Life in a Box

We close on the sale of our townhome next Wednesday. I'm super excited to have at least one big thing off my plate. This move has been made more difficult because we've been out of town for the past couple of weekends, which has made packing quite the chore. Especially considering we don't often have week nights that we spend at home.

But little by little, we're getting it done. Here are some things I've learned during our move.

1) Always start with packing your most fragile and valuable items first. For instance, we began with wrapping all our fine china. We were all over it - lots of bubble paper, wrapped in news paper, and then stuffed between buffer newspaper. The UPS store couldn't have done a finer job. A few days and several boxes later, I noticed Chad stacking three decorative serving bowls one on top of the other and just laying them in a box with all sorts of knickknacks. I start to ask, "Chad, why did..." but am interrupted with "Too bad. If it makes it, it makes it."

2) It appears your kitchen (or maybe just maybe kitchen) has nearly the same amount of boxes devoted to it than the boxes that packed the rest of the house. I seriously think half our storage space is devoted to kitchen items. Yikes. Even worse, most of these items are so oddly shaped it makes no sense to pack it in a box. So right now, in our storage space sits TWO coffee makers (one traditional and one Senseo since that's how we roll), one KitchenAid stand mixer (I heart you), blender, toaster oven, food processer, crock pot, waffle maker, can opener, and the list goes on. My favorite item is the nearly 10 pound (at least it feels like it) marble mortar and pestle given to me by my bff Kel. I took pleasure in telling her the first time I used it was not for making guacamole - but rather for crushing Chad's pain pills after he had surgery last year. Chaddy can't swallow pills (and don't try giving him tips either because he'll yell at you and tell you to leave him alone and that you married him for who he is), so I had to crush his pills into a fine powder and stir it into yogurt or applesauce. Yes - if you walked into my house while I was doing this, it would appear that I was poisioning him. And three-days post surgery, it probably wasn't too much of a stretch - but that is for another blog, another day.

3) SpaceBags are the bomb diggity. I found some on sale at Bed Bath & Beyond, and have used them to pack up every towel, bedset, clothing item, tablecloth and curtain that is going to storage. Transporting a giant ziploc bag that is void of any air is much better than stuffing about 15 boxes with various items of fabric.

4) Husbands get anxious to just get it done. Since we've been packing little by little over the past month, Chad has had to restrain himself (or more likely, I had to restrain him) from packing items that we'd need to use in the interim. Like last week, he was practically throwing my toothbrush in a box. "Slow it down buddy, I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to use that in the TWO weeks before we actually move."

5) If there is an item of clothing you have not worn - or even seen - in the 2 years since you moved in last... it's probably a good idea to give it away. And if said item still has tags on it - needless to say, you probably didn't need to buy it in the first place because your husband will not buy the excuse, "But, but... this white wool blazer was originally more than $200 from J. Crew and I got it on super clearance, plus 20% off, plus my student discount." With that said, I'm pretty sure Chad is not going to let me go shopping for the next 7 years.

6) Use a realtor that you know and trust - or one that comes highly recommended from someone you know and trust. Needless to say, one of agents we used to sell our townhome was less-than-stellar, so we used a family friend of Chad's as our buyers agent. The difference is absolutely night and day. Oh yeah, and if you ever have the bright idea to sell/buy a home on your own... you're crazy. A great realtor is worth every stinking penny.

7) And last - if you decide to pack your home yourself... do it together. Like anything, completing a big project that you and your spouse worked on together is rewarding and makes for great bonding time (when you're not arguing over a $200 J. Crew wool blazer you got for $30.) Turn on some fun music, laugh with each other and make what could be a ridiculously boring activity at least a little bit fun.

There you have it. My blog - making every day life activites a wee bit easier... one post at a time. You're welcome.