View Full Version : already big job
oh dear, preparing to move is such a big job. just physical and time, every time i open a cabinet i realize that i have to throw it away, or pack it and move it. argh, i like to do things a little slower than that but that is not really a choice. i am washing dishes and and putting things into the goodwill pile. and i just want to do my relaxing weekend stuff.
okay back to work
I'll be thinking about you as you start this process of moving to a new home!
Chicken lady
4-19-15, 1:40pm
you have my sympathy! I just spent two hours emptying a room that hardly had anything in it but furniture. And I didn't have to pack anything up to be moved safely, just toss it into bins or not and carry it out. I hate moving!
It's good in some ways to have a deadline, but the stress and uncertainty plus your job challenges must be taxing you to the limit. In a few months, though, it will all be behind you--and I hope everything will turn out better than you could have hoped for.
I think I've put off moving for the last twenty-some years because I just wasn't mentally or physically up to all the work involved in packing, purging, repairing, and dealing with myriad different people. If I'd had to move, the decision would have been out of my hands...Being "stuck" in this house has resulted in a prolonged funk. I'm climbing out of that, slowly, and hope to be in a new place in about a year.
You made an excellent point Jane! I have ALS, and luckily we found out that we have hard wood floors under our old stained carpeting. Our sons have offerend to remove the carpeting and padding for us to make it easier for my walker and wheel chair to roll along the floor. I also have drop foot and the carpeting causes my foot to catch and trip. But, in order to have the carpeting removed they will need to move furniture...so shelves, and desks, and dressers, and china closet....you get the drift...need to be cleaned off and packed up. We have needed to do this forever, but this has given us a reason to do it and a date to do it by. So we are packing and pitching. It is not fun, but it will be wonderful when it is all done! Good luck Zoe!
thank you all, it is pretty much exhaustion and overall loneliness of the process. my son and his girlfriend are helping without being asked. my son wanted to get rid of the American Girl dolls! ahhhh no way. So i am checking on that part of the process. he did totally do the large item trash of a couch, a box string, and 2 mattresses!
jane that is interesting, i stayed in one house as an adult for 7 years and that was the longest. Growing up we stayed the longest in one house 9 years. we actually moved states that often as well. so i get antsy after awhile, i was already getting antsy here. i have just about the right amount of time ( 4-5 weeks) but work is pretty exhausting as well. i will learn to delegate and say no probably (but there is a supervisor job coming up and i want to apply in the middle of this!)
i am going through the box of journals, ready to get rid of most of them. i did find a couple pages, my oldest daughter wrote next to s scribble "tylr's pikshr' how cute!
...But, in order to have the carpeting removed they will need to move furniture...so shelves, and desks, and dressers, and china closet....you get the drift...need to be cleaned off and packed up. We have needed to do this forever, but this has given us a reason to do it and a date to do it by. So we are packing and pitching. It is not fun, but it will be wonderful when it is all done! Good luck Zoe!
Yes--a friend of mine calls that "the snowball effect." I have a whole long chain of things that have to happen in a specific order, but eventually they will get done.
journals, i thought i went through these in my last move, but i am just skimming and tearing pages and recycling the paper. ii wrote down a few themes that i keep seeing. i have a bankers box plus. however i have done a lot of writing and i am saving the stories however, and a laminated copy of the first check for an article i wrote!! $152.30 in 2002
ZG, I know you have an emotional attachment to a lot of the stuff, but seriously -- consider selling whatever you can. The American Girl dolls for example. Those might give you a nice bit of cash for the move or for upcoming expenses. I'm not sure the history there, but unless there is a REALLY compelling reason to keep them maybe this is a good time to think about letting them go.
i am deciding to let go of 2 larger items that i have been hanging onto, i will keep the dolls however. i looked through the cases and there were all kinds of things the girls made. i am not saving any other toys, but yeah, let go!!
iris lilies
4-19-15, 9:50pm
i am deciding to let go of 2 larger items that i have been hanging onto, i will keep the dolls however. i looked through the cases and there were all kinds of things the girls made. i am not saving any other toys, but yeah, let go!!
Well, eventually you may let go of the American girls dolls because they are, in the end, mass produced things. But the pieces made for them by your children are cool and those pieces may find appreciation in the future.
