Moving house silver lining

Never move when seven months pregnant, unless you absolutely have to! We recently moved from one neighborhood to the next out of necessity, and it was intense. No big dramas or difficulties but tiring for all involved. I think there is always more that you forget you have to do or pack and as always, things take longer than you expect.

Here is what I’ve learned from the experience and would do differently:

Eight weeks before:

Contact friends for packing boxes and supplies in case they already have them

Gather all the materials you’ll need like Sharpies, tape and knives and stash a these in each room so that these items are handy.

Go through all the rooms and grab all you can for goodwill/ebay etc.

Start packing the non-essentials, labelling clearly that they are low priority items.

One month before:

Try and book cleaners if you can for the move-out clean when all the boxes are gone, you will thank yourself!

Two weeks before:

Freeze meals for the lead-up to the move, you’ll have enough to worry about, so doing this means you will have a few meals you can just defrost and eat when you’ve had enough of takeout.

A week before:

When people offer to take your infant or toddler while you pack, take them up on it! An hour of peaceful packing is like three hours with a child “helping” you.

I cannot emphasize enough: label your boxes with immediate/soon/eventually as well as a detailed description of what’s in there as well as what floor and/or room you want it to go to at the new place.

If you can, book a massage for yourself and any family members involved in the move a few days afterwards, they’ll thank you for it!

Start packing your suitcases with all the last-minute things that you’ll need immediately, plus things like passports and important documents.

Just accept that you’ll have to have take-out the day of the move itself and probably the day after.

After it’s all done:

As long as the bedroom and the kitchen are mostly done, you can do the other rooms eventually, a little at a time.

Celebrate your hard work!

My silver lining despite getting so tired was that we got rid of so many accumulated “necessities” and also purchased one or two beautiful longed-for items that we feel good about having. Here’s to a new start and knowing your own tastes and preferences better in your thirties.