12
Jun

I need a plan

   Posted by: MotherHen   in Homemaking, Moving House

floorplana

We’re moving!!!!!

We’ve lived in this house since before ALL of the Cowboys were born.  18 years is a long time to live in a house.

Our desire is to move out of town, get out of Sodom & Gomorrah.  Head for the hills,  Texas Hill Country that is.  (now I feel like a backwards Clampett!)

We’re planning to move next Summer.  I need the whole year to get ready because we are very entrenched here.

So, how do ya like my floor plan?  I created that bad boy using paint and I used picnik to add some stuff.  This was my first ever effort with paint and I thought it was super fun and at the same time super stressful.  Anyhow, it came out ok.  Not to scale by any means, but fairly representative of the space we live in.

My plan is to work on each area independent of all the rest.  (As much as is reasonable.)

floorplanb

The attic is empty, but the garage is a nightmare.  The bedrooms shouldn’t be too hard, but the closets will take some sorting.  I’m gonna have to be very diligent and thorough.  Craigslist and Freecycle will become my friends!  I may even offer some home-school stuff here on the blog.

Streamlining is my new middle name.

And we’ll have to make a schedule for the garden.  We can plant a Fall garden if we want, but next Spring is out.  The Cowboys will be removing the cinderblocks and raking the black-gold that is our garden soil.  Too bad we can’t take that with us.

So this is the whole plan.  This is as far as I can make my brain take it right now.  I used to know how to move house.  I’ve done it many times in my life.  Just not in the last 18 years.

Wow!  I just counted up.  I’ve moved 19 times in my life.  That’s a lot, isn’t it?  I was just 30 years old when we moved into this house.

So, how ’bout some help, girls?  I know most of you would come over to help pack and even bring boxes if ya lived close, but since you don’t how ’bout some advice.

I imagine most of y’all have moved a few times in your life.  Many of you have moved recently.  Have any of you done it without a lot of anxiety and stress?  Is that even possible?

Theoretically, this could be an easy move.  I mean, we have lots of man power at our finger-tips!

Related posts:

  1. The Plan – part 4 – Housecleaning and Philosophy
  2. The Plan – part 1 – Food
  3. Menu Plan Monday 2-8-10
  4. The Plan – part 3 – Laundry
  5. Menu Plan Monday

This entry was posted on Friday, June 12th, 2009 at 10:48 am and is filed under Homemaking, Moving House. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

24 comments so far

Melissa
 1 

Oh my goodness, I am the moving queen! We have on average moved every six months for the last 14 years! I am married to a Mr. Visionary so life never stays the same for us. I used to hate it, but I’ve learned to embrace it and now get itchy feet whenever we’ve been in a place for five months.

We are moving in 13 days and have a lot to do.

Here are my thoughts on moving:
1. If you haven’t used it in six months, get rid of it.
2. Uhaul trucks are great because they have a great ramp to roll up your stuff.
3. Wrap your dishes with towels. Then you can just wash the towels instead of every dish.
4. Label boxes really well.
5. Do not pack your clothes, leave in the dresser and carry hang up clothes straight to the car, then to the closet.
6. Put all packed boxes into the garage, so they can go straight to the truck.
7. Try to do as much as possible before moving day, because you’ll be tired.

I’m sure there’s a lot more but that’s all I’ve got right now. I’m so envious. I’ve been telling my hubby that we need to move to Texas and that it needs to be our forever on earth home. We shall see if he goes for it. I’d love to be near all you sweethearts.

Melissa’s last blog post..Voddie Baucham

June 12th, 2009 at 11:31 am
MotherHen
 2 

You may have guessed that my man is Mr. Steady. We just don’t move! It would be super if y’all moved here and we could be country “neighbors.” I can’t wait to have no more city neighbors. I feel like we’re always being watched over the fence.

June 12th, 2009 at 11:37 am
STacy
 3 

We are moving 600 miles..with 5 kids..in a month!!! I gave each kid their own color of duct tape for their boxes. Also I have heard of people number their boxes and keeping an index card system with what is in each box.

June 12th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Shelly
 4 

We moved last year. The hardest part for us was we had to be out of our old house but couldn’t have anything in our new house until after we closed. We ended up using two trucks so we could park the full one and finish up the loose ends in the smaller second. We had very little man power. We have 5 boys but they were 6, 4, 4, 2, and 6 months at the time. I’m glad it’s over! It’s fun but a lot of work. Many hands make light work though! :)

June 12th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Michelle B.
 5 

I like Stacy’s idea of colored duct tape. Each room should have a different color duct tape or sticker/marker. Every box should be labeled where it goes by that color. Then try to put an idea of what is in the box. Then when you get to the new house. Put a sample of the colored whatever you used in each room. Then even people who don’t live with you and are helping will know what room each box goes in. Once in that room you will have an idea of what needs to be unloaded first and what can wait. Pack everything you can ahead of time and put in the garage till moving day. I have moved more since I have been married than I ever did before hand. Lived in the same house from the time I was 6 months old until I got married. I can’t wait to have a house that I stay in for a long time that works for our family.

