I moved a ton when I was younger – sometimes for reasons that couldn’t be helped, and other times I just felt like it. It was always a bit of a hassle, but it took maybe a day or two to settle in and get the cable hooked up and I was on my way!
Flash forward to 20 years and 3 kids later. After spending 10 years in our home, the first major task was to fix it up enough to make other people want to live there. Squeezing in closet purges and deep scrubs in between all the regular parenting chores and activities makes it take so much longer.
But we did it… then the open houses and showings begin. In a snapshot: Hide your laundry, hide your dirty soccer cleats, haul the dog kennel out of the house, scrub everything down, NO YOU CAN’T GO TO THE BATHROOM, don’t get a drink of water, don’t touch anything! Now we must find somewhere that we can all go and sit for a while, a long while.
Of course we have dogs which complicates it even more. Not only does it make everything hairier, dirtier, and smellier (3 things you don’t want in a home), you have to take them, and every shred of evidence they exist, with you.
After a month and a half or so, which felt like an ETERNITY, things started to happen and we had our move date scheduled for our new home 8 weeks out. Break out the boxes and let your hair down, because we no longer have to hide our coffee maker in the oven!
We were lucky to get moving dates with a little breathing room which was great because even after purging half our furniture, we filled an ENTIRE moving truck with our stuff! The good thing is that we were scheduled for the long weekend. What made things hectic was that also meant it was the last week of school meaning field trips, special parties, and of course more stuff coming home!
I managed to snag a great set of boxes off someone – it was a surprise to me that “grown ups” actually PURCHASE boxes and don’t just use diaper boxes and office boxes! Our early items are nicely packed and labelled… As the moving date approached, things got a little less organized and we frantically taped them up up and away. Of course, the things we use the most were the last to get packed and they ended up in random boxes with random other things, making it way too difficult to find things when we were finally at that stage!
Plus we have CHILDREN desperately looking for their items – chargers, favourite stuffies, and a clean set of underwear!
Eventually we will be settled… but in the meantime you will hear my mantra: “I’m never moving again!”
Listen to our chat about moving and some tips from our listeners!
-Jen
#ThatSurreyMom