The pack-up has officially begun.
My brain is running six tab-clusters at all times (thank you, Google Chrome, for making tabs feel insufficient). They are: Inventory, eBay management, work things, BSR, goodbye party, and Keller. To say this was stressful would be an understatement. We'd taken on a real challenge but were determined to stay organized about it.
Nothing felt organized, though. We thought we were true minimalists. Turns out we're just delulu. I unearthed birthday caps from my 2021 Covid party, saved as "souvenirs”🤦♀️. Every casual walk around the house turned into an audit. Making lunch on a work-from-home day? Nope. Suddenly I'm debating whether to throw, sell, or gift this nice pan—leading to a quick text to local friends, a half-finished eBay ad, and a lousy lunch because focus? don’t know her. Then back to sprint rituals at my work desk, where my work set-up (with it’s 20 components) stares me down. Why do we have so many things? We've only lived here five years. How do people move after decades?
The Tab-Cluster System
Inventory. In September, we went room by room, cataloging everything from couch to plants to pots to spices to mattress. For each: current cost, condition, decision—eBay? Sell to the new tenant? Donate? Trash?
eBay management. Uploading ads was easy. The worst? Talking to people. Why do eBay folks suck so much? Why don't they read? I've been ghosted more by strangers here than anyone else in my life. 🤦♀️ I Marie-Kondo’d our wardrobes and sent 80% of our stuff to the second-hand marketplace. This required proper cleaning, ironing, packing and shipping (this part was physically draining but did not require texting and coordinating with internet randos, so this was pretty simple)
BSR. The big one. One random Thursday, I looked up from my laptop to see Niki sprinting out the door, balancing the spare mattress in his arms, announcing: “BSR trucks are in the neighborhood! Think of what we can dump before 4pm!” WHAT? Work deadlines went to the dustbin—and suddenly shit hit the fan. But if we can avoid the MILFS van rental+ the drive to BSR.. its all worth it. And it worked! We did manage to get rid of most things that day. And it only took some 80 trips up the 5th floor, down to the keller and around the neighbourhood.
Keller. Basement storage was a disaster: the useless bike I bought for myself, Nandish’s old poster holder...and a lot more unexplainable items. Most went to BSR day. I felt physically lighter afterward. People should purge often—it's truly cleansing.
Goodbye Party. By now, organizing a goodbye party shouldn't spark nerves, but we'd ditched almost all our big pots and pans, so cooking for 20 was... interesting. 🙂 We settled on baked butter chicken burgers and mango-coconut panna cottas- I used up my hoarded stock of old glass jars (minimalist lol) for 30 individual desserts. Maddie and Gerrit arrived early to help with dinner—Gerrit buttered and toasted 40 burgers that night 💪. We hosted nearly everyone we know and love; it was the coziest, most beautiful night.
Riding the dopamine-and-adrenaline rollercoaster through October, we hit the last day at Bouchestr. Everything sorted except the massive (and really nice) couch no one wanted. After weeks of struggle, an eBay message: “zu verschenken, can pick up for free?” just produced an eye roll from me. I'd chatted with 18 people about it on that week alone.. no one was showing up. So I had zero hopes. But that afternoon, two hefty Russian construction guys arrived. “Will you try to sell it or dispose of it?” I asked. “Oh no, it’s my couch now,” one replied. I nearly teared up. Bye-bye couch—you held countless memories, and it is so satisfying to see you dodge the BSR death.
That night, Raj and Dom swung by with beers. They helped sort suitcases and backpacks bound for Zivile’s. Three things was happening almost at the same time on that evening:
I was elbow deep in batter, baking a huge carrot cake to feed everyone (stress hack: cake stress > flight stress. Insider tip: don't do it. But if you do, it might be your finest cake so far).
I Zoomed into Nandu’s seemantha (traditional baby shower)—hated missing it in person.
A last-minute flea market erupted in the hallway, with Raj modeling Niki’s favorite jackets and trousers. It was a hit—Raj's a cute little delulu hoarder just like us <3. Jokes aside, I made a mental note: keep similarly sized friends in your arsenal.
Dom had a deadline, so they eventually headed to Zivile’s with all our worldly posessions: 80kg across 2 suitcases, 2 backpacks. Plus one odd electric wheelchair from the Keller (purchased initially for, and now headed towards my dad..so technically not my posession -_-). If one can’t tell, I was incredibly proud of this. I think we can definitely get rid of more things, and this episode would likely forever alter the way I view and purchase things..But this isn’t bad.
Our last Bouchestraße night was ridiculous, chaotic, and the perfect close to an intense Berlin chapter. Our first home together. Closed together.
While packing, I found an old diary with an entry from early 2021 : “Long-term goals—Figure out if not Berlin, then where…?”. I guess we start finding out 🙂
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