Moving Woes
I have yet to meet anyone that says they enjoy moving. Not sure what’s worse - packing or unpacking? The thought of it alone stresses me out.
Sell. Buy. Pack. Move. Unpack. Settle.
By Julia Trogele Jones
I have yet to meet anyone that says they enjoy moving. Not sure what’s worse - packing or unpacking? The thought of it alone stresses me out.
Sell. Buy. Pack. Move. Unpack. Settle.
As I write this I wonder how many times I‘ll experience that sequence of events in this life with my husband’s job. We spent the last 5 years in Oklahoma and honestly it was a wonderful start to the NBA journey. Great people and an easy going day to day. Now we find ourselves in Philly and it’s pretty LIT (my husband’s “West Philadelphia born and raised...” I know a bunch of you started singing the intro song to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air).
Our Oklahoma home sold in less than 24 hours. The purchase of our next residence went smoothly. The move ... a complete DISASTER.
I had a game plan. Drop the girls with my parents for 11 days, close on two houses, unpack, organize and set up our new home. Then scoop the munchkins up from Cali and bring them to a comfy dwelling to jump start the adjustment period. Whelp, the movers did not behave properly (I’m being nice). Not only did we pay them in full upfront, we also took on an expedited fee to get everything delivered within a certain time frame. The truck showed up 6 days late.
I literally LOST it. Not only had I been separated from my babies for over a week (I get separation guilt), I ended up unpacking, organizing and setting up with two toddlers climbing in and out of boxes and ripping up paper. Some China broke and tantrums were at an all time high. Woosahhh!
Since I’ll be doing this again at some stage there are a few things I would do the same and some I’d do differently:
Ask (or hire) for help. Ladies, we tend to have a hard time with this. After all, we are superwomen. The assistance from family was key to making a messy situation a bit less chaotic.
Organize prior to packing. God bless my husband, who was in charge of packing while I took the girls to Cali. He packed anything and everything. I ended up having to sort through and chuck items that should be on a landfill in Oklahoma.
Less is more. De-clutter. I am definitely a sentimental hoarder. This move made me realize that I don’t need every painting my 3-year old has mastered (mind you we craft every day).
Choose your movers by getting quotes and asking people you trust for recommendations. First, we should have let the team/organization hire them and handle the process (will be doing that next time around). Second, we went through a third party contractor which increased the price and there was sense of accountability.
Drink wine. Or tequila. Shoot, really whatever is your preference to calm those nerves.
Be flexible and have a plan, b and even c. Something I need to work on. Things don’t always go smoothly and there are only so many things we can control. Other people is not one of them.
Don’t pay upfront. Half at pick up, half at drop off. This was a big lesson. There was no sense of urgency from the company.
I’m new to this and my attitude needs to be better for sure. No time for a negative Nancy. So if you have any moving suggestions or pointers shoot them our way. Sharing is caring! The advice is much appreciated.