every meal, enjoy every last minute of every sunset, try every French rosé, try out that “new place that just opened” in Simpson Bay or Grand Case, make many new friends and enjoy our time with old friends, all because we will no longer be on a gogogo agenda.  Going through the medical issues I have over the last couple of years has made me aware of how incredibly precious every minute of life is.  I take nothing for granted and am 100% cognizant of how truly blessed we are to be offered this opportunity.  I intend to enjoy every minute given me.

Calm before the storm.  Oh wait.  It’s already been storming!  Know how I know?  The inside of my house looks like a tornado ripped through it 😐. Our first yard sale is tomorrow.  We hope it’s the only yard sale but will do another if necessary.  Stress is ramping up exponentially with each passing day.  Here is where I am eternally grateful for a marriage where we both recognize that the snapping and barking is not directly related to the other, rather the stress coming out sideways.  We both know it, recognize it, and for the most part are able to take a step back, breathe, get a hug, and remind ourselves that, this too shall pass.  Moving is never pleasant.  This move has been worse still as I am decluttering the entire lot of “stuff” we’ve been lugging around for over a decade.  The thing that keeps me moving forward is knowing that, once done, our lives will be *simple* and without a bunch of “stuff” to bog us down.  And ultimately of course, the knowledge that once settled we’ll know that the zen of watching the sunset over the Caribbean can be a daily activity if we choose makes every single minute of this pre-move stress worth it.

I’ve decided I am never moving without these again!!  Get some sucky bags!  You know, the ones you put stuff in and suck the air out of?  Enclosed find my queen comforter, dust ruffle, and pillow shams.  This is one of those fluffy, bulky comforters that is now easily able to be packed away with plenty of room to spare 👍🏻  I am pleased with the outcome.  I paid $16 on Amazon for a bag of 4 sizes that came with a hand pump.  Queen sized bedding to this in about 5 minutes (hubby’s shoes included for size reference).  All of our towels and sheets will be packed the same way.  The bags are reusable so you only need to purchase them once.

Speaking of furniture, again, here is where having such dear friends on the island has been invaluable.  A friend knows someone who owns a furniture store.  We’ve also received numerous recommendations from other friends living on the island for places to look.  And a resource that has proven to be worth more than all the gold in Ft. Knox?  Recommendation to join all the “buy, sell, trade SXM” boards on Facebook.  Thanks to my dear friend, Liz for that recommendation!  I’m fairly certain that advice alone will save my sanity 😉

Ultimately the decision to ship your furniture or start over will be a personal one.  I can tell you that the shipping rate from Miami is about 77¢ per pound over 1000 pounds.  Less than 1000 pounds is about 98¢ per pound.  And you have to add the cost of getting your furniture to Miami.  For us, and because we had the goal of downsizing tremendously we chose to sell everything before moving and start over on the island.  If we leave the island everything will be sold or donated again.  We’ve made the personal decision not to acquire many possessions anymore as we intend to honor our nomadic nature until we retire to the nursing home 😁

It has been interesting watching my psyche deal with this process.  I would have guessed things like my living room suit, or my bedroom suit would have been hard to part with.  But no, it’s small things like picture frames (not even the picture inside, just the frame), or kitchenware.  Ultimately of course, it’s not the thing, rather the memories associated with them that are requiring my heart to let go.  It’s happening.  But slowly.  Apropos of my previous post, this complete paradigm shift from, “No, I need that,” to, “Yep, that can go,” is ongoing and most definitely a process.  I’m trying to be gentle and not force anything.

We’ll need to get the power and internet arranged.  How does that happen on the island?  Well, first and foremost, this is not the US where both are already on and you simply go online, sign up, and everything is magically in your name 👍🏻  Nope.  We’ll need to show up at the power company, pay a 600 guilder deposit and they’ll show up in 2-3 days to turn on your power and water.  Wait.  Guilders? 😱. Oh, US dollars are fine.  Well, that’s good news.  But you still have to show up with the proper paperwork (landlord provides) to arrange this. Ok, I’m coming to the island 3 1/2 weeks ahead of our move, can this be arranged then for future activation?  Yes, it can.  Great!  Can I purchase some pieces of furniture and move them in on the 5th?  Yes, no problem.  I love my apartment manager!

