Boxes are eating my feet!

So I like to think that if I really 'put my mind to it' I could pack myself for any sort of move in under 48 hours. Also, I believe that I if I think happy enough thoughts, I will be able to fly and leap tall buildings in a single bound. But I have actually started the final packing process now. As much stuff as I got rid of when moving out of my old place into this sublet (300lbs at the waste transfer station, 6 bags of clothing and linens to a church...), I still have a lot of stuff left...and now is the final winnowing through. I'm having a 'garage' sale on Friday, before (during...people are weak when they're drinking!) the Bon VoyBirthday Party which Shavaun and I are jointly hosting, so I've been separating into 'sell' and 'keep' bins...and packing a third bin as I come across things which I can definitely pack with confidence. The only things actually in the 'definitely can be shipped on the boat and don't need to come with me immediately' bin (in an orderly fashion) at the moment, though, are about 80 of my books...I feel like I still need to do more 'sorting'! Total volume of 'keep' has already decreased by about 25%, which will be great for my shipping bill!
Other than the battle of the stuff (please, please don't tell me to just buy new things there...I've heard that advice enough times to frustrate even the most patient of people! Not only is everything except liquor and milk heinously expensive in the UK - not my mention my loss on the dollar for the first few weeks, til I'm earning in £ - I've never been a minimalist, and I don't especially feel like attempting a total shift in attitude while also shifting geography and culture! This move is permanent, as in I will be there for at least 5-7 years if all goes well, and it's my dam money that I'm spending on shipping!). Well...that sort of slipped out. I've been irked by well-intentioned advice since day one of this move, and it continues to bother me a lot. The best advice I've heard so far? "Don't get joint credit cards. Trust me." That, friends, is what I call sound advice. Packing your life into boxes is a very, very personal event, and requires something different from every person who attempts it. I have met people who can put everything they need and want into a 90 liter backpack and happily traipse the world, and other people who are much more like myself, and people in between, who are content to have a dozen boxes to call their own. The process of going through everything that I own and shedding a lot of junk has been freeing, and really is helping me realize what possessions are most important to me, but I never expected it to turn me into a perfectly zen minimalist with only a journal and a water bottle to keep me company. I know that psychologists have a great time dissecting people's attitudes toward "Stuff", and I am certain that an expert could have a field day with my covetousness, my desire to collect 'things' (especially writing things...oh how I love stationary and writing utensils!). I am getting to a point, now, in the battle of the 'stuff' where it no longer rules me, and I am content with the material possessions in my life. I'm sure, though, that I'll always have magpie-like tendencies, (and I kind of like it that way).
Ok, I am all done with being defensive. Be patient with me (and don't offer any 'zen' advice, for the love of all that is holy!), I'm sure I'll stop being so sensitive once John and I have settled into a home of our own (oh, didn't I mention that? still no flat or terrace or cardboard box to call our own! John has appointments all this week(end) and next, so please send some good vibes our way...we've had some great-looking places snatched out from under our noses, and we could really use a bit of good housing karma so that my flight won't have to be postponed!)