How do you decide what to keep?

We're busy packing up our apartment in preparation for our move in a couple of weeks. You would think that having just moved from overseas 2 years ago, we wouldn't have that much extra junk, especially considering we had to mail everything in boxes. But somehow, we have a ton of stuff. It's so hard trying to decide what to keep. After we moved back, I got a lot of boxes that my parents had been storing for me. They were full of keepsakes from high school and college. There are old photos, school writings, trinkets, etc. I also had a box full of pottery that I made in my 2 college ceramic classes. Our new place is smaller than our current place, so we need to get rid of stuff. It's hard trying to decide what to keep and what to toss. I hold something, look at it, and think, "I really don't care about this now, but in 10 years, will I care about it? I obviously haven't missed it for the past 10 years." I'm not really sentimental about keeping stuff. It makes moving so hard! I especially don't know what to do with all my pottery. I was so proud of everything I made, but how many ceramic bowls do I really need? Do I want to continue to let them gather dust, or should I try to sell them at a yard sale and trash what doesn't sell? I'm leaning towards keeping just the 2 or 3 most favorite items, and getting rid of the rest. Maybe I should take pictures of it all before I toss it, so I'll have a much smaller thing to hold on to.

Any advice from those who have moved and will move much more than me?

Zucchini burgers and pucks

One of my biggest struggles at meal time is getting Grace to eat vegetables. She won't try a whole lot, and she's very picky. I got a new cookbook about sneaking veggies into foods. (It's the one by the comedian's wife. I'm not saying it because I don't want my blog to come up in a search about the book.) I tried one of the recipes tonight for dinner, and it was a huge success! It was hamburger sliders with shredded zucchini mixed in. I don't know if Grace ate them because she's had one of John's burgers before, or if she helped make them. (I let her help me roll the meat into balls and smash them into burgers.) But she at it all! She really liked it. I've never had success getting her to eat zucchini, even in zucchini bread, but she ate this!

Since I had to shred the zucchini for the burgers, I just shredded all the zucchini so I could put it in the freezer. (I had an electric shredder, so it was quick work. I borrowed it from my mom, but I want one now!) I didn't think it would be good to freeze it all together, but I didn't want to put them portions in individual bags. I came up with what I think was a great idea! I stuffed the shreds into a 1/2 cup measuring cup and dumped them upside down on a cookie sheet. When I was finished portioning it out, I threw them in the freezer for an hour. I pulled it out, and ta da! Zucchini pucks that I could put in 1 large bag! Now they are individually portioned for whenever I need them next!

A completely different perspective

Things have happened this summer that make me grateful for 2 things- 1- John's new job and 2- the Dave Ramsey plan. I've been fighting with insurance about issues with my maternity coverage and with Grace's ear problems. (summary- They said my c-section was complicated, but it wasn't. An uncomplicated c-section is covered by my maternity policy, a complicated c-section is covered under major medical, which is another deductible and out-of-pocket limit. For Grace, we switched insurance for her, and her ear problems are considered pre-existing condition, so we have to appeal for a waiver to get it covered.) If the appeals go in our favor, things are good. If they go the other way, it will be a lot more money owed. If this was happening last summer, or if John didn't have a new job, I would be so incredibly stressed about it, even just waiting for the judgment. But knowing that with John's job, we'll have money to pay bills, I have no stress whatsoever.

We are also getting into the Dave Ramsey method of finances. We read his book about a year and a half ago, but we've really struggled implementing it completely. We've tried, but it's been hard. The main thing we did was set up an emergency fund, and we are so glad we did! We were able to pay for both of our car repairs and John's new glasses without stressing about where the money would come from. (It helped that we had saved our last tax return in preparation for our move, so we had more than our normal emergency fund.) We had to make adjustments about our move (like choose an apartment over a house for the first year at least), but when things like this happen, you have to make sacrifices. We cut expenses wherever we could to help save money. It's been tight, but it'll all be worth it in the end. (We skip a paycheck in between jobs, so it was going to be a tight summer even without the extra expenses we had.) The lower stress level is amazing! We're signed up for the Dave Ramsey class, Financial Peace University, starting in September, and we can't wait! I think EVERYONE needs to take this class or at least read his book. It's not just for rich or poor, or for those with debt or without debt. It's about how to live within (or below!) your means, while preparing for the future. I highly, highly recommend it. It has changed our lives, and we haven't even really started the program! haha. Once we're in the program, I'll definitely post updates here about our progress.