A few weeks ago, we bought a house. We weren’t moving far–just a 15-minute drive, still in St. Louis–but it still meant packing up everything we owned from our small condo and getting it over to the new place, whether by car or in the hands of the movers.
The movers, by the way, were absolutely the right call. I truly dislike the process of moving, and having capable movers (we used BEK) made the actual moving day so much easier, especially since our condo was on the third floor, plus 150-foot walk to where they parked their truck.
However, there was still the process of packing up everything. Whenever we visited the house over the last few weeks, I would pack my car with as much stuff as possible. I tried to make it more palatable by considering it a workout, and podcasts helped distract me. Plus, I was always excited to visit the house.
Moving also presents a nice opportunity to get rid of things we don’t actually use. I’m not sure we did that particularly well–I’ve unpacked many things that we haven’t used or opened in years–but we recycled and donated at least some things.
Two things about the move gave me the most anxiety; here’s what they were and how they turned out:
- I was very worried about transporting Walter to the house. He has panic attacks in the car, so I haven’t taken him anywhere since we moved into the condo 7 years ago. I brought over some of his things in advance so the new place would smell familiar, and the first thing I did on moving day was bring him here so he could be safe and secure before the movers arrived. He dealt with it quite well and seems to be enjoying the house ever since.
- Megan and I have very different paces for packing, moving, and unpacking. I tried to optimize every spare moment and trip to the house, even before we closed; Megan had a more leisurely pace. We had a chat about it, and I realized that I could let go of this anxiety by focusing on what I could control: I could pack and move everything I needed to the house, and if it took her longer to transfer her things, that’s okay. That’s exactly how it’s worked out!
One thing I tried my best to do was to unpack everything as it arrived so I could put it in the most intuitive place, though there are still things I can’t find! That might continue for a while. We also have SO much cardboard from the furniture we’ve purchased–it will take weeks of recycling pickups to get rid of it all at this pace.
Overall, the process has gone smoothly, and I feel fairly settled in to the new place. The next step is to sell our condo!
Do you have any stories or advice for this stage of the moving process?
We moved 2 weeks ago and are listing our old house next week. We also used BEK and it was such a seamless experience. Wrapping up projects to get the house ready to sell has been a huge undertaking, but we finished last weekend and took a family trip to Virginia. It was nice to be out of the old and new homes and be able to connect and have fun with family, I recommend finding time for that in this ‘in between’ space.
Good luck unpacking everything, and enjoy settling in!
I’m so glad your move went well, and with BEK too! 🙂
Post your boxes on FB Marketplace or (my fave) TrashNothing.org and folks will come get it from you. Same goes for anything that’s usable you don’t want to keep. I’m glad your kitty took the move well. That would cause me anxiety as well.
Thanks! The trashnothing.org URL isn’t working for me, but I can try FB Marketplace or Craigslist.
Jamey,
Having served active duty in the military for 10 years and then having been through a divorce, I moved fair number of times in my life. I have packed alone and with others, and having the assistance is always great, but working alone…you set the pace which is most comfortable for you.
One of the funniest interactions occurred when I was packing out of England and this is one side of an exchange between the two packers (as an aside, my wife is a few months from giving birth to our daughter):
Packer: Alright, I’ll read off the items and you sticker them; Box 1, Books; Box 2: Games; Box 3: Games; Box 4: Games; [looks up at my wife], “How’d you get pregnant then?”
In that moment, it really solidified my love of British humor.
Cheers,
Joe
LOL that’s an amazing quip. 🙂
The one thing I learned from our last move 7 years ago is that I’m never moving again without a packing service. And that was moving from a smaller house, I can’t imagine packing up a larger house.