Well, it's a crappy adventure. That is, the act of moving is crappy. Being MOVED IN to the new apartment is great.I was going to proceed with a string of complaints about how much moving sucked this weekend, but then I read my SIL Jamie's blog and was updated on her awful moving experience and now I feel like I have no right to whine about things, since our move could have been much worse :) (hope things are going well now, Jamie!)
I really hate moving. I have been 100% stressed-out trying to get everything done. We had help loading up our 14' UHaul with our belongings, so we were very grateful for that. Everyone seemed pretty exhausted by the end. It was still awful at times, though... our sofa just didn't want to fit through the door, so we had to take it off and everything, carefully balancing the sofa up on the balcony railing as we tried to maneuver its massive upholstered self through the doorway. Everything else fit alright, though. i just watched all of the big furniture get moved and bit my lip and paced back and forth and wanted to curl up in a ball.
At this point, all of the big things are moved and now we just have some junk that is still on the floor at the old place. We'll have to clean it out once the stuff is gone. But as long as ANYTHING of ours is at the old place, I can't stop worrying about having to move it. I am hoping that cleaning the old place isn't too bad, but we'll probably have to devote several hours to the task.
More than anything this weekend, I learned that I own too many things. As I finished packing things the day of the move my stomach was a ball of stress. Item after item was shoved into a box or a bag or wherever they would fit, and all of those would have to fit in the UHaul and be unloaded and carried up stairs and a place would then have to be found for them in the new apartment. I swear there were like 10 garbage-size bags of clothes and shoes that were MINE. WHY do i need to own so many articles of clothing?
I have really decided to dedicate myself to SIMPLIFYING. I've said it before, but this time I'm absolutely serious. If there is not a place in our new apartment for something, and I'm not going to be needing it in the next six months, it is GONE! I feel so tied down.
So the new place is nice so far. We do live next door to a house with dogs, but they are fairly quiet. I had to take a cold shower because our gas was not yet hooked up, and THAT was shocking. But mostly things are fine. It's all falling into place.
3 comments:
a cold shower actually sounds pretty great right about now! :)
i'm sorry i was so completely useless helping you move. i really should have just stayed home with the kids, or at least willow, instead of assuming that she'd be okay missing both naps for the day. i basically just ended up sitting with her the whole time. and eating your ramen. :D at least jeremy did some heavy lifting!
it can be so satisfying to pare down the things that you own. it can be hard too, but in my experience i usually feel a lot better when i've gotten rid of stuff. we have a regular schedule of going through everything we own every 3-6 months and if it hasn't been used in that time, we donate it. we also keep a couple of boxes that we throw stuff into if we haven't used it but worry about getting rid of it. if a certain allotted time passes without using it, and ESPECIALLY if i can't even remember what's in the box, we dump it without even bothering to go through it. i can't remember who said it but i love the adage of getting rid of anything in your home that is not either a) useful (as in regularly using it) or b) beautiful (as in, you like looking at it, like pictures and stuff).
we've gotten in such a rhythm of doing away with unused things that i start to get that itch every few months now; taking that regular inventory and donating piles of stuff is just a regular part of our lives now. it's taken a long time to get to that point and it can be really hard. it's not for everybody. but i like it and i've worked with other people to do it also who always say how relieved they feel to donate things so that others can use them and to clear out space and organize. personally, i just cannot do clutter or disorganization; they make me really irritable. so it's really in my best interest to clear it out every now and then. :) not that our home is actually very clear of clutter or that it's very clean or organized, because it's not. i remember always being so envious of mike & jamie's apartment because it was always so clean and nice-looking. but i do try.
good luck! let me know if you need some moral support. i've helped a few friends "purge" their homes.
whoops! i'm signed in as jeremy since his gmail account is open. sorry!
-chandelle
hey karen,
glad the move is almost over with! it should be such a relief to you guys to finally have everything in the new place and start to feel a bit settled. that is my biggest problem right now. i just don't feel settled. even though everything is unpacked and put away, i realize we are going to have to do it all over again 6 months from now when we buy our first house. i just can't wait to know i'll be staying in ONE place for a few years. and you don't have to feel like your moving experience is trivial compared to mine. psh! i just had to emphasize every horrible thing that happened didn't i? moving sucks no matter what. i totally feel you about the stress factor. i get the worst anxiety that sometimes i think the butterfly wings will never stop flapping around in my gut. it's the worst feeling ever. i also know how you feel about just biting your lip as people start moving your furniture. it sounds like you and i had the same reaction, just pacing about and stressed to the max. i didn't realize you guys had such a big sofa. :0 i'm also sorry about the cold shower thing. ice cold water just doesn't wash away the dirt and oil, so i always still felt greasy afterwards. not to mention that it really seems to put your body into shock! no bueno.
but hey, things will turn around. and once you get everything moved in and unpacked (unpacking is my favorite part) it will start to feel like home.
i'm really sorry we couldn't be there to help you guys out with stuff. if it's any consolation, i would have liked to have been there to help. at least i would've gotten to hang out with you guys! i didn't know how much i would miss everyone when we moved. :(
so why do you have to spend hours cleaning your old place? if it were me, i'd skip the deep cleaning and just wipe things down and vacuum. your complex should hire professional cleaners to do the rest. well, a decent apartment complex should anyway. will they not give your deposit back if you don't? just sic mike's mom on the manager and she'll make sure you get your deposit back! she's good at getting people to do what she wants! okay, this is getting pretty long. i just wanted to wish you good luck with everything, and kudos on the whole simplifying idea. i hope you stick with it!
much love,
jamie
Post a Comment