I realized today that everyone has a different approach to moving and that it might be valuable to share our approaches so we can pick and choose what works for us and hopefully get better with every move. As I get ready for my movers to come in about a month, I thought I would post what I'm doing to get ready. I'll just edit this post as I go so all the ideas are in one place. Please post your comments if you have any ideas to add.
Wednesday, May 6:
Movers came today. Sophie went over to a friend's house to play and I had everything ready to go so I think everything went pretty smoothly. It made me feel good to have them walk through the house and have them nod their heads and comment, "Not bad." Everything but the computer/tv, is all packed. Most everything is loaded as well. They have a few boxes, the beds, and the living room furniture to load.
Tuesday, May 5:
Movers come tomorrow so it was a busy day today.
Rinsed off my outside pots and put them in the garage to dry.
Took everything off the walls and taped the hardware to the back so it's handy for rehanging.
Cleared everything that the movers should take out of the master bedroom closet and the master bath and then put things we're keeping with us in those places to remain untouched by movers. I plan on taping off the doors so there is no question. Also cleared things to be moved out of the laundry room so I can tape that off. Washer and dryer get moved in the storage shipment.
Made sure I kept important things from the garage like the hardware to our bed, Kicsi's heartworm medication, a multi-head screwdriver, and a box cutter.
Packed up my sewing machine and made sure everything was put away in the craft room.
Did the last of the laundry.
Basically I just did a bunch of rearranging. When we drove from California to Virginia it was pretty easy. We packed up the truck and the car with the things we were taking with us. We threw all of the cleaning supplies in the back of the truck to clean the house after the movers left. With an overseas move it's a little more complicated. We have to pack suitcases within the airline's constraints. We have to separate out a lighter shipment that we want to arrive ahead of the rest of our things. We have to send some things to storage. And, there are some things that can't go in the airplane or on the boat so we have to set things aside to give away. Oh, and there's the small matter of selling the truck. We're renting a car next week and will try to sell the truck to Carmax. Oh my.
Monday, May 4:
Packed up things that the movers should not take.
Took Sophie shopping to use her Build-A-Bear gift certificate so what ever she picked could get packed up.
Sunday, May 3:
Packed Sophie's suitcase. Put like things from her room together in bags. No lost Barbie shoes or puzzle pieces.
Consolidated important papers that we need to hand carry.
Saturday, May 2:
Working on getting my suitcases packed and the things in my craft room consolidated.
I'm hand carrying all of my jewelry. To keep my necklaces and bracelets from getting tangled, I wrap them individually in a piece of plastic wrap.
Last time we unpacked I spent a lot of time sorting my fabric scraps. I keep them in basket drawers and when they got packed they all got dumped into a box. This time, I'm dumping each drawer into a Ziplock Big Bag so that I can just put everything back, no sorting.
We're not allowed to take liquids, aerosols, paints, etc. It has been my experience that the movers just pack that stuff anyway. That has been nice because I haven't had to replace that stuff. But, they have rules for a reason...probably to keep our stuff from getting damaged. I worried last time that the olive oil with a cork top that they packed last time was going to spill. This time I'm going to pull out all of that stuff to better guarantee the safety of our things.
Friday, May 1:
Went through our archive file and got rid of credit card statements and receipts that are older than seven years old. Was careful to keep receipts for important things like my engagement ring.
Found out a reservation was made for us on post in Germany. It is good for one month. I really hope we don't have to live there that long, but we have it if we need it.
Got Kicsi's birthday corrected on her rabies certificate.
Thursday, April 30:
Got out all of the suitcases we'll be taking on the airplane.
Took Kicsi to get her new ISO microchip that she needs to clear customs in Germany.
Did lots of laundry.
Wednesday, April 29:
Planned to get together with the neighbors the day before we leave so Sophie can say goodbye to her friends.
Still working on getting all of my medical stuff worked out before we leave.
Purchased some new activities to go in Sophie's backpack for the plane ride.
Working on getting every stitch of laundry done and making sure everything is in its place.
