The Move Begins

This weekend marks the beginning of our move. We are fortunate to have landlords who are quite understanding and flexible. Although we don't "officially" move or live there until February 1st, we already have the keys to the new house. Last weekend (when we were signing papers and I was snapping pictures) we were able to take some things to the house to store in the garage. A few walls in the house were being painted to "freshen it up" a touch. However, the painting should be complete by now and we have the green light to start moving in "whenever." This weekend Josh and I are trying to move as much stuff as we can to the new place. It will mainly be things which are easy to move or are already set up for storage (such as extra luggage, plastic bins of Christmas decorations, ect). Next weekend will be the big move of furniture. Or, as I've been calling it, the "official" move. Fingers crossed and positive thoughts about getting this done quickly and without problems.

This has made me think a lot about moving. For someone my age I feel like I've moved a fair amount. A lot of my moves have been from one apartment to another or an apartment to my house... but practice makes perfect. When the military moves us we are fortunate enough to have a moving company which packs all of our stuff for us. However, since Josh and I are switching houses, we have to pack our stuff ourselves. We've both been taking time here and there to pack up some of our stuff into boxes. Again, not my first time doing this. Which leads me to my next point. Here are a few things I'll share with you.

First, have a method or some thoughts to your packing. Only put like items together in a box. For example, only put dishes together, or only kitchen items in a box. Don't mix kitchen with bedroom. It will make for an un-packing nightmare and it makes it harder to remember where you put things.

Second, clearly label your boxes. Say what room it is for, and then write the top three big items in the box (Example: Kitchen, kitchenaid, food processor, mixing bowls).

Here are the two biggest things to abide by, and this can apply to any move whether you are the person doing the packing or someone else is doing it for you. First, when  you get to the new house put the boxes is the room where they belong. For example, put all your kitchen boxes in or near the kitchen, bedroom furniture in the respective bedrooms, ect. I know it seems like a better idea to keep things out of the rooms so you have some space to work/it isn't as cluttered, but it will save you time because you won't have to reposition or move boxes later. Another reason to put the boxes in the room where they go  is my second point - if the box is sitting there staring you in the face, you will unpack it. Simple enough. If you put your boxes down in your basement or another "central area" it will take you years to unpack it or go through it. I speak from example. Currently all of my stuff is unpacked. But, in previous moves I have left certain things boxed up as a method of storage because I wasn't sure where to put something, or what I was going to do with it. Some things you do store (such as Christmas items, things you rarely use, ect). But. In all honesty, if it stays in that box for very long, it is obviously something you don't use very often. Do you really need it? On my last move (from Montana to Germany) I had a few boxes of things I had not unpacked when I moved from my apartment to my house. I had lived in my house for almost two years. If I hadn't felt the need to use anything in that box for two years... well, how important was it really? Those items didn't make the overseas move. Too often we hang onto items for the sentimental reasons. Getting rid of the item doesn't change your memories or how you feel about that item or the events surrounding it. But there really isn't a point to hanging on to certain things. Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule, but I find that thinking of things in this way helps me to get rid of clutter and generally have less "stuff." Just a thought and a tip to think about.

Cheers to our move - may it be as smooth as possible!