I'm in the middle of a multi-step move. Which, when all is said and done, will take me 21 days to get from my old front door to my new front door. Sigh...
Yes, it will all be worth it. But, 21 days seems like forever! Especially to an organizer! So, since phase one is complete, I thought I'd share what things I've learned so far.
Phase one has consisted of moving all me belongings from my old home in to my new home. However, I'm not yet living there. That means, in the mean time, I'm living out of a suitcase. Phase two will be when a large majority of the furniture and more belongings arrive on day 21. That will be the first night the bed is there, and thus, my first night in my new home.
Definitely a Good Idea: Go through everything while packing. I don't want to pack up, move or pay someone to move and then unpack anything I don't want or won't use.
I donated a large carload of assorted things I wouldn't need or want at my new place. A charity can make better use of these things than I can or the dumpster would.
Some things I offered to friends (like the tropical plant I have been kidding myself that I'm taking good care of), who graciously accepted. Cooking tools I don't use or had in duplicate went quickly. Linens were also scooped up pretty fast.
I had some nice things that just weren't going to fit in the new place. Fortunately, I was able to sell most of it on Craigslist. To help offset the cost and stress of moving, I was able to sell just over $500 worth of furniture! Hooray!
Definitely a Bad Idea: I waited far too long to book a moving company. The last day of the month, on a holiday weekend is apparently the most busy time. Ever. The one company that did have a truck available was about twice as much as I was expecting to pay.
I used pre-used boxes. I liked that this was very green, and definitely inexpensive (free, even!). But, the boxes had layers and layers of tape on them. Multiple labels scratched out and rewritten. And, some of the larger boxes were crumply and soft once filled. Having new or less-used boxes would have come in handy.
In short:
- Label those boxes well
- Move them in to the right room just when it comes off the truck
- Don't move anything you don't really want in your new home
- Don't be surprised when moving seems exhausting!
