We pared down our possessions again when we moved to Finland. We were ruthless during the process of what to keep and what to toss - a little too ruthless, I've thought a few times now that we're settled in. But in general, we did a good job deciding which of our possessions were practical, useful, or beloved, and which were nonessential to our lives in Finland.
However, this process of sorting through all our possessions was hard for the girls. I know Majd especially sometimes felt that we were getting rid of things that she cared about. My minimalist self wanted to say, "too bad, and plus, less is more and you'll be happier without all that stuff." But my mother heart realized that she (and her sister) needed some reassurance and maybe even a beacon of constancy during a time of great change.
So I handed each girl a small plastic container that they already owned - they were gifts from someone in Japan when Jeremy went there in 2013. I said they could fill it with whatever they liked, no exceptions, and no veto power from Mom and Dad. Whatever they cared about the most and that otherwise might be put in the giveaway pile, could be saved by being put in their little container. And I promised I wouldn't open it later and throw it all away.
It worked wonderfully. Each girl felt that her personal treasures, no matter how impractical, were safe. And I knew that they could keep what was most important to them without taking up too much of our limited shipment space.
To this day, I have not thoroughly inspected what each girl put in their box. I opened Magdalena's just now to take this picture - I see odds and ends from who knows where, but also some fossils from Germany, a few other special rocks, and, improbably, cotton balls. Ah, the things kids care about.
If you ever find yourself moving and giving away a lot of your possessions, and you feel like it's stressing out your kids, consider giving them a dedicated box or container that is judgment-free that they can take with them to their new home. It certainly helped my girls make the transition this summer, with all their treasures safe and sound.
