HOW TO PACK LIKE A PRO

 

Moving to a new place can be quite a daunting task. Especially if you've been in your present home for over sixteen years. Things get accumulated, stuff that meant something to you a decade ago simply gets redundant. But you keep shoving it in the recesses, hoping the guilt will go away. 

Moving to a new place forces you to bring those long forgotten things out into the open, like old wounds that never fully recovered. 

I was shocked at how much I was hoarding out of sight, procrastinating on giving away stuff that wasnt being used or would never be used by me again. Why hold on to them when I could bless someone else? 

Besides, the home we are moving to is way smaller so that too acted as an incentive to purge. 

I was already a minimalist with regard to clothing so I had nothing much to give away. But my books were another thing altogether. I had a whole collection of mystery novels by my favourite author Agatha Christie which I struggled to part with. One day, I decided to just LET GO. Surprisingly, I did not experience regret or guilt for having spent so much money, buying those books. But I did make a firm decision not to buy or accept any books anymore. Borrow yes, buy, ABSOLUTELY NO!

Next, I tackled my huge collection of CDs and DVDs. Unfortunately, trying to recover some money by selling them on Facebook buy n sell groups didnt have any takers. So I had to just GIVE THEM AWAY. Another lesson learnt! The world of tech changes so fast that its pointless thinking of investing in it. New today, obsolete tomorrow. 

Last week, I cleared out both lofts and rediscovered my Reader's Digest condensed books. Sold them for a decent price - my first sale online!

Next, I began paring down my kitchen items. And my baking tools. I found a young couple who needed an oven and decided to gift my old one (working but hardly used). Alongwith the oven went some baking tools that would need said oven. 

Pink bedroom , now packing godown!

We have designated one room ONLY for our packing. It looks like a godown. Every day, I make a point to pack AT LEAST one box with stuff we need (but not in the next two months). 

You must be saying - why pack so early when there's still two months to go. Well, I am a slow and steady type so I find it hard to work under pressure. A home filled with so much junk needs dedicated time and that's not possible if its done in a hurry. I might just land up taking all my junk with me just because I didn't get time to decide what to throw or give away. 

I've been planning this move for almost two years now and have carefully collected Amazon boxes for this express purpose. I even let the previous owner of the flat we bought borrow some of the boxes, and boy, was she grateful!

And once, we have unpacked and do not need the boxes anymore, I'll donate them to another family that's moving - or to anyone who'll take them. Moving can be a real pain, but NO PAIN,NO GAIN. 

This makes me think of the times when I was pregnant with each of our five children. The months of being pregnant were trying and the deliveries painful. But when I held each of my sweet angels, I forgot all that. 

So, once these trying months before we move are over and the labour of actually settling everything in place is done, I will have the joy of being in a new place, making new friends, visiting new homes and frequenting the sacraments. 

There's a season for everything. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Some tips for movers:

1) Prepare well in advance; gather the materials needed, like decent sized boxes that are sturdy, not too large that they will need two people to carry. 

2) Pack FIRST the items that are not going to be used from now till the day you move.

3) Make sure to MARK each box with a code to know where they have to go once they enter your new home. For example, the boxes that will go into my bedroom are marked MB whole those that will go into the boys' bedroom are marked BB. 

4) Pack breakable items in strong boxes, buffet them properly so they don't get broken along the way. If the commute is nearby like ours will be, take the 'HANDLE WITH CARE' boxes in your own personal vehicle. 

5) Try not to put many heavy items in one box if you have to carry them down a flight of stairs.  Its gonna be tough if they are overweight. 

6) Empty your suitcases to make room for the clothes you'll be packing on the day you move. That way you can unpack those first and put them right back into the cupboards. Same with kitchen utensils that will be packed on Dday. Mark them OPEN FIRST. 

7) Start emptying out your food from pantry and fridge, freezer a WEEK BEFORE your move. This will reduce what you carry to the new home. 

8) Two months before the move, avoid bulk shopping online or offline. Buy only what's needed for, say, a week, if you run out of anything. (I have put a FREEZE on online shopping from 25 Sept).

9) Once you settle down in your new home, the purging should continue till you find permanent places for EVERYTHING. I mean it. Whatever doesn't find a place, doesn't spark joy and will never be used ought to be given away. 

 Friends, if you have any other ideas, please do mention in comments below as I need all the help I can get to transition smoothly. Till the next blogpost, its Shalom Shanti to all. 

Update: 19 October

Finally the work is on its last lap and we are ready to send some of the things, especially the bulky items to the flat. We thought it wise to put in the cupboards and diwan so that they wouldn't spoil the freshly painted walls later. 

On our FIRST TRIP, we will also send the boxes that fit into the cupboards since we can lock them. The diwan, kitchen cabinet and folding table go empty since they have no locking system. 

Today, we moved one of the three cupboards to the living room. Tomorrow the other two will join it. We are aiming for this move to be on Friday 21 Oct. May God be praised!