The Painted Sheep

This week’s topic makes me shudder – 10 Tips for Moving.  I hate to move.  Hate it, hate it, hate it.  Hate the packing, the living among boxes, the unpacking, the not knowing where things are, the feeling of being disrupted.  My mother asked me recently if I was going to move, as the new job means I could probably afford a nicer place – NO.  The thought of moving again sends me reeling – its only been 2 years since the last one!  Ack!

My approach to moving is to get the actual moving part over with as quickly as possible – so here goes.

1. Get organized early on – when I moved from Syracuse to New Britain, we were planning for a year and half before we moved.  For my post-divorce move, it was nearly a year.  Overkill, yes.   Having a least a month or two gives you plenty of time to prioritize what needs to be done and plan out the move.
2. Make lists – what to do in advance, things for a week out, things for when you get the keys, day of and day after, address changes, etc.
3. Throw stuff out.  If you haven’t used it in at least 6 months, toss it/free cycle it/tag sale it – get rid of it.  Then, wait a few weeks and revisit what’s left and then purge some more.
4. Organize your stuff – Make it neat where it is prior to the move.  It’ll make it much easier to pack.
5. Get boxes early – in my last move, it was really hard to find free boxes at the package stores (no one wanted to give them away).  I ended up buying a lot of boxes from UHaul.  Next time, I’ll start looking for them earlier.
6. Reserve one room for packed boxes – When I moved last time, I packed everything and put it in my sunroom, where I could close the door.  What a difference!  No scrambling around boxes and it was all in one place when it was time to pack the U-Haul.
7. Label, label and label some more – again, last time, I labeled with not just “kitchen” or “bedroom” but what was in the box.  Then I made sure that my helpers knew that if it said “kitchen”, to put it in the kitchen – it made unpacking much easier.
8. Do it in a few days – some may call me crazy for this but for my last move, I packed, moved and unpacked from start to finish in 4 1/2 days.  My schedule at work was crazy and my move was rushed because of the closing on my house, which forced me to do it in a long weekend.  I spent a day and a half packing myself, had one day to move with help, then spent another day and a half unpacking.  I did paint and move a few things the weekend before but the move itself was super short.  I’d absolutely do it again this way – no living among boxes, no stalling about packing or what was going where – I just got it done.
9. Get as much help as you can on moving day – that’s a must.  I’m still thankful to my friends and family who came over to pack and unpack the U-Haul for me (multiple times) in the pouring rain and to Jacie, who called in reinforcement when we realized we didn’t have enough hands.
10. Reward your help – pizza and beer keep tired friends and family very happy.  Then, promise to reciprocate when they need it (and follow through).
11. and lastly, the don’t – do not, under any circumstances, drive an empty U-Haul onto your soggy lawn, then pack it full of stuff (or if you are me, insist that your brother not do this).  it will get stuck.  you will panic.  if you’re me, you’ll get a phone call from your mother telling you not to come back to your house as planned, to stay put because you don’t want to see what’s happening.  you’ll hang up and realize the first thing you need to unpack is the bottle of Patron, though the shot glass is optional.   getting it unstuck will be a nightmare – in my case, involving 2 different neighbors with trucks and tow lines (because really, who would unpack it?!?).  and when all is said and done and the U-Haul has been delivered to your new place and unpacked, you’ll return to the old place and find this: and all of the stress and exhaustion and that shot(+) of Patron will make you look at and laugh like a lunatic until you cry, then post pictures of it on Facebook.  its not a pretty sight.  take it from me.  leave the truck on the street where it belongs.