Got Baggage? Packing Up the House 101

So while this blog is to share with you my advice, struggles and failures, it is also about my successes. And I gotta say, I am pretty proud of this project. I had the time to do it right and it went beautifully.

Do you love moving as much as I do? Do you enjoy the change of scenery, the smell of packing tape, the hunt for boxes, the excitement of moving into a fresh, clean place? 

I Really Do!

However, moving more than two dozen times could hypothetically cause a few things: 

An ugly picture of your inner self

A fear of permanence

A desire for permanence

A collection of boxes half filled with junk or valuables

Fear that boxes paint a picture of your inner-self causing you to never open said boxes.

An itching temptation to burn everything you own

Deep quaking fear that you should keep everything you have ever owned-in case you move again and need it.

Day to Night Barbie 1984

The hope that you will slip into a coma-forget the combination to your storage unit and someday those people on Storage Wars will appreciate your 1970-89 Barbie collection...taking the stuff in to be apprised by an expert “This is the 1984 Day to Night Barbie, what makes this piece is special is that it’s in the original reversible outfit, more specifically, she has both shoes, which is very rare. Also, if you notice the hair has been styled, but not cut....or  Awwww, this is the Barbie Ultra 'Vette, what a treasure, what a treasure....”

Or maybe you struggle with all of this  and then marry a guy who strongly suggests that you sort through the boxes before he takes them to the dump…maybe then you find your passport or birth certificate, notes you passed in High School, handmade cards from your baby brother and so many pens and pencils you could open an Office Depot.

All hypothetical of course.

My mistake in moving in the past:  My packing self was disrespectful to my unpacking self (and to my sifting through storage items self). She was eager to hurry and get to the next place, tossing random items in bags and boxes. Labeling them ‘stuff’ ‘junk’ etc. This time, I was determined to be respectful to both sides of this move, and to do so, I had to STAY organized.

•  First thing first, start setting aside your mail, so you can notify subscriptions and bills of address change or cancellation. I recommend doing this 4-6 weeks ahead of moving day (if possible) and remember to avoid any complications:
•  When scheduling utilities shut off, set for the days after you move out. 
• Set up utilites to turn on in your new place for the days before you move in if at all possible (call ahead to see what can be done before you arrive). If not, make sure the previous owner, or landlord keeps it on until you are moved in.
  
  I am really glad we did this, the previous owner of the home we moved into kept all utilities on through the weekend since we didn't move in until Saturday. If she had shut off when she moved out on Wednesday, we would could have been without electricity, gas and water until Tuesday.

•  As I packed, I wrote down what was in the box on an index card, it worked really, really well.

•  I wanted to keep one room box free as long as possible during this process. I chose our bedroom. Also, I kept the wall decorations etc up in the living room until almost the last day, so we didn’t feel like nomads. Moving is easy for me, but not so much for the Mr. I wanted him to feel comfortable through this process.

Starting off, we knew when we had to be where we were going (his first day of work). 

• I began packing up the ‘non essentials’ in the house right away. Extra glasses, books, decorative cake pans… As I said, I labeled each box with the contents on an index card and color coordinated items in a general way, since at this point I had no idea what kind of home we would move into, if we would stay in an apartment first, so I started off like this:

Yellow index cards and yellow duct tape for Kitchen items

Blue for bedroom things and extra clothes

Green for books (yes we have a ton of books) and office items

Pink for decorations (including holiday items)

White index cards were for miscellaneous items like games, but white duct tape was for Fragile items

iheatnaptime.net

•  I planned that as moving day got closer, items that were ‘necessary’ and most used would be additionally labeled with Red duct tape. I thought this would help a lot if we moved into an apartment before we found a house.
   
• Packing up items in other items is helpful for saving space. Such as putting spices in the crock pot, socks in shoes, zip-tying clothes on hangers (if you are not moving far), using towels, sheets or clothes to pack and pad breakables.
   
• Make sure to put in for your address change with the Post Office in advance. This can easily be done on line or in person, you simply enter your name and the date the address forwarding will begin.

