I’m a gypsy at heart. I don’t like to stay in one place for too long. In the eight years we have been married (including moving in with my husband) I have moved 9 times making this one <drumroll please> number 10 in 8 years.
Craziest move? We moved from MN to Denver when I found I was pregnant to be closer to family. As my pregnancy progressed I wanted to be closer to my parents who lived an hour south. So on 17 days notice I announced we would be moving to my childhood neighborhood- I just happened to bee 38 weeks pregnant. We moved in the first of the month and my son was born 15 days later- back in Denver because I didn’t want to change doctors so late in the game, but that’s whole different story.
Most impulsive move? That’s a tie. We lived in a hell house – I will tell that story one day and I decided after one terrifying night to move back to Denver, picked out the apartment then the night we moved in decided I wanted the other apartment so we hired movers to move us one day after we had already moved to move us into an apartment two floors and across the complex. My husband calls this one my quarter life crisis.
The second in the tie would be how we ended up in Washington. I had spent time in WA for work and every time I was out there my EDS symptoms and general pain was much less severe. So I started bouncing around the idea of moving to sea level and within a week we were planning a move to Seattle. I’m guessing a lot of people don’t plan cross country moves in less than a month.
In all these moves I’ve mastered the art of the scramble move. I get a chuckle when I see the moving guides that basically are 6months of planning. Puhleese. You can totally do it on a weeks notice. And we are. From the point we found the house it will be 11 days. From signing the lease 8<- one of those is Easter and two are starting a new intensive homeschooling class.
So what are your tips on being completely crazy and taking on something most people do over months in a week?
- Breath- it’s happening and all you can do is handle what is front of you
- Have the GONE box- GONE box
- Have all your cleaning supplies prepped and in one tote- I make mine so this means having all of it ready.
- Pack your family like your are camping for a week the day you start packing- snacks, pillows, anything you’d take camping also REMEMBER THE TOILET PAPER,
- Transfer utilities the second you are legally allowed to- Both my husband and I telecommute so Internet and electricity are a necessity. This might take some quick thought- they are more inclined to get someone out there if you are signing up for a new package or service but video conferencing is easier in a room full of boxes than Starbucks, I promise.
- And most importantly pack, whether the truck, pod, or just boxes in your house in order of importance and necessity.
What is the GONE box?
This is a tote/ box/ stack of totes that would be catastrophic if it was gone. Things like all our sentimental stuff. Because we move some much I have three of those 12 by 12 plastic paper holders for each family member. Things like photo books, ticket stubs, the receipt from the first present my husband bought me, my tickets from my backpacking trip in Europe…you get the point.Then there is the tote of my sons baby book, baby shoes all the stuff I drag out at his birthday and cry over. Then there is our safe (I can’t tell you how amazing this safe is- that’s a whole post for it’s self) our medications, birth certificates, SSN cards, copies of all important paperwork, and my expensive jewelry.
I keep the GONE box in the room closet to the door in a fireproof safe. It is everything we would need if the house burnt down to the ground and all the things I don’t ever want to lose.
Now even if you have movers don’t let them move the GONE box, your camping/moving stuff, or cleaning stuff this is all stuff that you will not want to have to dig around in a box labeled kitchen for your counter cleaner. Also things like house plants, your pets food and beds, and your tool box all need to be moved by you- even if it cross country -trust me.
If you cover these basics you should be pretty squared away. It works for me pretty well. Now if I could figure out how to unpack without the boxes slowly becoming furniture that would be awesome!