Why I was OFF for 2 months?
For two months, I've been off. No posts on social media for 1 month, no photos, no comments, and for 2 months, no videos here on Youtube. But I can tell you what happened. I was working so hard to pack everything, literally everything, to move house, not just the place, but also moving from country. During the 2 months, I was so happy, knowing that I was going back to my country ( Portugal), near to my family and friends. But at the same time, I made friendships in Belgium (the country that I was living in), and I cried a lot, knowing too that I was going to close a chapter from my life.
We (me and my husband) took this decision around the end of May. This decision just came up because, as we all know, the world is changing with the pandemic situation. The companies realize that it is possible to work from everywhere at any time without a problem. But we all know, not all jobs have this opportunity, because a doctor needs to be in the hospital, a hairdresser needs to be in the salon, etc., etc., but my 9 to 5 job doesn't oblige me to be present at all in the company, because everything that I do, can be made online.
But let's talk about my absence from social media. Moving a house is already challenging and exhausting, but moving from a country is double work. We decided to start selling furniture that we didn't want anymore and for certain things selling them and buying new stuff was more chip than putting them in the truck.
So, I started to take pictures of the furniture that we didn't want to take with us, took measures, and gave them a short description. Then, I began to put on Market Place on Facebook, and the first things were easy to sell. I can tell you that we had more than 40 things to sell in precisely 2 months! Yes, 2 months! And on top of that, I had to work and organize my projects. I was still able to record my videos for you, writing on my blog, post on my social media, but it arrived end of July; I started to feel the pressure and realized the moment of truth was approaching. I couldn't believe that our lives were going to change forever!
The hardest part was to put the other things in boxes, like clothes, books, DVDs, CDs, toys (especially toys), and other things, because before packing them all, I did a deep clean. So, it was really exhausting!
I think it's not nice to have that feeling of unpacking everything in the new country and new home and still need to do a declutter.
During this process was the anniversary of my son, and I needed to organize his party with his close friends. Also, it's important to say that my kids didn't know anything about moving because everything was being prepared to surprise my family and friends. So we decided to reveal to them on his anniversary with a video. My daughter was so happy when she saw the video, but my son was a little bit confused, which is normal. He made 9 years old.
As a mother, I stay worried because of the new world for them, always thinking if the adaptation would be easy for them, discover new friends (which is so crucial for their development), but I believe everything will be ok! This is because children can adapt so quickly.
The Last 10 Days
Arrived at the end of July, I realized that I didn't have time to do all the things I needed to do, so it was the moment to pause on social media and to record the videos for Youtube.
The last 10 days were so intense, full of emotions, and still selling things.
For all the 40 things that I had to sell, just 3 didn't sell, which was very good! Actually, I couldn't believe that we could sell so many things in a short time! We were delighted!
The boxes were almost ready, and my advice is to put a short description on every box, to know what is inside each one. Otherwise, it would be so difficult for us when we need to unpack everything in Portugal.
On top of all of that, we had dinners with our friends, we enjoyed ourselves a lot, a lot of hugs, a lot of tears, it was really emotional. I think we didn't have so many schedules in a short time with our friends in Belgium!
When the departure day arrived (10th of August), my head was speeding all the time, thinking about everything, the good and bad moments, the learnings, the joys, and friends. And, It was the place where I became a Mom of 2 beautiful children! So, I just could be so grateful for what I had in Belgium! Thank you!
But before I go, I want to leave a few tips of the organization if you need to move one day.
Put in boxes everything separated (when are clothes, put just clothes, when is toys, put just toys, etc) it will be so much easier.
Write on the box what it contains inside of it.
Do a declutter before packing.
Separate everything that you want to give to an institution, sell, and put it in the container
If you have kids, put them helping you. They will feel happy and responsible for doing a task with you.
Just a little reminder, never leave things for the last minute, believing that everything is under control.
Lots of love