The Ultra 'Vette' still in storage

I DO have a storage unit with many boxes, and for once I had time to re-sort and re-box through all the contents. This was awesome, time consuming and a little emotional, but it was great. There were so many things I had packed up for ‘later’ that now I was able to pack in with our other things. And even more things I was able to toss or give away. 

My Mom is a librarian, and her school has a wonderful Christmas program for the kids from low-income families. The kids get to come up to the Library on the last day of school before Christmas break. The tables are covered with small gently used gifts and books. Each child can pick one item per family member, and place them in a paper grocery bag. The teachers and helpers wrap up and label the gifts and the kids take them home that day to give to their families for Christmas.

I helped wrap one year and did fairly well. When the kids come up, they hand you the paper bag with items in it, you ask their name, and who they live with (because some kids don’t understand that gifts are for others, not for themselves), so you can be sure they have one item per person in the home…but one kid stands out. I asked who he lived with and his face drooped and his blue eyes got dark. “Me, my Dad and my dog.” He had a bag full of things. I swallowed the lump in my throat and wrapped up everything for him, my Mom rolled her eyes at me,... I’m such a softie.

I got really excited every time I came across something I could donate to the school during this move. Check to see where you can leave your gently used gems in your community!

During this move, I also had the luxury of buying many new boxes and that helped tremendously. Tape does NOT bond with dirty boxes very well.

Also if you didn’t know, U-haul has a solution for practically everything you need to pack, truly a great company. 

Color Key for Boxes

During this new job opportunity, we were blessed (and quite shocked) to find a house, put an offer down and it went through! So the last of the packing was sure to be more fun, as I could be certain boxes would be opened soon, and knew which room items would be unpacked into. At this time I made a box color key and taped it to the wall so I wouldn’t forget while I packed.

 

I was making progress and feeling really good about myself, when my parents called and mentioned I had a few things there. (few?)I sorted through it and there was still a truck-load full. 

Yep I said truck load. 

How do you throw away stuffed animals and dolls that are so loved on, no one else will ever want them? Especially after watching Toy Story 3?  This was the same week my pet bunny died. Not a very productive week. But I found some great treasures. 

So after TEN trips to drop stuff off at the thrift store and EIGHT trips to the dump, I was nearly finished.

 

The week before the move, I made casserole and stu in disposable bake ware, freeing me up to pack the last of the kitchen items while we ate off disposable dishes, cups and utensils until the move! Also during this week I packed suitcases with travel toiletries and clothes we will need (enough for a few days after the move, who knows how long it takes to unpack!). That way, I was able to pack up all the rest of our clothes, clean and wrap up furniture and large items in bubble wrap... in hopes of making moving day that much easier!

So moving day was exhausting. We lived in a small town in a remote area, and had to get up early to travel a few hours to pick up the Uhaul and dolly tow.

Thankfully my brothers and sister in law were in town (for the holiday). They and my parents were a HUGE help in loading up the U-Haul (it helps to be a tetris wiz). We had to leave a few items behind in the storage unit (lawn mower, bbq, odd sized boxes etc) But on the whole, it was a successful move, just exhausting and longer than I’d anticipated (3hrs or so). Then we finished up the rest of cleaning in the rental. We slept that night on the air mattress (fun).

My parents sent us off early the next morning and we were on our way! Driving 55mph woohoo!

We are home! We are home!

The closer we got to the house, the more excited I got, until I was positively bouncing up and down (really) when we drove up to the house. 

I quickly set up the color key for the boxes, so everyone would know where to set things, His parents and siblings came to help us move everything in. Them being there, gave me time to start unpacking kitchen and food items right away. We were so blessed to have such an easy and quick move!

Unpacking, cleaning, finding a place for everything and purchasing/fixing unforeseen items took almost a month. But at this point, I am very happy with the results.

We got some great advice from a friend, who suggested we make a list of things we want or want to do with the house and property. (small and large things) She said to accept that it could take the next ten years or more to fulfill them. 

This has been a very exciting time, and I look forward to what comes next!