The packing began yesterday.
I am overly excited about it which means lists, plans, labels, agendas, calendars, color, sharpies, & etc.
I am also overly emotional. This apartment has been my first place away from campus, my first place by myself, my first place after graduation, the place where I returned after I got engaged, and the place Byron and I returned to after we got married. So much has happened here. I feel like this is the place I grew up. And now I am leaving. I haven't cried yet, but I would estimate that I am only a few boxes away.
While we are sad to leave this place--our first home--we are excited about our first house . Though we are just renters, we are excited to have rooms for our friends to stay, a yard fore Eleanor to run in, and wall that divide one room from another...just to name a few. I have been day dreaming about how we will decorate for months. And it is all happening.
So many things in life happen like this. The little seedling of a dream, the planting and planning, and watering and hoping--and all of a sudden, it starts to grow. We are a family who will be in a house, a real house.
During all of this we are learning things, about packing, about ourselves, about life.
1. Have a plan & timeline...even if it is vague and broad, have a general idea of when you want to start packing, how you want to accomplish that, and when you want to have it done by.
2. Create a moving tradition!!! Sweet Byron suggested that we use our letter magnets to create a sort of memoir or ode to our current home on our refrigerator to photograph and take to the new place! I just adore him...so dreamy and thoughtful and wonderful. Tradition #2: Arnold Palmers with a hint of Whiskey to make the packing more fun!
3. Do look on Pinterest and Buzzfeed for moving tips. I am not ashamed to say that I did. Get help where you can, friends.
4. Take breaks & stop when you need to. Take breaks doing enjoyable things...like Scrabble! If you don't pack all that you wanted to, but you need to stop and sleep for your own sanity, and that of your spouse, then do so. Plus, if you do #1 well, you won't need this tip.
5. Enjoy your last few days at "home" before figuring out where everything goes in your new house. Home is the thing that you have nurtured through a certain level of normalcy and coziness with your material goods, as well as how you feel in your space. Embrace it before it takes you weeks to figure that out again.
*BONUS TIP*:Hire movers sooner rather than later. Tis (MUCH) better to cancel than for movers to not be available.
That's it for now. Are you moving? Tell us about it!