So, how do you respond to change? Do you turn a blind eye until it is so close it smacks you in the face or do you grab the bull by the horns and hit it head on … so to speak?
I guess you can say I am the latter. I may be a little too much in my element when it comes to moving. Hence the title … I can’t dance, but this girl can ‘get her move on’. ;)
We skyped with Joel’s family the day after we found out we were moving and they said ‘Wow, you’ve started packing already’. Haha Joel was gone for about an hour and during that time I took it upon myself to start getting this place in order. Which started with taking down the Christmas decor to get it back in it’s place.
Buh bye decorated mantel … and apparently hanging light lamp shade, too. :)
And, I’m happy to report we have found a loving home for the couches right here on this little island. #sohappythey’renotcomingwithus :)
And, when I say I was getting this place in order, I mean totally get it out of order. But it all makes sense to me most of the time. Man, moving is messy!
But, there is a little method to my madness. This will be the 5th time we’ve moved together … golly day, I should know what I’m doing by now. :)
The way the whole moving thing works for us is that our things end up in storage for who-knows-how-long until we find a place to live. So, I realized the first step in the moving process for me is to create a landing zone of sorts for those things that I know I want to move with us and not get packed for the we-don’t-really-ever-know-how-long storage process.
I just went room by room and took a bit of a mental inventory and started pulling out things that I knew would need to fly with us. Keep in mind, some of these things I know I could buy if we ended up without them, but,
a) if it’s something I’ve already purchased,
b) it doesn’t take up much room, and
c) I know I’ll want it in the next few weeks …
it’s coming with me on the plane. This is kind of how it went.
Bathroom – I’ve designated one shelf for the items we’ll take with us. It will be easy to separate when the movers come and that shelf is now my bathroom landing zone for anything else that comes up between now and then. This was easy since I never really unpacked my toiletries from my Dec trip. (That’s like über efficient, being packed before I even knew I needed to be packed.)
* everyday use items – I’ll let you figure those out for yourself
* advil – because who wants to be stuck in transit with a headache?
* prescription medications
* ahhem**feminine products**coughcough
And yes, the girls are already freaking out a bit about all of the change. :(
Closet – Our closet is a bit of a catch-all since we’re so lacking in storage space. It’s our walk-in closet, attic and basement in one. This is what I found in there of importance.
* shoes – now I’m not really a shoe girl, so taking a few pairs of everyday wear, my workout sneakers and then maybe one ‘dressy’ pair for the random special occasion works for me. And I’m talking ballerina flat dressy, not high heel dressy. I will use the ‘we’re living out of a hotel so I’m sorry if I’m under dressed’ excuse whenever I can. :)
* tennis balls – for fetch with Mico. Marley’s not a fetcher, or a swimmer for that matter. #weirdestdogIknow
* clothes - I figure I have plenty of clothes that I could pull out a few things that I knew I wouldn’t need before we left here and I knew I would want in FL. Why wear them just to have to wash them again, I say. Clearly Joel is ahead of me in the clothes packing department. #canwejustgoalready ;)
Kitchen – Basically, it is just the cabinet under the sink that had items we’re going to want with us. Moving is the perfect excuse to not do any cooking for the new few months … as if I need an excuse. ;)
* dog leashes
* heart worm and tick medication
* Mico’s prescriptions
They’re all in this pic somewhere …
Living Room – I haven’t found one thing in the living room we’re going to need … I’ll let you know if that changes.
Blog Room – More on this room here. It never did make it’s final transformation but it is where the driftwood desk, book page file cabinet and a storage closet for a lot of randomness is. Paperwork is one of the key items that actually got me started on this little categorizing process. I made sure to grab the files for:
* the dogs health records – for travel purposes and for the new vet if we need to make a visit before we find permanent housing
* current financial paperwork for the houses in Maryland
* benefits summary from Joel’s employer – I’ll be finding all new doctors, dentists, etc and it helps to have this info on hand
* my new calendar from my mom :)
It seems like a lot … but with tax time coming up and so much uncertainty about timing I’d rather just have it as Joel rolls his eyes at my over cautious packing strategy. Oh, and don’t mind my awesome scratched-out-multiple-times tabs … the inside of the file cabinet never did get a makeover.
