Features 2010

From the Editor: Living in Shanghai

A Squash and a Squeeze: Decluttering for the Big Move

What to Expect When You’re Going to Expo

Digital Art: Not Just Eye Candy

Eveline Chao Reviews Fiction for Tweens with Half-Asian Characters

Features 2009

Community Theatre: Kung Fu Revelations

Recruitment Companies and the Expat –Friend or Foe?

Raising Third Culture Kids Finding your way

Emergency--Handling a medical emergency in Shanghai

Student Achiever: Natasha Weaser

A Conversation about Learning for the Future

From the Editors: Firecrackers

The Monkey King and other Mischievous Friends

Easy Crafts to Celebrate Chinese New Year

Features 2008

Create Your Holiday Tree in Shanghai

Shanghai Riding for the Disabled

How Does She Do It: Expatriate Women Who Work And Why

Doing Good: Social Venture Group Cultivating Responsible Philanthropy

Doing Good: The World Wildlife Fund

Saving the Planet Starts at Home

From the Editors: Welcome Home

A Squash and a Squeeze: Decluttering for the Big Move

June 2010
By Liz Davies

So, it’s time to head home. While you have a million things to think about from finding new schools for the kids to getting your pet dog transported, the actual business of moving may seem the least of your worries. You think, “The packers will take care of it!” But hang on. Your house back home is smaller than the lovely apartment you’ve had in Shanghai. You’ve been away for years. You bought lots of STUFF.

WE ARRIVED IN SHANGHAI five years ago with just five suitcases and 16 boxes of air freight. We bought everything else we needed – toasters, coffee makers, bedding, wall hangings, and more. The kids grew up and all their things got bigger, too. Trips to the fabric market and Hu & Hu all contributed to turning our Shanghai house into a home, but now it’s crunch time and all of this has to find its way back to the U.K. The shippers assessed our belongings and declared a 20-foot container and 500 kg of air freight ought to do it – in a push! So how are we going to fit it all in our three-bedroom, 200-year-old cottage?

This moment of panic brought to mind the popular children’s story called A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson. In it, a little old lady thinks her house is too small. A wise old man tells her she should put in animals one by one and every time she declares “My house is a squash and a squeeze!” So the old man tells her to take them all out, and of course, with all the rubbish gone, her house, which is the same size as before, seems more spacious.

So, with this as my model, I set about decluttering my apartment like a woman on a mission. No cupboard or corner remained undisturbed. The guest bathroom really brought home the situation. Stored within (among other things) were 36 headbands, all belonging to my daughter, who has only one head! We sat down together and sorted through them and in the end she only wanted to keep two.

We know we’re privileged, and now is a good opportunity to both recognize this and put it to good use. Here are five tips for constructive decluttering and dispersal:

DECLUTTERING TIPS

ASK YOUR CHILDREN TO DECLUTTER A PARTICULAR ITEM – Pokemon toys, headbands, Ultraman DVDs, etc. It may take them longer than you as they ooh and ahh over things they haven’t touched in years, but the sheer quantity of things may make them realize how lucky they are.

SORT THROUGH THINGS INTO THREE PILES: keep, toss and charity. But sort through things only once because if you go through the piles several times, you may forget whether you kept and packed something or threw it out.

TACKLE ONE CUPBOARD AT A TIME OVER AS LONG A PERIOD AS POSSIBLE. The things you set aside will soon mount up and you’ll need time to dispose of it all as usefully as possible.

MANY SCHOOLS IN SHANGHAI HAVE THEIR OWN CHARITY COLLECTIONS – ASK WHAT THEY MAY NEED. We collected some pencil cases and filled them with spare crayons, something my daughter really enjoyed doing. The cases were sent to local migrant schools where they always need stationary supplies.

CHECK OUT RIVEROFHEARTS.ORG. This is a fantastic charity that has drop off points all over Puxi and Pudong. They will take cleaned clothes, toys, books and also furniture and household items for their second-hand store in Pudong, and they send donations all over China.

GIVE CLOTHES TO FRIENDS WITH YOUNGER CHILDREN. Give your ayi everything she’ll take. If you put items outside your building or complex, someone will come by to recycle. Basically, someone will take nearly everything you’re willing to part with, if you find the time to sort it.

What's Inside June

A Squash and a Squeeze: Decluttering for the Big Move
Shanghai’s Graduates
When To Move Back?
SF Extra - web exclusive articles:
Playlist for Parents

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