Getting ready to go.

It took years of saving and months of planning to be ready to take off on a yearlong family trip. What do we do with our house? What about school and our jobs? How much will it cost? Where would we go and how would it work?

The first decision we had to make was to go, to do it. From there, we made a list of questions to answer and tasks to achieve and chipped away, bit by bit.

Meet with the teachers, get vaccinations, find renters, plan our travel route, apply for visas, book hotels, forward the mail, the to-do list went on and on and on.

Perhaps what took the longest was getting our house renter-ready. Every room needed to be sorted: give away, throw away, recycle, donate to Goodwill, pack in storage, or pack to take with us. With only a backpack and a carry-on suitcase for each of us, the “take with us” piles were the smallest.

Interestingly, we found flights from Rapid City, South Dakota to Lima, Peru for just $230 USD each, which worked out perfectly for us to swing through the Black Hills and say good-bye to our South Dakota family.

Finally, the Google doc of seemingly endless tasks had all been checked. We did it. We’re doing it. We’re off!

Apply for high point-earning credit cards

Apply for City of Minneapolis rental license

Find homes, donate, recycle usable items

Get to the bottom of the long to-do list

Cut pizza with scissors after everything moves to storage