It's so sweet when a good plan comes together

Before we left the US, Randy and I strategically planned what we would pack and how we would prepare for life outside of the US. We procured multiple copies of items we'd grown accustomed to that we wanted to still have for at least a year, while we figured out how to replace that with a locally sourced compatible. We packed tubs of body washes and hair products and, because we'd learned from expat social media groups that selection and quality of children's clothing was not as extensive in NZ as in the US, we ordered multiple sizes of similar types of clothing for each of the kids. My mother also gifted the children lots of clothes for us to pack. We bought shoes of various sizes for each of the kids as well, particularly sneakers.

When our 40 foot shipping container's worth of items was delivered to our house October of 2021, it was like Christmas day. Since then, every time I would run out of something I would giggle a bit every time I headed to the garage to go to "my store" as I liked to call it.

Our children had MULTIPLE growth spurts in the first year of living here, and so many times, we opened vacuum sealed bag after vacuum sealed bag and pulled out clothes in a size up for one child or another. Some clothes can be pricey here in Auckland, and sometimes I don't see as much of a variety of selection as I would like. There is H+M and some familiar stores, and we still do some shopping here, but at the rate the kids have been growing out of their entire wardrobes, it was such a relief to still be able to open up more bags this weekend, over 18months after leaving the US.

When the kids have growth spurts, we are left with bags of clothes that no longer fit. Thankfully, we can hand down clothes and save some for when a younger child grows into them but still, this is just one of the piles left to sell or donate after putting aside for that.

Randy pulling out clothes from our vacuum bags and seeing what fits now.