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Mods if I put this in the wrong forum I am sorry.
I have a two part question. I will post my other question in a different post.
My DH & I received news this week and we will be moving across country. I really need advice from those who have done this and have packed up and downsized their stamping rooms. I have lived in one town my whole entire adult life so I am really overwhelmed right now about this.
I need to scale down my art studio. If anyone could give me advice about how to do this I would be so grateful. I am very good at decluttering. I never had to declutter for a large life changing move.
Any tips, hints & help would be appreciated.
We will be renting our own truck for the move. My DH is a professional driver, so this is not an issue. We will not need a third part mover. I will be scaling down homes too. Which I will be asking for advice about that on a different thread.
Thank you for any help. I can't even convey how grateful I am for it. Right now DH & I are freaked, excited, scared, hopeful, overwhelmed, and twenty billion other myriad emotions. I am not thinking clearly and don't want to make any costly mistakes or regrets.
Our last move was in late 2019. We moved to a home with just a little more square footage but the layout is much different. I thought, foolishly, that everything would fit fine. We only moved about 7 miles away and we hired movers to pack and move us. That was the easy way for us but I would make a lot of changes if I moved any distance. I hope this helps:
1. If at all possible, have the cosmetic things like painting, flooring replacement, etc done before you move. We had to pay a LOT more for these things later because you pay to have things moved. If this is not possible, finish one room and use that to store things while you work on the others.
2. To add to step #1, unpacking was MUCH easier if we kept all the boxes in one place and moved them to their destination one at a time. We learned this the hard way. Movers will label the boxes by room and sit them in that room. I felt like we fell over boxes for months. COVID did not help that situation.
3. Furniture. If it is relatively new or you just love it, move it. If you are only moving it to fill a spot, I would say get rid of it. We moved an entire bedroom set and then decided it was too big for the room. Not only that, it was at least ten years old.
4. Getting rid of things: Things are hard to sell. Very hard. Never allow anyone in your house to look at something to buy if you don't know them. You know your financial situation best but if you don't sell it right away, consider donating. Give a hard look to things and decide if you really use it. I wish I could have done this before we moved. I did it backwards and moved many things that we eventually donated.
5. Craft room: Give serious thought to what you use. Sell or donate the rest. This might be the hardest room I unpacked. My best advice is to set up your shelving, desk, etc. FIRST and then open one box at a time. Only one. Get thru that one before you move on. Ask me how I know
I hope you have the luxury of a little time before you move. It takes time to sort thru everything. As far as boxes go, watch your local paper or neighborhood website. We had all moving company boxes and when we had them emptied, we put them in the garage. When there were 10 or 12, we carried them to the curb and put our FREE sign on them. They never lasted more than a couple hours. We never saw who took them either.
Good Luck! We love our current home but hope we won't move again for a while! I hope you feel the same!
The following 6 users liked this post by VeronaSue:
Oh boy.
I am glad for you in a way as where you are is not the safest place. But this is a big project for sure.
I am just going to deal with crafts on this thread.
Get out three BIG boxes.
Start dividing into :LOVE/KEEP MAYBE SELL/DONATE
As you keep doing it it probably will get easier. You may start moving things around/trading out. If you need a second box for a category, try to do it so you can still see into box #1. Once we put a lid on it- it is easy to ignore how much there is or to not see stuff you are willing to trade for. If you have to stack, stop and check the lidded one at night regularly to remind yourself what is in there.
I don't know how much time you have but I would probably try to not do more than 2 product categories at a time depending on how much you have. Like I might only do stamps. Then I might do stencils/dies. (keep in mind we can make stencils with dies so we dont need to have the same pattern in both) So you dont overload. Plus for me if I have overnight to think about the *maybes* I may come to a decision but not if I have to think about many things at once.
I doubt I would take solid color C/S with me unless I had the room for sure. Easy to replace.
This is hard to talk about since I have no idea if you know what house you are going to and have any idea of how much space you will have. Do you have any idea of how much you have to downsize?
If it is a lot...then I would zero in on the techniques I love most and let go of anything that was "I want to try this out/gee this might be fun/I got it free and dont want to waste, etc. Consider if it will cost you more to more display racks/furniture than to leave it and start again. If you going to have to start in a new space...I might make sure I have a table to work on even if it is only folding and a chair till I can get my room up and going. Even with a self-move...there are costs involved though less.
__________________ Margot
I am a proud fan club member
The following 5 users liked this post by wavejumper:
Regarding your printer(s). remove all ink cartridge and make sure your printer is upright in the box you use to move it. Ask me how I know!! Congts on your move.
The following 2 users liked this post by stampindoe:
I moved from Michigan to Kansas in 2004.We had hired a crew to load, and we paid for space in a semi. Sigh. the dipstick driving the truck parked and overslept, costing us hours of paying for an unloading crew in Wichita.
Anyway, I scrounged boxes from several places, did my own packing. LABEL each box as you go, and on a couple of sides/top. I didn't have nearly the amount of craft crap then as I do now. Now, it would be a monumental job, but I'd go through the stuff, and if I didn't love it, use it, and NEED it, I'd thin it out. (I'm trying to thin it out currently anyway, without the pressure of moving!) Make sure you use a lot of ziplocs, so inks don't leak, and things don't get ruined. Pack like with like items. If you can, keep a list of everything you put into each box (I used a spiral notebook) and number the boxes correspondingly. NEVER let a man move into a home BEFORE you do. Seriously. You will never be able to overcome the "I got here first" territoriality.
