Mother Laura writes:
We are right in the middle of a move--only twenty minutes away, but we're still a mix of busy, excited, nervous and surprisingly full of grief about what we're leaving, for me at least. So this week's Friday Five asks about your experience of the marvels and madness of moving...
1. How many times have you moved? When was the last time?
As a child, we moved... (counts on fingers)... 7 times. As an adult, I've lived in (finds toes)... 16 different places or apartments. The last time we moved was when we bought our present home in 1996.
2. What do you love and hate about moving?
I am trying to figure out what, if anything, I could love about moving. The smell of cardboard? Not being able to find anything? The noise of packing tape? Uhhhhh... no. I think what I love about moving is when it is OVER!!
3. Do you do it yourself or hire movers?
The last time we hired movers. Wise move. Would not attempt it myself evah, EVAH agin.
4. Advice for surviving and thriving during a move?
ONE WORD: FLYLADY! My personal experience suggests the following ideas...
- Clothing - pack a week's worth in suitcases.
- Linens - pack a suitcase of towels. Use sleeping bags for a few days.
- Computer - label what all those miscellaneous wires go to. You won't remember.
- Books - use small boxes. Paper boxes work great.
- Boxes - you will become really good at spotting "good" box sizes. For some things, bite the bullet and buy some. Esp. for your dishes (dishpaks are WONDERFUL!)
- Cats - (quick. turn their little heads from the screen) - lock them in a bathroom with food and litter. Put a BIG sign on the door "DO NOT OPEN PSYCHO CAT" and when the house is empty, you will then be able to snag them, stuff them in whatever portable torture device you are using, and take them with you. And buy Greenies.
- Kids - farm them out if you can. If not, plan on having only one of you seriously involved in the move, the other running crowd control.
Yup. I'm in God's waiting room right now... Dunno what's up. And I just moved my blog to a new template which I am still tweaking... sigh...
Bonus: Share a piece of music/poetry/film/book that expresses something about what moving means to you.
OH, I think a sense of humor helps... There's always more stuff than you can fit. You get creative... sometimes it's not so good. The picture I have in my mind is overstuffed cars and vans, and the music playing is Sanford and Son...
Deb
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10 comments:
Wonderful picture Deb, and I love the new template, prayers as you sit in Gods waiting room :-)
If chance works in my favor I prefer the government to move me also.
Great advice Deb. I've been wondering what to do with the cats on moving day.
"sanford & son"??? you crack me up! flylady is so wise... and the template gets 2 extra cups of joe for you!
As I mention on my blog, my partner and I do a two- or three-week rotation between our homes (about a 15-minute drive apart). Mollie the cat loves both homes, but hates the actual event of switching from one home to the other. When she sees us packing, she hides. We very often leave her at House #1 overnight by herself, then come back to get her when it's quiet and she's feeling a little lonely. She still yowls in the car, but once she gets to the other house she's happy.
I'm laughing about God's waiting room...been there! At least the reading is more interesting than 3-year-old Woman's Day magazines and brochures about intestinal polyps.;-)
I hope God's waiting room doesn't mean what I at first thought it meant! Good advice about the cats. We moved one cat in a duffle bag. Fortunately only about a 6 block move.
Prayers as you wait. Great cat advice. Tried sedating mine once (so I wouldn't have to listen to 3 hours of howling in the car) and will never do that again. I got the 3 hours of howling with a bonus 3 days--yep, days--of what I think must have been feline hallucinations. Or the house was demon-possessed, and it took 3 days to exorcise it kitty-style. I've never been really sure...
I like the new template. I wish I were more computer literate.
and you actually have great advice for moving. I should copy it and tape it to my mirror for whenever...
Hey I love your new place! It's very you. Hope you enjoy the move (hee hee).
Thanks for the FlyLady link. She looks very helpful.
love the new look, and i now have sanford and son in my head.... doot doot dee doot...
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