From my FB feed:

Oh, blessed Sunday!  I am FINALLY starting to feel like I am getting a handle on this declutter, pack, and move thing.  OTOH, my schedule until we get on the plane the last weekend of September is NUTS!  HUGE yard sale next weekend and maybe the one after.  Neuro follow up 8/15. Cats’ vet appointment 8/23 to get their shots, chips, etc.  I head to St. Maarten 9/5 – 8 to look for furniture and get utilities seen about, etc.  September 10 Ortho appointment to schedule a spinal cortisone injection.  September 19 I travel to see my son and spend 4 days and my birthday with him before we head to the island permanently.  We will actually spend our last night in Charlotte 9/26 and begin the journey south on 9/27, my daughter’s birthday.  We are scheduled to arrive “home” 9/29 at 3:10pm.  ❤️ If you’re doing the math, that means we are less than 7 weeks to move day 😵 . I may need a beverage or 7 after arrival.  Thankfully, I know where to find them on St. Maarten 😉 . Happy Sunday, everyone!  Life is good!

From my FB feed:

Oh my dear God, this downsizing thing is kicking my ass!  I had NO IDEA we had collected this much 💩.  So I’m going to offer you some advice, if you think you are EVER going to move out of the house you’re in now, go out to your garage, attic, basement, whatever, and start cleaning out now.  You’ll thank me later.  One thing is certain, and I mean CERTAIN, we are NEVER going to accumulate this much stuff again.  If we decide to move back to the states, a 1 bedroom (maximum) is it, preferably a studio.  I am finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel though, as 3/4 of the garage is done.  I am sick to my stomach that I (we) didn’t do all this cleaning out in any of our 7 other moves in 14+ years, but everything for a reason I guess.  Thankfully, the end is getting closer.  I am entirely too old for this 😳😱😖. The silver lining is knowing that when all is said and done we’ll spend the rest of our weekends with no other worries than which of 37 beaches to hang out on that day.  This is truly the definition of a labor of love.  Happy Sunday, everyone!  Life is good 🙂

From my FB feed:

Reflection: do I really need all this “stuff”?  The answer appears to be, no.  Andy and I have been lugging around “yours” “mine” and “ours” stuff for 14 years and 7 moves 😐. Interesting that prior to our decision to move and “clean house” I could not remotely wrap my mind around letting go of it all.  Now, as I am going through box after box I think, “Really?  Why did I keep this?”  Yes, I know that some of it was sentimental at the time.  But as I am rethinking my life and the need to downsize it by a BUNCH, the “keep” pile is now barely filling a small box.  The stuff that belongs to the kids is getting shipped to them.  I’ve talked to my daughter about inheriting a “keel over” box, family mementos she’ll get after I keel over 😁. I cannot tell you how freeing this process is.  Like everything else in life though, it had to be time.  My heart was not ready a month ago.  Now, it’s time.  ❤️

After the initial shock of the a-ha moment I immediately jumped into action.  First and foremost I had to be certain that moving our cats with us was doable.  I contacted a friend on the island who put me in contact with the government official in charge of importing pets.  She was extremely responsive to my inquiry and within a day I knew that bringing our cats along was not going to be an issue.  There are rules to be followed and forms to fill out but nothing that made the move impossible.

Next, I called and emailed realtors.  Two of 12 returned my requests.  Within 3 days of contacting the realtors we had a lease signed. It helped that we were intimately familiar  with the island so knew where most properties we were shown online were located.  Two weeks after signing the lease I saw our building in person and met my realtor extraordinare as I traveled to the island on a graduation cruise with my niece.

Going forward from here I will share some obstacles, “oh shit I didn’t think about that” thoughts, feelings, and emotions as we see this to fruition.  It has been a process so far that I could not have ever imagined would be so bittersweet.  Follow along with our journey ❤️