Moving In

MOVING IN

and before putting away

Too many boxes

     Oh boy.  Although loading and unloading the truck was pretty organized (we had 10 men counting my husband and my 2 teenage grandsons) once we got the boxes inside I had to think about where I wanted everything.  My husband believed that if I wrote "KITCHEN" on all the kitchen boxes and "FRONT ROOM" on all the front room boxes, etc. they would automatically be placed in their designated rooms and magically unpack themselves like Bewitched.  No, I told him.  I had to unpack each box one by one and decide where it was going to find a new home after I wiped down every shelf in every cupboard (this house did not come pre-cleaned).

The Dining Area

First of all, I said to myself, lets get the table cleared and some chairs out so we can eat or sit - or both.  Never mind about the rocking chair.









Next was making my kitchen look warm and welcoming - like an invitation to supper.

My new kitchen!  Bigger and better!!

     By the afternoon we were pooped.  I mean, we were nearly literally wiped out.  Our backs hurt, my calves hurt, I ate junk all day (donuts, pizza and sodas for the movers) and my head hurt.  But, my sweet husband had spotted a yard sale on his way in that was just around the corner from us & wanted me to walk over to see it.  Not wanting to miss a good deal if we saw one, we drug our dragging heels over to the yard sale and whadyaknow?  There was this amazing sofa and love seat that just happened to be $50.00 and it just happened to match my over-stuffed chair!  What  a deal.  We introduced ourselves to the seller & explained we were just simply exhausted and would try to find someone with a truck to come and load it for us.  Amazingly, the seller got her husband and two sons to roll our purchase over to us on dolly's - one at a time - bring them in the house & set them where I wanted them.  Now, THAT'S a good deal!!

Chair

Sofa and Love Seat

 Same texture, same design, slightly   different color - just slightly, but good   enough for us.

Packing Day Has Started

Karsyn helping carry in empty boxes

     

     Bringing in empty boxes from wherever we can get them may be time consuming as well as tedious, but a whole lot cheaper than buying them.  
     This is not our first move but, now that we are grandparents, our muscles don't work as well as they used to and our bones crack & creek when we bend.  And, no, we are not in our 70's.  Having to deal with arthritis is really a pain in the behind, but as long as we stay semi-active I'm not in too much pain.  However, moving this time around has really got me down.  Thank goodness for grandkids!
     Is there an efficient way to packing?  Something that the younger crowd has discovered in this past decade?  I looked online to read some ideas:  emove.com says to buy moving supplies (such as marking pens, bubble wrap, newspapers & packing tape) and keep lists.  As for buying anything, packing tape is going to be it for us, since we buy everything else in bulk & have an endless supply of pens & bubble wrap and the newspapers are free from my neighbor.  Another site said to get only medium size boxes.  You will have more boxes, but they will be easier to carry.  I agree on that one since we have a year's supply of food storage to haul.  Everyone had the same message, but different angle which made the job seem like it's going to be easier, but truth be told, any way you move is the same old story.  Pack, throw out stuff you've been keeping for years hoping you'll need it someday (like my size 6 pencil skirt & matching jacket), pack, lift, use dolly's, use volunteer help, unload boxes and then spend unlimited day and nighttime hours unpacking and putting away, and throwing out more of the stuff you thought you wanted to keep but changed your mind after you moved (still keeping my size 6 pencil skirt - someday...).
     Today we are going to inspect our new home one last time before the big moving day on March 10.
Until then I'll be busy packing, throwing out and packing some more.  Once the apartment has been emptied, I'll go in with my homemade cleaners & get it spic and span!