I am seriously with prepping the house before putting anything into it. It makes life SO much easier. Even if you have to rent a storage unit short term, you'll be glad you did. Plan on buying a ton of bubblewrap. Bubblewrap is your friend. Tape moving parts down (the arm on the guillotine cutter, the handle on the Big Shot...if it moves, immobilize it for the trip. Keep the weight of each box reasonable- there may be times you have to carry it without help. Pack tight- fill spaces with crunched up newspaper or (in my case) fabric or even towels, etc. If stuff can't shift, it likely won't break. At the very least, put paper towel between plates, bowls, etc.Then stack, bubblewrap and tape the living heck out of the stack.If you have someone who is spacially gifted (like me) have them on hand for loading. I was always asked to direct the loading, because I could fit more in than anyone else in the universe.Also, if it's packed right, things don't break. I'm sure I'll think of other tips, I may be back later. Good luck with the move!
Oh my gosh everyone thank you so much for the help. Any advice everyone could give I would be so grateful. I admit I am floundering and freaking out here.
I know some of you know DH & I have been wanting to move to the Pacific Northwest for awhile now. DH's work, the horrible deaths of our loved ones has kept us from moving. Honestly, we were ok with it. Then this week my DH's job threw our life in chaos and it's like the angels got tired of waiting around and pushing my DH & I to the PNW. We are not ready! We don't even know where we are going, just a general idea right now. It looks like December or sooner! We can't do this and totally freaking out! This is life is a short-staffed world and you have employee's who can do the job. We are going to just have to do it no matter what. We are still fixing up our own home so this is just a nightmare! My DH was laying down the plans for his new workshop!
I am truly grateful for any advice, anything at all. Thank you, seriously. I can't even convey how much it means to me.
No family or friends where we could possibly be going. So far we don't even know which State we could end up in. Isn't that crazy? We do have a general idea. DH will be driving the moving truck. Thank gosh no outside movers. Sadly, we do have all new furniture. Luckily, we don't have a lot of furniture. We can't really sell our furniture & buy new. All our furniture is must haves that is new. Like new chairs & bed, etc... The rest of our home will be easy to pack up or let go. We don't plan to sell anything. That is too much stress. We can give things away to our friends. They would be grateful to get it.
Craft room I am only taking my desks & carts. Shelves and things I can let go. DH's garage is going to be a nightmare. I know we are going to need a semi to move just on his garage alone. Once again my DH can drive it so that's not an issue, thank gosh. I am already preparing for the gas prices.
The problem is all my supplies. I don't even know where to begin. I don't know what to let go, what to keep. My art supplies were for my life here. We live in a low cost of living area here. My supplies were bought at a low COL. Thinking of repurchasing in a higher COL is literally giving me anxiety. I do mean real anxiety. Not being sarcastic or funny. To put in perspective how freaked out I am about this I started deluttering my desk tonight for the move. I have five things on my desk and I am just staring at them and freaking out! The problem with my room it is decluttered, organized & well run.
Sadly, I won't have time to fix up our new home. We are actually going to have to buy through listing. Note to me- Breathe, just breathe, it's going to be ok, lol. Thinking about the listing things scares me. We don't even know how much we will need to downsize. We already talked about a storage at least for a Season. We are not really storage kind of people. I know temporary it will save our sanity, least mine, lol.
Oh my gosh VeronaSue my last move was seven miles away too with a home similar to the last one. I made that foolish mistake thinking everything would fit in my new home. I guess anybody following this in the same predicament. Don't do like Versona Sue & me did and buy a home that you think your things will fit. They just won't. I know that is one of the reasons I am freaking out so bad because been there done that. I don't want to do that in a cross country move.
Thank you Margot! I can't even tell you how much that your happy for us means to me. We are really happy too. My DH wants to go NOW! I know this move is such a blessing even if it was such a shock and we are not even prepared or was even expecting it!
stampindoe- THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I didn't even think about my printers. Oh my gosh thank you for that tip. You are a lifesaver for that. I have expensive professional printers. They are going with me since the majority of my work is digital and printing.
contrapat- I laughed so hard about the territorial man. Luckily for me my DH is happy with his recliner & Xbox. I guess he can be a bit territorial, lol. His garage is his domain. Honestly, I didn't even think of how to pack for a cross country move. DH & I have always moved like college kids, even our last move where we were in our 40's, lol. We have always lived in town. It wasn't a big deal to move. The last time we moved it was that seven mile thing. I have a lot of my items stored in photo boxes in my art studio. We just loaded the boxes on the truck and moved them over as is, lol. I know we can't do that now. The stress we are under if you didn't bring up packing tips I just know I would have done something like that. Like "Oh, this box is ok!" Then find said box contents upside down and shattered.
When you are going through your stuff, think about when was the last time you used it and are you really likely to use it in the future. If you think you will not use it, donate it or toss it. Do not move stuff that you don't use.
My best tips:
1. Go to Fec Ex or USP store and buy 14x14 boxes, paper files of 12x12 paper fit right in and the paper is protected (I stuff extra packing paper in the corners after the paper is packed).
