Moving is Hard

Our plan for this weekend, which was to go hiking about an hour away from Whaganui with one of J’s colleagues, has been ruined (so far) by the weather. Rude. It has been rather unbelievably windy, with occasional torrential downpours, which only last about five minutes, but are pretty impressive.

We decided to take advantage of the weekend in town by going shopping for the rest of the household items we needed (towels, dishes, sheets, etc.). We spent a lot of time trying to find the best deals, the most ethical brands, and things that are not made in China. We were happy to find that quite a large proportion of items are Made in NZ (compared to American-made products in America), but it seems like anywhere you go in the world, everything comes from China. So we searched and searched, and finally ended up with almost everything we needed from stores/brands/places that we felt good about. But it was way more work that we wanted it to be. Sometimes it was exciting, to find something we knew we would enjoy in our new house, or a really good deal. But mostly it was frustrating, going through things that were wrong for one reason or another, and not being able to find the right stuff. And the worst part of it all, for me, was that I HATE buying things! I hate spending money, I hate the fact that we need to own so much stuff, and I hate seeing all the unethical options that are out there. We got through the day, with me getting increasingly appalled at our bags of stuff. But then we got back to the hotel and brought everything in, and it really isn’t that much stuff, considering that it is all the essentials for our house, and it fits in one little corner of the hotel room. I feel better about it, although I have similar useless guilt about these things as I do about the furniture. But I can no more go without plates than I can without a bed, so I will have to deal with it.

On a separate note, things are extremely expensive here. Not everything, but many things. Sheets, for example, are usually around $100.00 for a set, and $15.00 to $30.00 for ONE pillowcase! I have a hard time understanding that. Tools are also quite expensive, but that is true in the States as well.

Throughout this whole process, J and I comforted ourselves and each other by reaffirming that we are never going to move again.  Not exactly something we can promise, but we are both tired of the whole process, and ready to settle in for the long term. We both felt that we had barely finished the moving and settling in process in Canada when we moved out and started all over again, and then we spent so very long in transition before we came here. All of this, plus the overwhelmingly positive experience we have had in Whanganui so far, makes us eager to grow roots.

In conclusion, after hours of home-stuff shopping, J and I were utterly exhausted and fed up, but also quite satisfied with our purchases. We are also happy that we have everything ready to move into our house, so that when the day finally comes, it will actually feel like moving in, rather than just putting our suitcases in yet another bedroom. So we came back to the hotel and are watching movies and relaxing together. Which is nice, and makes me really look forward to lots of quiet evenings in our new house.