Tuesday, April 28:
We've been working on getting all of the pieces put together for this move. Somehow this move is harder than the others. Going overseas has its own special details. And, things are a little more difficult since we do not live on a post.
We've been wrapping up our various medical appointments. Since we do not live on a military installation we have to have everything approved by insurance. I am appealing a procedure that I had done in January that was rejected by my insurance. Would be nice to get that taken care of before we move. I have a related procedure scheduled for Friday that I am trying to get approval for. It's just a bunch of hassle that I wouldn't have on post somewhere.
We've still been trying to get things sorted out for Kicsi. We're just going to take her to Fort Belvoir. The vet clinic at Fort Lee did not consistently answer their phone and they didn't have their schedule for May out yet. The civilian vet was great about trying to get everything sorted out, but I didn't feel confident in being their guinea pig. Fort Belvoir had a competent person answering the phone. She told us what we need to do and scheduled us for an appointment for the health certificate. We have to get Kicsi microchipped with the international chip here at the civilian vet ahead of time.
I've been in contact with utilities, insurance, renters, painters, doctors, etc. I spent the entire afternoon on the phone yesterday. Sophia is turning into a couch potato.
We sanded the deck and picked out the stain. It might rain tomorrow so Kenny is holding off on the actual staining part.
The painters are too expensive so we will be doing painting ourselves.
Kenny made reservations for our flight, our hotel on this end, and passed along our information to his new office. They should make arrangements to pick us up at the airport and get us reservations at the inn. They will hopefully get us a mailbox as well so we know where to forward our mail.
I've been spending some time each evening with Rosetta Stone. Turns out I am quite competent with my German lessons. Too bad I don't feel confident saying much.
Wednesday, April 22:
Working with vet to figure out what exactly we need for Kicsi to go to Germany. Sounds like she needs a microchip other than the one she already has. Would be easier to work with a military vet that does this all the time. I was hoping to save myself a trip to Fort Lee but it might not work out.
Had a painter come and give us a quote on painting our house. It was very high. We might have to do it ourselves. Another guy comes out on Friday so we can compare.
Tuesday, April 21:
Took Kicsi in for her rabies shot.
Took the car to Norfolk to be shipped to Germany.
Canceled our cable and internet service.
Monday, April 20:
Almost missed an important deadline today. Kicsi, our dog, has to have her rabies shot not more than one year and not less than 30 days from the time of travel. We're approaching the 30 day mark. Luckily a civilian vet was able to get us in tomorrow morning. She has to have her international health certificate done within 10 days of travel so that will have to be a different trip to the vet.
Our move is a little more complicated this time since we own our house and we're turning it over to renters. We're still new at the process so it is not at all routine. I scheduled the builder to come do their one year warranty work and requested bids from a couple of painters. Most of the house still as the flat white builder's paint so we want to get the house painted in something wipeable.
I got all of our stuff out of the car. We took it to have the inside cleaned out but the place was closed, probably due to rain. We're taking the car to Norfolk to be shipped tomorrow.
The website with the available floor plans in Germany was back up last night so we were able to see what we can expect out of our new home. That is very helpful in helping me decide what to move and what to store.
Sunday, April 19:
Went through some boxes that we had been storing in the garage. Got rid of my old accounting textbooks. If I ever need to remember how to do something I'll look it up elsewhere. I am so far out of the loop, I don't know what is out of date anyway. Also got rid of a bunch of stuff I'd written. Used to keep everything, but it's just not worth it. Some stuff is so embarrassing that I don't want anyone going through it after I'm dead and gone. Better to keep stuff that makes me feel good, like old letters. People used to write real letters. Imagine that.
Friday, April 17:
I want to see my doctor today and when she gave me my prescriptions she doubled the quantities so I would have enough so that I don't have to see a doctor right away when we get to Germany.
Also dropped some stuff off at the Salvation Army.
Thursday, April 16:
I went through my closet today getting rid of things that didn't fit, were too worn out, or beyond repair. I made sure all of my shoes had their own clear, plastic, labeled box. Someday when I have some money to blow I'd like to have those nice
drop front shoe boxes for each pair so my shoes can breath and so the tower doesn't come crashing down when I reach for a bottom box. For now I have to stick with the old system.