Bedroom – other than clothes, there isn’t anything in there I want. We’re not pillow specific people or need anything special in that arena while we travel. And as far as clothes go, my one big question is:
* an outfit or two for interviews. Wait, what?!?! Yeah, we’re not sure on the whole ‘what is Karah going to do for work on this move?’ question. And, any outfits that would be great for an interview are actually in storage in Maryland … that is another fun (read: potentially not really all that fun) little part of this move … we still have things in storage in Maryland we also need to coordinate shipping.
So tell me, what are your moving tricks? How do you stay organized, sane and on top of it all while everything you own is strewn about? Out of curiosity, how many times have you moved in your life?
And if you want to read about the moving journey so far you can read about us getting on the road again, flying with 2 dogs, my last look back as we were walking away and the last 12 things you should do before you move.
Oh … and you are welcome for all of the beautiful pictures. ;)
Oh Kara, I have moved so many times I am not sure I could count them all. One thing I do when I move is pack a suitcase for when I move into my new home that includes a bath sheet, a towel for my wet hair after a shower, a roll of toilet paper. a bar of soap, an unbreakable cup, a knife, fork and spoon, can opener, small package of moist wipes, a sheet set, dog treats — whatever I need to get me through the first day or night. I can’t think what else at this moment. This is in addition to the already packed toiletries and medicine and medical information for the dogs and myself I have in carry-on. I use space bags that roll the air out of the fabric things so the sheets and towel items will be very flat and take up less space. I also use the space bags for my clothes whenever I pack them anywhere. Best wishes and I look forward to reading about your new life.
I love that ‘first night’ bag idea!
Aw, man! I never even got a chance to come sip wine on your rooftop! I hope you have a successful and stress-free move!
Will you be at Haven again?
Yes to Haven!!!
We actually added on two rooms to our house instead of making the dreaded move! The few times we have moved I’ve used it as the perfect excuse to purge, purge, purge … and boy did that feel good! So when are you heading off the island?
Good Luck and I hope the girls do well on the trip. I can’t wait to follow the adventure. Key West is one of my all time favorite places and I plan to get down there w/the hubs in 2013 so I will have to let you know so we can meet for a drink!
It looks like you have everything in order….or in unorder
What an amazing journey! I know it will be wonderful!
blessings,
karianne
Moves = 24 and that’s not counting college apartment moves. As an adult I’ve moved 4 times with 1 time being a forced move due to the fire. My parent’s hobby was building, decorating and living in houses briefly, then selling and repeating the process. The family joke was mom would rather move than do any heavy cleaning around the house. Boxes were color coded for the 4 seasons and you didn’t unpack a box unless you were currently in that season … many boxes went unpacked in each of the houses … think this is fairly similar to your process of having items in storage in other locales. I really thought I’d never move again but we’re actually beginning to think about it ourselves. Hope you enjoy your move.
Wow, 24 times is A LOT! And boxes for seasons is very smart if not a little crazy to think they sometimes don’t even see the light of day in certain houses.
Moving is the worst! I moved 8 times in 10 years as an adult and 7 times in 11 years as a kid. I think al that moving was part of what made me want to build a “forever house”, although it’s only been 18 months:)
Good luck, my friend. Oh, I do have advice. Don’t drink too much while packing. I forgot an entire kitchen cabinet that way once and I still miss that spagetti pot and the heart shaped baking pan:)
Jessica
LOL, that is the best advice ever!
Karah…it looks a though you have it all organized…every detail considered…It is one thing moving across town…over a state line…but you are moving across the ocean…it has to be doubly hard to organize a move of this magnitude…Just keep us informed on every leg of your journey…a short post from time to time…I wish you a safe journey and also to the “pups”…
Due to me being part gypsy we’ve moved a few times. Some of them one side of U.S. to the other, sometimes just one house to another in same city. Moved so many times I’d have to really sit down to think. I’ll ask my kids, they used to complain about having to move.
Do your dogs go with you on the same flight to Florida?
It is something you seem to figure out and some of it you remember , some of it you have to wing it. ..
We moved one time from CO.Springs back to Tucson when my youngest was 7 weeks old. we had only lived in Co springs for 10 months after moving from Tucson after hubs got out of Air Force.. When we got back to Tucson we then lived at my Mothers’ house (2 bdrm. one bath with 6 of us) for a few months. By the time we finally bought a house my Mum and I weren’t on the best of terms, my fault not hers. Bless her heart I don’t know how she didn’t want to kill me. She worked all day then so maybe that helped her, sure hope so.
Driving from Co to Tucson I drove the 69 Mustang fast back with oldest daughter and baby in back seat in a portable bassinet. Hubs drove moving truck with two boys.