Michelle B.’s last blog post..Swagbucks

June 12th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Melissa
 6 

Oh how fun that would be! I know what you mean about living in the city. I don’t let my kids play outside during school hours and they can’t wait for a place in the country where they can play whenever. We just watched the movie by Franklin Springs on the agrarian lifestyle. I really pray that is where God will lead us. But, I know that He is in control and I will trust Him wherever He leads.

Melissa’s last blog post..Ren. Fair

June 12th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Teresa
 7 

I have a dear sweet packrat for a husband and have had to pack everything and get the house ready for sale by myself for the last 2 moves. These were somethings I learned, although I could not in good concious get rid of things that were not mine (the biggest move he was not in the state for most of the prep time) I did get rid of what I could of mine.
I had a special box with markers, box tape (and tape things whatever its called) index cars etc etc everything I needed for packing. I knew where this was at all times everything needed stayed with the box.
I cleaned one room out completly (dinning room worked well) and put every finished box in there (did not want to risk mice getting in the garage).
Label all the boxes well, really well top and sides, I used index cards for this as a few boxes I had to repack and found it was easier to move the index cards.
Index cards had room it came from and contents as specific as possible and our name (if moving out of state this is important). I did not try to number the cards and list in on other paper as I knew that paper would get lost:)
Hope that helps happy moving.
I have a bunch of boxes you can have if you are ever in North Austin:)
You have a basic plan, make a time frame and stick with it as much as possible, this will be your best defense against stress. Plan on 15-20 min a day or whatever and stick with it but do not try to do more than you planned or you will wear yourself down. Remember no matter how busy and close it is spend time with God or it will all fall apart- ask me how I know:)
Teresa

June 12th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Natalie
 8 

Oh, I wish I read all the comments before our last move last week. I especially liked the duct tape’s color suggestions. I’ve only known of gray, LOL! We moved very often before this last 2 years where we lived in a town where we loved it and had a great HS support group, which we don’t have here in the country. We own deft free a very tiny log cabin in the country so the city’s rental was LG compared to our country cabin. We did spend too much money on rent and kids’ HS activities but we had a ball with Kroger, library, Sam’s, ball parks, gym and other things that kept us busy while hubby worked out of the country this past year. But, boy after living 2 years in one place (first time ever, we moved also every 3-6 months because of my Mr. Visionary, so I was relieved to read the other commenters, whew, we are not alone) we had a lot to pack. It took us a full week to get everything packed and by the time a friend came over with 3 teenage boys and my own and husbands and my friend and I, we worked hard all day! And it still wasn’t done! And I am not a pack rat either. So, I wish I realized that and color coded and did some planning ahead of time. If I had to do it all over again I’d do some things different. Mainly taken more time to pack small items, bathroom, winter clothes, etc instead of trying to clean the walls and the rental period. There is a limit to how much packing can be done in one day and my husband seemed to have been reaching that limit way too early every day. So, last day of truck packing was a hard push, very hard. Make sure you have enough paper plates and cups for those heavy packing days. We had to feed our helpers 2 that day. The next day a friend stopped by and bought us all Subways. I forgot that people who help need to eat because I am not eating! Make sure your trash is properly stacked at the curve. Hubby left me with this huge pile mixed up on the lawn and left with a truck load ( I stayed behind to finish packing and cleaning). The trash people were going to penalize us if I didn’t organize it and move it to the curve(call the enviormental dept to check on size of trash just in case you have a lot, even if you detrash early, you’ll still have a lot at the end, believe me). Uhaul was the cheapest, ramp and dolly for car were really nice! Praying for your move! Love your blog! Didn’t realize you lived in the city. You have a lot of good looking and strong cowboys to help. Take a deep breath! It might not be easy to pack and move after so many years but it feels so good to have less. I am telling you, but you already know that.

Natalie’s last blog post..How does one quit being in denial

June 12th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Stephanie
 9 

I know a couple people already said to use different colored duct tape so I just want to say-Do It!! We moved 3 years ago and used the duct tape and moving was very organized. When we move next I will definitely do it the same way. Have fun getting rid of your stuff, I still have a very full apt.(650 sq. feet) but we have 4 in our family and we homeschool so I got rid of everything we don’t use and it feels really good to know it’s gone.

June 13th, 2009 at 6:58 am
MotherHen
 10 

Wow, thanks Teresa! Good advice! I’ll take it to heart. Sp[ending more time with God than on packing sounds like a winner to me.

