Look how spiffy our house is looking these days:
With less than five days until the big move, packing has proven to be a serious task. We’re focused on the payoff—our new home—so we’re keeping spirits high, staying hydrated, and playing upbeat music to keep everyone moving. Clara needs to dance between boxes, so we make time for that or packing grinds to a halt. We’ve been collecting secondhand boxes from Craigslist, Freecycle and generous readers on Facebook, and even drove to pick some up. When our supply ran short we picked a few new ones from Walmart; at least they’re made from recycled material and can be reused or given away afterward.
Our to-do list is long, but so far we’ve crossed off several important tasks:
- Removed every item from the walls and patched and painted nail holes. Doing the work in stages—taking down everything, spackling all holes, then painting room by room—was much faster than repeating the three steps per room.
- Scheduled utility transfers so services start at the new place on move-in day.
- Packed the entire bathroom except for travel-sized shampoo and conditioner, our toothbrushes, and the shower curtain.
- Packed frames, mirrors, books, ceramic decor, and roughly 80% of fragile items. Dishware still needs attention—yikes.
- Curtained off a “vacation stash” of clothes, baby supplies and toiletries we’ll need in the week around the move so we won’t have to tear through boxes to find essentials.
Here’s what still remains on our agenda:
- Finish packing the kitchen and finish about 20% of other rooms left to do.
- Rake the yard so the new owners don’t move into a leaf pile.
- Supervise a few remaining inspection items; a professional will handle some flue work.
- Have the oil in the tank measured for closing—buyers will pay for the remaining oil, which seems fair.
- Say goodbye to our tan slipcovered Pottery Barn sofa; someone from Craigslist is scheduled to pick it up.
- Clean the oven and refrigerator just before we leave.
- Vacuum, sweep and scrub the house spotless before locking the door for the last time.
Assuming everything goes to plan, the buyers will close on our house Monday morning and we’ll close on the new place Monday afternoon. For a few hours that day we’ll technically be between homes, which calls for a tight moving schedule. We’re loading a giant U-Haul by Sunday night and paying to keep it overnight so the truck functions as secured storage until we can unload at the new house on Monday. The alarm system is scheduled for installation during that unpacking window.
It’ll be a bit chaotic, especially since we’re used to making multiple trips during a big move. Fortunately John’s family is helping with loading and unloading—no movers for us. We prefer a DIY approach and a bit of thriftiness, hoping everything arrives safely and none of our ceramic friends are casualties of the move. Fingers crossed for a smooth transition and a happy ending in our new home.