Will be very interesting to hear how your move goes. Sometimes you might feel like having a few drinkies. Who could blame you? lol .Count to 10 alot when you get frustrated. Hang in there.
Yikes, I think I’ll end up being buried in this backyard — we’ve been in this house for almost 14 years and the thought of moving makes me queasy! You go girl!! Like a well-oiled machine…
xo Heidi
We have bought and sold quite a few homes and while moving is a ton of work, I’ve always looked forward to the opportunity to clean and purge and start fresh. Good luck and have fun!!
Me too!!! Thank you!
Surviving the craziness of moving is NOT easy but I’m excited for you. And yay for new couches!
AMEN on the couches!
Ugh, I hate moving, but Key West will be amazing! Good luck with everything!!
Thank you, Kelly!!
I have to tell you, this post makes me nervous! Not that I am a nervous type, but I loathe moving. Loathe it! Traveling, yes, anytime, just let me throw a few things in my suit case and I am gone. Moving. Different story. As a kid we moved when I was little from Oakland to the suburbs. We moved for one year for a job transfer, then back again. I did the move to college, then back, then moved in with husband. We moved from apartment to parent’s home while in limbo on bar exam. Moved to apartment, then small home. 7 years later moved to bigger home. 9 years later, I hope to never move again. You are my moving hero. I will just live vicariously through you. Thinking of moving makes me break out in a cold sweat. If we had to move, I would be the one whose fingers had to be pried off the handle on the front door. It is that bad.
LOL, I’m happy to take on the challenge for you.
First, I love your new profile pic! (Yes, I’m a little behind…)
I’ve been telling Cane I have one more left in me, after the kids are grown.
Second, I used to move constantly. In my 20s. It wasn’t much of a big deal then. Got to feeling pretty pro at it. My last move (to our current house) just about killed me. So beyond not fitting everything into the back of my Toyota.
Want to second the idea of a first night bag. When we moved, it took way longer than we thought it would. By the time we got the Uhaul loaded and driven to the new house for the last (3rd) time on moving day, it was after 10:00. No way we were unloading that guy right then–and my clothes were, of course, the first thing we’d loaded on that last trip, so they were completely inaccessible. That’s how I found myself driving to Fred Meyer and buying underwear, shorts, and a clean shirt right before they closed.
Hahaha, I totally agree with the idea of a first night bag. Of the 6 bags we checked coming back to the US, the bag we had with all of our first night essentials was the one that didn’t make the flight. LOL
From the time I had my own place at age 18 in 1974, till the time we moved here in 1999, I lived in 13 different homes. All in Ontario, but spanning from Toronto to Windsor. The longest I lived in one place was for 3 years. My husband thinks I am the most efficient packer/mover he has ever met.
For the last 3 moves we had professionals (United Van Lines) move us, and I was told not to pack anything, they will do it all for me. Being a bit (ok, a lot) of a control freak with OCD, can you see me allowing that? And we were told they will unpack everything for me, too. Uh uh…ain’t happening…I did tell them which room everything belonged in, but I needed to do my own unpacking.
As it turned out, the last move to here…3 unframed art pieces were left behind by the movers, they were stored between the furnace & wall, I blame myself for not getting them into clear view. Oh well, I’m sure the new owners are enjoying them.
Anyway, there are essentials that always went in our vehicles; cleaning supplies, broom, dustpan, mop & the vacumm so I could get to work getting the house clean before anything was unpacked, shelf liners, toiletries, linens and pillows so I didn’t have to search and could have our beds made, games/activities to keep the kids amused depending on their ages at the time, kettle, coffee, tea, milk, sugar, snacks, beverages along with a few necessary dishes, and clothes for a day or two.
I’ve never had to move depending on a plane ride, or to a different country, I imagine the process would be entirely different! Good luck and I hope your move goes without problems.
Debbie
The coffee maker was the last thing to go!!!
Sigh – guess I won’t have a guided tour of Curacao now! Was looking forward to all those cocktails! Moving sucks – but the end result (and getting new couches) is well worth the effort!
Kelly
Hope you’ll find a cute place to call home again soon, one with lots of room for being creative! Keep in touch! I might be in the Key West area by the end of march, maybe we can meet for drinks and share sweet Curacao memories!
It was so great to meet you Yvette! Definitely let me know if you come to Key West, it’d be great to get caught up over a beverage!
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