2. If you have large plastic bins with stuff or plastic file boxes with card stock, leave them packed, just tape the lids down.
3. You can never have enough boxes, packing paper and tape so stock up.
4. Do not leave any box unlabeled, even if you are sure you know what is it in and where it will be going.
Since I got seriously into stamping and scrapbooking in 1998 I have moved six times and I've gotten pretty good at it.
Mary Beth
The following 2 users liked this post by lutheran:
4. Do not leave any box unlabeled, even if you are sure you know what is it in and where it will be going.
Label on the top AND on at least one side so that if/when the boxes are stacked you can still see a label without unstacking them. (I use a Sharpie on 3x5 cards then tape those to boxes as I think they're easier to spot than writing directly on a box.)
If you will be driving your own vehicle, pack it with the things you will need Immediately on arrival, like basic cutlery, plates, coffee maker, toaster, etc. It's handy to put supplies like coffee/tea, sugar, creamer in with the coffeepot/kettle, so you can at least make your morning beverage right away. Put a couple cups/mugs/spoons in there, too.
Also if you have precious heirloom things, you might want them in your car, although if your DH is driving the truck, you have less to worry about there. Don't pare down too much- especially with craft stuff, if you use it and would have to replace it for a lot more than you originally paid, then keep it. You can always get rid of things later.
Seriously, listing the stuff as you put it in boxes will save your sanity later. It's not that hard to jot things in a notebook, so later, when you are desperate to find something, you can just read the notes instead of frantically ripping open boxes, and digging.(Hence, the numbering boxes. Box one contains....)
My DH moved to the US from England, he knows a bit about paring down, although, like me, he left things with his parents that we retrieved later. Actually, right after I moved to KS to join him, I was cranky about things I'd left with Mom, so since I wasn't working yet, I took off and drove back to MI and got another car full.Driving 1,000 miles alone is a pain, especially when you turn right around and do it again going back.
BREATHE!!! Don't get too stressed, it'll work out. Try to be steady and organized. Think logically. Be excited for the new chapter in your life.
Here is another idea regarding moving. Not only purge the craft room but the rest of the house too!
Go through kitchenware, do you need it, kick knacks, books, clothes, this especially adds up and takes up a lot of room, shoes too. Haven't worn it, to small, to big, get rid of it. dig deep in those closets, there is stuff stashed away in there you forgot about.
If you do a quick look of things, maybe you could have a yard sale and get a few dollars. Better to get a few dollars than throw away or donate later.
Have hubby look through his stuff too. If he has any tools, and such. And just a note, men are real early birds to yard sales so if your hubby has anything to sell it must be out early. Also original packaging or cases that tools come in are a plus and electric items, if you have the manuals is a plus also. If your husband does put out any items to sell make sure he is with you, because men see a woman running a yard sale with tools or electronics and they think we don't know what we are selling and will ask for a much lower price or ask questions we may not know answers to. Then they will walk away and come back a half hour later and do the same thing again, just to get price lowered. Stay Strong with set prices on valued items. Ask me how I know.
Just do a tornado through your house. Need, want and get rid of. Wish I can help you. I did many moves during my hubby's Air Force career and I had kids stuff to go through too!
Wish you the best!
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
Here is another idea regarding moving. Not only purge the craft room but the rest of the house too!
Go through kitchenware, do you need it, kick knacks, books, clothes, this especially adds up and takes up a lot of room, shoes too. Haven't worn it, to small, to big, get rid of it. dig deep in those closets, there is stuff stashed away in there you forgot about.
If you do a quick look of things, maybe you could have a yard sale and get a few dollars. Better to get a few dollars than throw away or donate later.
Have hubby look through his stuff too. If he has any tools, and such. And just a note, men are real early birds to yard sales so if your hubby has anything to sell it must be out early. Also original packaging or cases that tools come in are a plus and electric items, if you have the manuals is a plus also. If your husband does put out any items to sell make sure he is with you, because men see a woman running a yard sale with tools or electronics and they think we don't know what we are selling and will ask for a much lower price or ask questions we may not know answers to. Then they will walk away and come back a half hour later and do the same thing again, just to get price lowered. Stay Strong with set prices on valued items. Ask me how I know.
Just do a tornado through your house. Need, want and get rid of. Wish I can help you. I did many moves during my hubby's Air Force career and I had kids stuff to go through too!
SORRY.
I read this a couple of days ago and just got to this post as I wasn't feeling well. I was just going with the info I have to share with OP from my multiple moves through the US and other Countries.
OP can disregard my post
Others can disregard my post.
Disregard my post.
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
Leslie, your advice is good, she can just change Sell to Give away!
Thank You!
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
Thank you so much everyone. Seriously, thank you. My DH is truly grateful too. You have made an emotional shock for us easier.
We did get a few more details today. Still processing. My DH's job there are three owner's. My DH runs the company with one of the owners. Well, Friday the two owners just make the announcement they are closing & selling. Even the other owner didn't know. It was such a shock. One of the other businesses is buying them out. That business wants my DH & the contacts. They have businesses all over the country. They need my DH's specialized skills because they are short staffed everywhere. The worker with the shortest work time at this business is my DH with over 20 years and the rest are 40 plus years. It is hard. We are all family there. It was so sudden. The business is booming but it is very short staffed. It is the short staffed thing it has become too much. We all knew it. We fought so hard. The company is in profit it's just nobody wants to apply for work. Then another loved business in our area announced it's closure too for the same reasons. It really is too much to take.
