Mission Possible-Organizing your Life into 4 Suitcases

As I write, Bekah and Ashkon are literally taking off from the San Francisco airport for their last 5 months of their adventures in Grenada…yes we did get up at 3:30 am and drive them to SFO and we are safely home and it is only 6:20 am. So I volunteered to author her post today since they were up packing until late last night and are now on their flight bound for Grenada.

Their adventure began one month after their wedding in the summer of 2012. With six 70 pound suitcases packed and checked in and two carry-ons each, they boarded a plane bound for Grenada to begin Ashkon’s medical school education at St. George’s University Medical School.

They were able to come back to the states together 3 times and each time the unpacking, packing and organizing was an amazing challenge. When you live on a small island where food and necessities are unbelievably expensive and you reside in a very small married student housing unit on campus, you have to be extremely organized. Each visit in the past, the last two days always seemed to become quite stressful with decision making, weighing of bags, and frustrations that priority items didn’t fit-a seemingly “Mission Impossible” scenario.

Today, 1 1/2 years later, they return for his 5th term and their last 5 months on the island. The task of organizing and packing still took a lot of planning, but they began the packing process early and developed a fantastic system of categorized inventory. Bekah developed a notebook to keep track of all the items she had stored in Grenada and a list of all the things they needed to purchase and pack while they were in the states.

We did a bit of purchasing every few days to get the best deals and so that it did not feel overwhelming. This time, everything fit into four 50 pound suitcases and we had lots of smiles and laughter while they packed. So, I am happy to say, we had a stress free evening of packing and actually enjoyed a few minutes of fun, playing Wii bowling.

Mission POSSIBLE!!!!!

The next time you have a seemingly impossible task to face, give yourself extra time, get organized, make lists and ask for help. It will be a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

What organizational tips do you have for making an impossible mission a possible one?