Chicken lady
4-20-15, 7:11am
each of my ids had a bitty baby, an american girl doll (my son had Kaya) and a horse. I'm saving all of them and a bin of accessories for each kid, because I have space and they are really cool. the older ones - owned by kids now in their 20's - were better made I think. They do take up a lot of space though!
i hope the move is not too stressful. Are you a list maker? I broke the addition job down into chunks and put them in order so I could just attaclk one chunk at a time and get it done before the next chunk had to happen.
we have 4 dolls, 2 cases and the bitty baby twins, gosh i love these things. i work with kids remember, so i would probably invite over some kids and have a tea party with the dolls if i don't have grandchildren who want to play with them. and then sewing tiny clothes is fun too. yeah, i pretend to be a grownup.
i was always a list maker and i think i am relaxing that a little. i am still making daily lists but not life lists or big project lists. it seems to work out if i remember the daily stuff
sweetana3
4-20-15, 12:25pm
I think everyone should have a hope chest or a suitcase or other container for special things that make a space a home or that they just want to keep "because". The more mobile the person needs to be the more easily portable. There are few that appear to be able to live out of a suitcase. The rest of us need something to keep.
Zoe, I collect patterns for the 18 inch dolls and have a box of stuff including a "Molly" that I like. I met a blogger who also loves the 18 inch dolls. There are a lot of us adults out there that enjoy them. They continue to make new sewing patterns for them.
cool sweetana, I am not going to be an old cat lady but maybe someday an old doll lady
iris lilies
4-20-15, 9:33pm
cool sweetana, I am not going to be an old cat lady but maybe someday an old doll lady
Well, I was in my 50's before I let go of my favorite dolls. So I can relate. One went to live in Japan, sold on eBay. Another went to the president of the local doll collecting society. I sold my mother's doll from the 1920's to a toy collector. I do miss them, but I wanted to reduce my "sentimental" things to a trunk, exactly as sweetana suggests.
If if the dolls belonged to my children, I guess that would add another layer of memories and complexity in giving them up.
I am going to flatly REFUSE to get rid of my dollies, just to "tidy up", like you kids are doing. All there is to it. Thankk mee.
I'm picturing an inflatable sweetie--or maybe one of those silicone mannequins. :D
I'm not getting rid of my dollies, either. (I might cull a few.)They're small.
did anyone ever watch lars and the real girl? i love that movie, check it out packy!
iris lilies
4-21-15, 10:43am
did anyone ever watch lars and the real girl? i love that movie, check it out packy!i love the Lars film, it's on my top ten list.
Gardenarian
4-21-15, 12:17pm
Hi Zoe Girl - Been moving for 5 months now!! It sounds like you are making good progress.
It's time like this that I wish I were a minimalist :)
I wish we had hired movers and got the bulk of it over quickly, but there is a lot to be said for going through each thing and finding the right place in your new home (or someone else's) for it to live. I only deal with the boxes for a short time each day (I'm at the unpacking part, though some things are still at our old place.) It would make me crazy to have to rush the unpacking - I want to be really organized.
I have a big box of Madame Alexander dolls - know just how you feel.
ApatheticNoMore
4-21-15, 2:35pm
It's time like this that I wish I were a minimalist
really it's the only reason to care about minimalism at all. Presuming your not compulsive on the buying side and just keep a lot of things you acquire, what's the problem with having stuff if you plan to be at the same place decades and decades? (unless it becomes a cleaning nightmare, there is that, especially with poor organization). But moving oh yea ... THAT is the problem with stuff.
I WILL hire movers next time I move, even just having them handle the heavy stuff rather than me and a bunch of volunteers is better. And what I often do is have some overlap in the leases/rentals (a couple of weeks or so) to move things (it often happens anyway hard to notify in time). Is that a waste of money? Oh it's a HUGE waste of money to pay for more than one place even for a week or two!!! Moving is COSTLY especially when you consider the months rent of deposit as well. It merely saves sanity.
Been living in apartments for 5 years. Moved about every 18 months. Every time I get rid of more stuff. Minimalism is perfect for this life.