The new transition job is good. It is a lot of money. My DH will be doing less. My DH has to wear so many hats right now. He really wants to move back to the coast. We do need time. We can't move in a month! You know I just stocked up his work for the Fall/Winter. Anybody need sanitizing and cleaning supplies? The new job gave us time today. It is only a couple of months.
I need to pack up my room first because we need my room to store the other rooms we are packing away. When I declutter I take my projects, lay them out and write down everything I use, that is my must have pile. Now, I am going to need to get that pile down smaller. I am overwhelmed & lost. I am going to be starting that in a few minutes. I have a diamond painting on my desk so I can be creative without being overwhelmed.
I can't drive (medical) so we will have to tow our vehicle. We will have to do all this craziness with all our animals including one that is very ill right now.
I am a very organized person. All the tips & help you are giving me is really helping. My DH broke down and cried today over all of this. The secretary fell apart and was sobbing today. I keep going in the bathroom to cry. We are losing our family and being thrust into a new life. As you can probably figure out we are in no shape to make decisions. My DH & I are truly grateful for everything you have all shared and reached out to us. Thank you so much.
I am at such a loss with what to do with my art studio. I know I will have a new life up in the PNW. I don't know what the stores are like up there or the crafting scene. I am just doing all of this floundering. Living in town and moving is one thing. Moving to a new area as a crafter seems so daunting.
I love the tip about the index cards. I am doing that. I am also going to write what is in the box. That will save my sanity.
lesliespringer- Thank you. You were a help. You don't feel bad for posting things others already mentioned. It really does help. Nobody disregard her post. I definitely don't want to sell anything though. My parents held professional yard sales. My parent's were the people who buy things to sell later. I guess it was the 1980's version of flipping. Oh my gosh the nightmares. The last yard sale was after my Dad died. My Mom had it indoors at our home. There were all these people in our home. I come home from school and some lady was going through my underwear drawer. Yes, a teenager's underwear drawer! I will never have a yard sale. I don't even like going to them.
Another idea, if you are packing up your crafting room to make room for other house hold goods, do you plan to storage your crafting supplies in a storage unit?
You may want to pack papers and stamps(if you want but defiantly paper) in those big (size you can handle) Rubber Maid (or other brand) containers.
I see why you don't want a yard sale, I'm sorry that happened to you.
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
....
I never had to declutter for a large life changing move.
Any tips, hints & help would be appreciated.
...
Thank you for any help. I can't even convey how grateful I am for it. Right now DH & I are freaked, excited, scared, hopeful, overwhelmed, and twenty billion other myriad emotions. I am not thinking clearly and don't want to make any costly mistakes or regrets.
Moving can be overwhelming, no matter how close it is from one home to another! When I moved from the east coast of Florida to Orlando, I was so overwhelmed when it came to packing that I couldn't even start. My mother stayed with me for a few days to help pack - she guided me through purging & packing several rooms.
My thought is this - since it seems that packing your art studio is stressing you out the most, so maybe you could start in the bathroom or another smaller room. Declutter and pack as you go. I remember you saying you needed to pack up your studio so that you could use the room as a staging area when you pack the rest of your house. But if you don't have a lot to pack in the bathroom, maybe starting out small will help you get past that initial feeling of being overwhelmed. I think that once you get started, you will find it easier to keep going.
One thing that I feel confident about is this - You got this!
Well, great good luck and best wishes to you, lylacfey. Since you asked, I can only tell you that my first thoughts would be to get the stress levels down. WHY the rush to buy a new house in a new area, all sight unseen. What's wrong with packing up your house and temporarily storing it while you rent an apt or house for 3-6 months in your new location and take the time to get to know where you've moved to. Subscribe to the local paper, attend church if that's your thing or local interest groups and make new friends. Word of mouth almost always yields good advice. You both seem so overwhelmed by this, understandably, but you do have the choice to react to it in ways that can calm it down for you. Hugs! XOX
One thing no one seemed to mention: pack in boxes that are the same size as much as possible. I moved 20 + years of stuff by myself. I had small (for heavy things, medium, and large boxes (pillows and other light weight objects) that stacked nicely as I packed and took less space when moving. Remember... this too shall pass!
Thank you so much everyone. Seriously, thank you. My DH is truly grateful too. You have made an emotional shock for us easier.
We did get a few more details today. Still processing. My DH's job there are three owner's. My DH runs the company with one of the owners. Well, Friday the two owners just make the announcement they are closing & selling. Even the other owner didn't know. It was such a shock. One of the other businesses is buying them out. That business wants my DH & the contacts. They have businesses all over the country. They need my DH's specialized skills because they are short staffed everywhere. The worker with the shortest work time at this business is my DH with over 20 years and the rest are 40 plus years. It is hard. We are all family there. It was so sudden. The business is booming but it is very short staffed. It is the short staffed thing it has become too much. We all knew it. We fought so hard. The company is in profit it's just nobody wants to apply for work. Then another loved business in our area announced it's closure too for the same reasons. It really is too much to take.