Wednesday, April 15:
So, not much happening on the moving front in the last couple of weeks as far as sorting or organizing or planning. But, we went to Denver to visit Kenny's dad. We've seen all of Sophie's grandparents in the last few months, so that is preparation to move in its own way.
We had friends over today and the little ones had a good time taking apart Sophie's room. Instead of just putting everything away, I went through everything with her and had her decide what she wants to get rid of. She's really great. Not sentimental at all. She'll say, "I don't really play with that anymore, I want to give that away." I drew the line when she wanted to get rid of the baby quilt I made her. It is rather small. Maybe we'll just put it in storage. It will be one of the few baby things that I keep. I also made her keep her collection of Thomas trains. They feel sentimental to me because that is what she was playing with when she first started playing with other children rather than around other children. And, we need SOMETHING of interest to little boys when they come to play. It can't all be princesses and baby dolls.
I'm also trying to use up things in my kitchen. So, I put out Christmas napkins for our breakfast with friends this morning. And, I made a sack lunch for Kenny that is in a brown paper bag stamped with Easter eggs and I also included a Christmas napkin. I almost put the bag back thinking he would be embarrassed in front of all of his Army classmates but he said it's not a big deal.
Finally, a friend put me in touch with an acquaintance that is now living where we're headed. So, I'm in email contact with someone who can answer questions about our future home.
Friday, April 3:
Well, it was a busy day with appointments, grocery shopping, and a long workout so I didn't get any purging done. But, I did do a couple of things to get ready to move.
First, I purchased some composition books that I can paste magazine clippings into...fashion, crafts, gift, and decorating ideas will now all have their own home.
Second, I changed the way I grocery shop so I can start using up what's in my pantry. Typically, I make a menu and buy what I need. Today, I went to the store without a list and just bought fresh produce that was on sale and some nice cheese. Then I came home and did an
ingredient search for what I had on hand. We ate a "bacon," asparagus, and artichoke potato salad. I used up the rest of one bottle of nice olive oil. Still have a spare to use up. And, I used a can of artichokes that have been sitting around for awhile because Kenny bought them and I don't care for them.
Thursday, April 2:
I just returned from a two week vacation and leave for another week on Monday so it was a little overwhelming to start thinking about getting ready for movers at this point. But, I wanted to do something so I started purging my master bathroom. That's always a great place to start because beauty products have such a short
shelf life so there's always something to get rid of. I said goodbye to lots of old lipstick and hair products that didn't deliver what they promised.
There is a small linen closet in my master bathroom so I went through it. I set aside new sheets still in the packaging to stay in storage, threw out a really old set that included a yellowed pillowcase that spent a year in Iraq, set aside one set for hold baggage (gets there quicker on an overseas move), and set aside an older set for us to use for the month that we are still living in our house after the movers come. (Takes about 60 days for our stuff to get to Germany.)
I got done with the bathroom and moved out the door to my nightstand where I had a bunch of magazines. I ripped out everything of interest to be filed away and threw the magazines in the recycling bin. I am an avid recipe collector and I have a great system where I separate new and tried and true recipes by category. I'm still filing recipes this evening.
I started an electronic list of places that I will need to contact to change our address. I also started electronic packing lists. For an overseas move we'll have to separate our stuff into four categories: airplane, household goods, hold baggage, and storage.
I just made this super easy camera case using instructions from the Sew, Mama, Sew! blog. It is a little bit larger than my camera so I could throw in a key, a credit card, some cash, and have a nice little wristlet for occasions when I don't want to lug around my big old purse.
The project for the JAG Sewing Group this month was this quilted pin holder. It's a nice way to free up room in the jewelry box and display a collection of pins.
Sophia was very excited for Easter Day as she calls it. I could barely get a quick breakfast down her because she wanted to get started on her Bunny Hutch. She's been asking to make another gingerbread house and I've been telling her she has to wait until Christmas. Then we saw the Wilton Bunny Hutch kit at Michael's so her wait was shortened. She used the mixer to make the frosting herself. I helped her with the piping and she put on the decorations.