Last move I packed is up in one day. My son and husband and one friend drove everything across the city in the morning in a few trips in a jeep and pickup, and by bedtime everything was put away and all boxes were out of the house.
It took me until the next day to hang our 3-4 pictures on the walls. :)
20 years ago we had a big house, yard, garage, basement, kids at home, and stuff everywhere. Which was perfect for that time in life. It all depends on your situation.
i think i overlapped the 2 rentals too much this time, i am paying for it but it is reducing my stress a lot as well. okay will deal,
today's project was paper files. i am amazed at what i really don't need anymore. So i cut down one whole box because my kids' school files had a lot of extra unneeded paper. i kept grades and test scores because that made me feel good. then i threw away all the notices of absences. they were all excused as i looked at the notices, lots of illness. i feel grateful everyone is doing much better.
i found the math test scores on my middle kid, wow. She was consistently above 95%, and then i had to drag her through online school that last year. i hope the counselor she has for her recovery can help her do something she wants to do with this talent.
And what I often do is have some overlap in the leases/rentals (a couple of weeks or so) to move things (it often happens anyway hard to notify in time). Is that a waste of money? Oh it's a HUGE waste of money to pay for more than one place even for a week or two!!! Moving is COSTLY especially when you consider the months rent of deposit as well. It merely saves sanity.
i am probably overlapping more than i needed to, almost regretting it. i can start moving this weekend some things. i have to get a vet report on my cat and a lot of nit picky things when you rent from a large corporation (but they fix things). i don't have volunteers in my life right now so basically my son and i are doing this with some help when my mom can come out, and i have no time off work. i was so worried about having a place that i panicked and signed to move as soon as possible. live and learn.
Chicken lady
4-24-15, 12:02pm
Well, instead of clearing out the stuff you don't want, you can pack up the stuff you do want, take it to the new place, and then have a giant "everything's $1, box lots, make offer!" sale to empty the old place.
My last move overlapped 9 months - we bought the new place in February and were afraid to list the old place too fast. we had to gut the "new" house. We listed in spring, moved our furniture at the beginning of August, and didn't sell the old place until Halloween. The bridge loan nearly killed us!
dang! that is long. i have seen where i can have a yard sale, put the higher price stuff on Craigslist. that may help buy the couch i need for the new place. with moving things in starting this weekend i can start to see what will fix and get the storage unit time down to a minimum. i am still not sure i can eliminate the storage unit. i could manage the dolls, but the musical equipment and seasonal decorations i want to go through slowly with my kids. well if that is my worst fault to hang onto a few things that actually have value i can live with it.
I've always fantasized about listing the entire house worth of stuff on Freecycle and sit back and enjoy watching everything disappear. But then I imagine I would start to feel like Steve Martin in "The Jerk." All I need is my turntable. All I need is my turntable and my albums. All I need is my turntable, my albums, and my SVEA camp stove. All I need . . .
I remember when we bought this house during our 2nd year of marriage. It took 3 trips with our little mazdaB2000 extended cab truck. We've been in this house 24 years and in the meantime built a 20x30 studio that used to be full of glass equipment, still has some glass equipment and a ton of exercise equipment and "stuff". I want to sell everything and move into a small rental for a couple years. DH wants to stay put. I think he is afraid of packing and not being able to move in a small truck.
I always get so envious of anyone on here posting about moving. It sound so cleansing and new to me.....something I want to try!
Will Ferrell's movie "Everything must go".
so argh, i need renters insurance of course. i have not had it before so i have been calling my car insurance company and then went online. it can start tomorrow, not today. So that means today i can't do any moving when my son is available. the office just opened at 10, i asked the rental office before if they had any providers and they suggested calling my car insurance company, so now i am in this limbo. i didn't complete the transaction to buy insurance because i want to see if there is still a way i can get insurance with the rental company and so i can move some things today. i am paying for an extra overlap just so i can get today as a moving day!!
whew, e-renters is awesome. i signed up on that and it immediately sent the email to the apartment complex, we got the keys. amazing amount of storage!! My son has the bigger room with lots of storage and his own bathroom and i get the smaller one with a fireplace (and i get to use the walk in closet for all storage) i may be able to do without a storage unit, and if i need one on site it is $35 a month as compared to about $90 a months separately.
i am very happy
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