The new transition job is good. It is a lot of money. My DH will be doing less. My DH has to wear so many hats right now. He really wants to move back to the coast. We do need time. We can't move in a month! You know I just stocked up his work for the Fall/Winter. Anybody need sanitizing and cleaning supplies? The new job gave us time today. It is only a couple of months.
I need to pack up my room first because we need my room to store the other rooms we are packing away. When I declutter I take my projects, lay them out and write down everything I use, that is my must have pile. Now, I am going to need to get that pile down smaller. I am overwhelmed & lost. I am going to be starting that in a few minutes. I have a diamond painting on my desk so I can be creative without being overwhelmed.
I can't drive (medical) so we will have to tow our vehicle. We will have to do all this craziness with all our animals including one that is very ill right now.
I am a very organized person. All the tips & help you are giving me is really helping. My DH broke down and cried today over all of this. The secretary fell apart and was sobbing today. I keep going in the bathroom to cry. We are losing our family and being thrust into a new life. As you can probably figure out we are in no shape to make decisions. My DH & I are truly grateful for everything you have all shared and reached out to us. Thank you so much.
I am at such a loss with what to do with my art studio. I know I will have a new life up in the PNW. I don't know what the stores are like up there or the crafting scene. I am just doing all of this floundering. Living in town and moving is one thing. Moving to a new area as a crafter seems so daunting.
I love the tip about the index cards. I am doing that. I am also going to write what is in the box. That will save my sanity.
lesliespringer- Thank you. You were a help. You don't feel bad for posting things others already mentioned. It really does help. Nobody disregard her post. I definitely don't want to sell anything though. My parents held professional yard sales. My parent's were the people who buy things to sell later. I guess it was the 1980's version of flipping. Oh my gosh the nightmares. The last yard sale was after my Dad died. My Mom had it indoors at our home. There were all these people in our home. I come home from school and some lady was going through my underwear drawer. Yes, a teenager's underwear drawer! I will never have a yard sale. I don't even like going to them.
Lyla, I wish you so much peace. My heart aches for the sorrow and uncertainty you are experiencing right now. The past 18 months have tested everyone, and the employment landscape is undergoing a seismic shift.
I have moved halfway across the country—in the middle of winter in 1984 for a job, sight unseen, and my husband was out of work at the time. We chose to rent first, but I understand that it can be a personal decision to rent vs buy.
You learn quickly what you really want to have at hand (towels, silverware, paper plates and coffee for us. :-)). You will know, just take it in small areas of your rooms at a time.
Take a small break as you need, cry as you need. Take pictures of items you may not want to pack with you, but may want to replace once you’ve found a place of your own.
I live in the PNW, so when you get settled, please feel free to PM me where you've landed, and I can certainly give you some ideas of shopping out here if you'd like. Heck, I can even save some of the overflow I need to donate and send it your way…
Just give it some time…
You will be in my thoughts.
There are so many great ideas here that it makes me want to move! The best idea I ever used was getting a lot of different color masking/painters tape and designating one color for each room. I taped the boxes really well so tape was seen from every angle. Then I taped a color to the door of the room the box went into. All red taped boxes were master bedroom, blue was living room, green for kitchen, etc. "Hey everyone! I'm missing my good silverware so find a green taped
box!"
As for the paper crafting room...perhaps you can sort the matching papers, ink pads, etc. by colors. This works well for Stampin' Up products. We all have so many stamps, dies and ink pads that we will never use. Give or sell them to friends or donate to a senior center or school and get a tax writie-off. Be sure to pack like items in the same box such as stamp pads and reinkers together, paper trimmers, Misti's and scoreboards together. Packing up is easy, reorganizing in a new space is hard.
What an enormous change you are going through! I second the idea of renting for a few months if you possibly can, to take time to look for the right house.
If you know you'll have a large truck for the move, that might help reduce the stress a little bit. If you simply can't decide on some of your craft items because everything is a bit overwhelming--or because you run out of time--just pack it up and take it with you. You can go through everything as you unpack, and make decisions then without a deadline hanging over you.
The following 2 users liked this post by pippinmctaggart:
I have only moved one time about 30 yrs ago to my current state. DH's job moved us and had people pack us up. Can't really remember a lot of how good or bad it was.....lol . But about 10 years ago I thought I might be moving and started to pack up stuff. Tried doing the lists with box numbers and it was pretty time consuming. Another idea I thought of later was to number boxes take a picture(s) w/#'s and then take picture(s) of contents. It will give you a pretty good idea of where things are. You might even do both lists and pictures of boxes. Some boxes with lists and some with pics. Just depends on the time you have to accomplish it all. I would definitely label the boxes with rooms.
Kitchen is one of the rooms you will want to unpack as soon as possible. Since you most likely won't be making any big changes right away with remodeling or anything, perhaps having the boxes taken to the specified rooms would make it much easier when trying to unpack. Not having to move the boxes 2x that way.
You will have to give yourself some time to think things through a bit with all of this advice you are getting!:smile: Lots of really good advice too!!! Just figure out what you think would be best for your circumstances.
Truly, I don't think I would want to move after living in my current house for 20+ years. And I live in the PNW!
I can be a bit more clearer now since things are getting to be more clear.