June 13th, 2009 at 7:57 am
MotherHen
 11 

Note to self, buy lots of paper plates and plastic cups! Thanks Nat!

June 13th, 2009 at 8:00 am
MotherHen
 12 

My first thought on the colored duct tape is that it is probably expensive, but so many of y’all have recommended it I’ll have to check it out at my Home Depot. Anyone remember how much it cost?

June 13th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Jeanie
 13 

Being a Military Family We are getting used to the moving bit. I suggest going one room @ a time and PURGE, PURGE, PURGE : )
Best wishes on your move : )

June 13th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Faith Marandola
 14 

Ya know, you could just write what is in the box in permanent marker on the outside….. ;) ……but, if you like different colors for different rooms…I seem to remember a bunch of bic markers in every color in the rainbow on deal last year that would work fabulously!!

June 13th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Homeschooling6
 15 

We are in the process of moving. I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to fit all our books and homeschooling stuff into a 700sq. ft. two bedroom apartment. LOL.

I like the duct tape idea. I’ll have to use that one next time as we plan to move several times before settling down.

We have gotten rid of ALOT of stuff. We keep the dc toys to a minimum and that helps.

So are moving to a small farm?

Blessings,
Linda<

June 13th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Homeschooling6
 16 

For got to add that we are numbering our boxes. Kitchen 100’s, Living room 200’s etc and I’m keeping it all organized in a notebook. I am writing what is in the box very detailed. Especially with all our books and homeschooling.

June 13th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
MotherHen
 17 

Small farm sounds nice, likely out of our reach right now. We don’t have a set place yet, we’re just gettin’ out of town.

June 13th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Keeley
 18 

My goodness! So much has happened for you lately. How exciting to move. I swear I have gypsy blood or something (Though someone recently told me that if you can’t settle down it’s a side effect of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Who knew?).

Your plan is FABULOUS! Are you building your own home then? Did I read the plans wrong or is Sally Mae sleeping in the hallway in full sight of the kitchen?

Tell me you’ll be taking your fabulous rabbits and their hutches with you. =)

June 14th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
MotherHen
 19 

No, we’re not building our own home. We’re just getting out of town. And yes, you read the plans right. Sally Mae’s bedroom is in a “breakfast nook” just off the kitchen. Used to be kinda cute, but she’s getting a little old for that arrangement. We will find something with 4 bedrooms for our next house. Bear in mind, when we moved into this house we had no cowboys yet, much less Sally Mae. You could say we’ve out grown the place.

June 14th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Teresa
 20 

If the duct tape is more than you want to spend (which if you have a lot of boxes it probably will be) there are other ways around that, you could use colored index cards and label top front sides with that. Or colored sharpies to do the labeling. But like the duct tape you have to remember what color is what:)

June 15th, 2009 at 6:09 am
Cyndi Lewis
 21 

Mother,
I almost couldn’t believe it when I read that you are moving. But then I read it is a year or so away so I relaxed. I just know from reading daily how entrenched you are in your home. 18 years is long time for those roots to grow. I don’t know how to plan for a move. I always get told about two weeks before we need to move. When we left San Antonio for Michigan I packed a house in three days. (With 3 small children and a 9 month old.) I can’t wait to see what God will provide for you! Uhmmm… Hint…. Michigan is really affordable! Go to realtor.com and check out the Zeeland and Allendale areas. (Right by me of course!) Job schmob!

Cyndi Lewis’s last blog post..What the first born has been up to…

June 15th, 2009 at 6:31 am
MotherHen
 22 

Yeah, duct tape, colored or not, is not the right tape for the job. And too expensive. But hubs had a good idea. In the warehouse where he works they use colored strapping tape. Plenty of non-colored tape to hold the boxes together, just one strip of color to identify it. He’s so smart!

June 15th, 2009 at 9:07 am
MotherHen
 23 

Um, yeah, the job. Otherwise I’d be so happy to be your neighbor.. wait… does it get cold in Michigan, cuz that would be a deal breaker. We’re here in the heat for life.

June 15th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Keeley
 24 

Michigan is the most painful freezing place I’ve ever lived. Every winter I’d suffer. Jan/Feb were just awful, and I’d beg my husband to get us out of there. Took him 15 years, but he finally managed it, bless his heart. =) Now every TN winter we thank our lucky stars. =)

OTOH, the UP in MI is absolutely beautiful. I’ve lived many places all over the world, and seen many beautiful sites, but Mackinac Island ranks up there as one of my favourite.

Oh I SEE! The plan you put up is of the house you currently live in. I thought it was the house you were moving to. =)

June 15th, 2009 at 8:15 pm

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