My DH & I are truly freaked out about this PNW thing but least we know the reasons now. My DH & I were ready to go a few years back to the PNW. We had our lives packed & delcuttered. Ready to go. The housing market was just rebounding after the Great Recession and my DH's work really needed him. My DH's work is like The Office tv show. Everyone is really close and we are all family. It is even closer than the Office. We told them we would stay. We bought our home instead. Now, the owners are done because of this world we live in. They are sacrificing a lot to protect everyone at his work. It is really small company, like ten people including the owners. We figured out the owners wouldn't sell unless my DH was moved to the PNW. It was their gift to us to say thank you for staying. They told us several times over the years how grateful they were we stayed. They knew it was hard since we just lost our child & had lost several loved ones. DH & I were honestly freaked out that the area we wanted to move in gets thrust upon on us a few years later. Now, at least we know. It's really emotional, you know.
Today I found out another iconic business in our area is closing for the same reason's as my DH's work. Three historical, respected and booming businesses closing because it's just become too much. It's messed up & tragic I know the family of this business too.
IRL I am one of THOSE organized, systematic, researcher, librarian type people. Even when tragedy strikes I am the one everyone comes too to get things done. I don't mind. It does help me cope. I should be just tackling my room & my home with ease. Even though I am upset I can cope when I am organizing and putting things together. What did I do last night after I posted here. I went in my room and sobbed. Got a lot of done- NOTHING.
One of my friends told me I need to stop being strong for my DH & our loved ones at work. I need to break down with my DH. I told her I couldn't do that. I did set down and talk to him. I did break down. He broke down. It really helped.
Here are the problems- I HATE clutter. I am a bit of a prepper. Every six months I declutter my home and prepare for the Seasons. Like in August I will declutter my home and prep my home for Autumn/Winter. My home is decluttered already. I have to delcutter again for a move cross country. Um, how do I do that? See, what I mean? That is freaking me out.
Now, this is a big problem I am having. I have been redoing my room! I have been buying things for it & have added new organization systems. Now, I have to pack up all that hard work. I was having so much doing this too. I am shutting down. I don't know how to pack up my room that is decluttered, stocked & organized!
We all know I have bad nerves, lol. I promise this isn't the case. Yes, my anxiety is bad. I am taking care of myself. I am making my anxiety #1 when it happens so I am proactive about this. Truthfully the anxiety would be a good thing because I organize like a queen then. My DH would be coming home from work finding boxes stacked, organized & catalogued like it was the Library of Congress. I know this shut down is because of grief. Yes, I do have grief counseling. You know grief counselors are not versed in packing up & decluttering craft rooms, lol.
Apartment Living- NO! First that is way expensive where we are moving. My DH & I are frugal. My DH is the investor & I am the saver. We live way under our means. I kid you not our bills every month and that includes subscriptions are $800. That is on the high side. That is all our bills. You can't even get a decent apartment where we are landing for $800.
Also DH & I bought our home when the housing market was the buyer's market. So, we got our home way under market value. We are very grateful for that. Our agent keeps contacting us saying that people are bugging him to buy our home for those expensive prices we all keep reading about. We saw the recent quote for our home just a few days ago and about fell over. So, yes, even before the shocking news we thought about selling. We also thought we would be purchasing for an extreme rate too.If we sell now we can buy a nice modular home pretty much outright. Even if we had to pay a lot rent for a couple of years we would still come out ahead. Then we could buy our land. Even though moving the modular is an expense it is a heck of a lot more economical than paying rent in the long run. DH wants land and a workshop for his retirement years. We were planning this when we were originally moving & I have done extensive research on this because we wanted to do this when we retired. Even though the move couldn't have come at a worse time in ways it couldn't have come at a better time either, least for the things that DH & I were planning for our long term.
Thank you for all who reached out to me that live in the PNW. I am really scared about moving up there. I am leaving all my friends who I have known since grade school, high school and college years. I am going up there with no family or friends. I am really friendly but really shy too. I have been reading Reddit's for the local communities we might be in. It is so overwhelming, even though I admit some of the things make me laugh and I know will love it when I get up there. You all have real grocery stores there. I live in a food desert. I have WalMart. You have this store called Winco's that sounds to me like a bulk buyer's heaven. I know I will be acting like a two year old when I see it.
Jevick- Thank you for the color coded tape idea. That will really help a lot.
I didn’t move but did just about a whole house remodel. It was tough! But the remodel is the best thing that ever happened to us! We tried to get rid of the living room and dining room furniture. There is just the two of us, so,it was in excellent shape. No one wanted it, ended up giving away a sofa and 2 chairs and lamps (kept my end tables - wasn’t sure if o wanted them or not. Very glad I kept them!). Did sell the doningroom set on FB. Best thing they ever invented! I still have things as I go through boxes that I THOUGHT I wanted, but nope, opened the box, said no where to put ot, don’t want it. Sold it on FB. Sure beats a rummage sale! People are looking for certain things, so they target what you have posted. Can’t tell you how much I made over the last 2 years!
your best bet!
lylacfey I hate to put a damper on the sale of your home, but you might want to check out the capital gains taxes you might owe from that sale. There are parameters for married/single, length of time lived in home before sale, etc. I am not a tax person I just know of this because I was contemplating selling my home a year or so ago. Decided not to do it because of the capital gains. Finances just scared me away!!!
A lot of people aren't aware of this since it is fairly new in the last 3 or 4 years. Didn't used to have to worry about that. :mad:
lylacfey I hate to put a damper on the sale of your home, but you might want to check out the capital gains taxes you might owe from that sale. There are parameters for married/single, length of time lived in home before sale, etc. I am not a tax person I just know of this because I was contemplating selling my home a year or so ago. Decided not to do it because of the capital gains. Finances just scared me away!!!
A lot of people aren't aware of this since it is fairly new in the last 3 or 4 years. Didn't used to have to worry about that. :mad:
im not a tax person either, but a few years ago my brother sold his house. Had a certain time frame to use the money from the sale to buy another home. Don’t know if that is relevant anymore. Was probably 6 years ago. Good luck! Just be sure to look at what you are doing! Tax man can be an
a-hole to the small guy!!like valeriesc said!
Oh thank gosh we got time. Thank you to the builder's & contractor's who freaked out! My DH is in the middle of huge projects that are already delayed.
I had my melt down today. It was not my craft room. I am supposed to leave in two months? My Mother is almost ninety years old. I need to get her care. My Mom is a mean one and that's not age. She's been mean since she was five according to relatives. Nobody likes to care for her. She had to do rehab for an injury about five years ago. The rehab center kicked her out for being so mean.
I am supposed to find her care in two months. Elderly care is already short staffed. My DH's work is closing a successful booming business because it's short staffed. Since all of this has happened I feel like I am the only one living in reality right now, lol.
I understand everyone is in shock & mourning. Nobody is thinking clearly.
When I brought up my Mom today everyone is like "Oh!" You know that Oh. I was like Yeah OH! I guess they forgot that tidbit, lol.
My DH needs to transition everything to this new company. The builders are freaking out because they already have delays and we are leaving in two months! They gave us six months to a year now. I can breathe. I can do my home, properly. I am probably going to keep bugging you all about craft supplies and packing. Thank you everyone. I am so grateful. My DH is grateful. We are going to start next week with everything.
We do want to move very much. We are so grateful for this blessing. Reality- it can't be done, not in the way they need us too.
Well Valerie I admit you made my tummy have that sick feeling when I read about the Capital tax, lol. I ran to my DH & told him about it. He was like "Oh, don't worry that doesn't affect us. He already knew about it and already checked for our home. Phew! LOL. Thank you for telling me. I am really grateful. I can't keep up with all the new laws lately. I know some of my friends will be grateful to you also. They are selling too & the way my DH explained it I know it will affect them.
Oh thank gosh we got time. Thank you to the builder's & contractor's who freaked out! My DH is in the middle of huge projects that are already delayed.
I had my melt down today. It was not my craft room. I am supposed to leave in two months? My Mother is almost ninety years old. I need to get her care. My Mom is a mean one and that's not age. She's been mean since she was five according to relatives. Nobody likes to care for her. She had to do rehab for an injury about five years ago. The rehab center kicked her out for being so mean.
I am supposed to find her care in two months. Elderly care is already short staffed. My DH's work is closing a successful booming business because it's short staffed. Since all of this has happened I feel like I am the only one living in reality right now, lol.
I understand everyone is in shock & mourning. Nobody is thinking clearly.
When I brought up my Mom today everyone is like "Oh!" You know that Oh. I was like Yeah OH! I guess they forgot that tidbit, lol.
My DH needs to transition everything to this new company. The builders are freaking out because they already have delays and we are leaving in two months! They gave us six months to a year now. I can breathe. I can do my home, properly. I am probably going to keep bugging you all about craft supplies and packing. Thank you everyone. I am so grateful. My DH is grateful. We are going to start next week with everything.
We do want to move very much. We are so grateful for this blessing. Reality- it can't be done, not in the way they need us too.
Well Valerie I admit you made my tummy have that sick feeling when I read about the Capital tax, lol. I ran to my DH & told him about it. He was like "Oh, don't worry that doesn't affect us. He already knew about it and already checked for our home. Phew! LOL. Thank you for telling me. I am really grateful. I can't keep up with all the new laws lately. I know some of my friends will be grateful to you also. They are selling too & the way my DH explained it I know it will affect them.
I swear, we are so VERY alike in some ways! My mother was also mean. Her greatest satisfaction all my life was embarrassing or demeaning me. I am an only child, and my parents were older when they had me. At the point when I got married (at 51, and yes, first time) my mother was 89 and not driving anymore. I had her all set to move to TN to live next to a cousin who was her favorite person in the world (I couldn't stand him, especially as he had molested me as a child, which SHE knew). With it all set, except for getting a medical power of attorney for him in case she needed treatment, 2 weeks before my wedding, she announces "I'm not leaving this house". I told her fine, I was moving 1000 miles away to KS. Good luck! Her neighbor stepped in and watched over her for 4 years, until it became too much, as the neighbor had a grown brain damaged son who was hard to manage, and Mom had beginnings of dementia. I had to go back to MI for 6 weeks and try and find a placement for her. It wasn't easy. With her income, I had to apply for a VA benefit for her so she could afford a decent place, and it took an awful lot of searching to find something decent that she could afford. Naturally, she fought me like a tiger.
I don't envy you settling your mother, kiddo.
contrapat- I think that all the time we are VERY alike in some ways!
I am so sorry about your Mom. I know how hard it is. How frustrating, hurtful, damaging & emotional conflict they put us through.
Same situation- Friends call her "Mommy Dearest" I have one friend who calls her Joan to her face, lol. Yes, my parents were older too but I was a family adoption, my Dad's choice. I thought my Mom was the maid until I was the age of thirteen. I am not joking. That's how emotionally distant she was. I was so afraid of the "maid". She was so mean. I have half-brother's & sisters. I was the only child of my parents. My brothers & sisters were adults when I was born. Her children have died. I am her only living legal relative now. Oh joy, lol. Luckily she has lived in the same area for thirty plus years and it's full of elderly high rises, transportation, elderly transportation. It's a dream spot. Plus, she's the Queen Bee in that area has all her gossip girls. Who I adore the gossip girls. Their kids are my friends & we all grew up together. They are on my side so I have a good support group for her. She's in her high rise living like a Queen. One fall or next time she needs attention and injures herself she's in a nursing home. Doctor told me that. Better prepare. I have been preparing. If I move now and this happens guess whose back taking care of her. Me! When I brought this up to my husband this is the one thing he blew up over, lol.
I need to find her permamnent care. I am truly grateful and blessed that this would not be an issue before Covid. Now Covid world it is an issue. I do care about my Mom. I am scared of her, I particularly don't like her but I don't want anything bad to happen to her. Everyone tells me I give her more than she deserves. I can do this but I can't do this in two months. I don't think even realistically I can do it in six months. Like I said I think I am the only one living in reality right now.
Everyone I wrote in my other thread that my DH is really thinking about not taking this job. We are grateful. It's a lot of money. We are grateful for this chance to move. Right now it's not possible.
Now, that I had my meltdown I do feel a lot better and I am back on my game. This is a long distance move so I would be a little overwhelmed even if we planned it. Right now I am super overwhelmed. No matter what happens my DH does want to move back to the coast. I am still packing but it's either going to be slow or panicky. I prefer slow, lol.
Issues- I am thinking of packing most of my room in Rubbermaid boxes. It is an expense, I know. I am very worried about some of my rare & delicate items. I can donate the boxes when I get up there. I already checked and some charities would be grateful to get them.
I don't have a lot of rubber stamps. I don't have a lot of inks. My stamping supplies I could get a Rubber Maid box and they would all fit in there with space. The biggest space hog would be my full size SU ink pads. I don't want to get rid of those.
Paper- Yes, I have a lot of paper. Problem- I have a lot of unique paper. I also have a lot of art paper. This would be a loss and an expense to replace. It is going. I think I can get all my paper into two-three Rubbermaid boxes. I think I would have space for some of my paper ephemera least 40% of the collection.
This is the two biggest issues. My room is full of small items. I work in small. I have a lot of ephemera- paper, jewelry etc, etc. It is all tiny. It is all archived, organized and a lot of it is very fragile. I have them all stored in decorative photo boxes. I need to take those photo boxes too. I just can't see how to do this. I would need to replace the boxes and that would be hundreds of dollars and a lot of mean side eyes with people in the stores if they seen me with six carts full of photo boxes, lol.
I looked at my room today and I could pack it up in about thirteen Rubbermaid boxes. I am talking about the big boxes like what is sold during the Holidays to store decorations in. The rest of my room like printers & die cutters would have separate packing. All in total I am thinking my room is less than twenty boxes.
I can't take the photo boxes with me that my ephemera was stored in. It would fill up half the truck! I know this because it did in the last move. We only moved a few miles away so it wasn't a big deal. I have a lot more ephemera now.
If any of you collect ephemera like I do and have done a move how did you replace your storage systems economically? How did you protect your items in the move? To put it in context if it helps. I have all those little things like the eyelets & bling. I also have things that are over 200 years old. I can get my hands on archival storage to protect them. I just need to know what to get. I also will be donating to museums a few pieces.
Coloring tools- I am going from one extreme climate to another. I am also going into an altitude adjustment. Also will be traveling in the Winter so I am worried about coloring tools and temp changes how it will effect them.
Should I put my alcohol inks, for example, in individual baggies. Should I get some cheap sheets to keep coloring items from jarring around in a truck and to give them a cushion? I am thinking this will keep them temp stable.
Thank you to everyone for being patient with me. Being here for me. I have said it so many times but I can't convey how grateful I am. For those who are in similar situations, because I am afraid this is our new reality for a lot of us, please don't be afraid to ask questions too. I know how overwhelming and scary it is.
I am not so sure that where I live is really the PNW ( I am at the bottom of Oregon 20 minutes from the CA border) and I did not look at every response, but if its possible and you plan to move say wine glasses or even bottles of liquids. Is it possible to check with Liquor stores near you that are recycling the boxes that maybe you can snag some before they are flattened? ( they have the dividers inside to keep the bottles from whacking into each other and maybe things like Olive oil and other slim bottles will fit in them.) and since you are driving the truck yourself you can tell hubs this box goes upright no matter what kind of a thing?
just a thought. good luck with this.
I think rubber made totes sound like a good idea because, what if some boxes have to stay in the garage for a while? ( it may be more hmmm possibly bug/rodent/dust proof than cardboard) if you can swing it. if not some of those fold them your self boxes from an office supply store all stack nicely too. with space to write on them.
I feel your pain!! We have just moved to another state. I end up retiring from my job of 30 years, and moving at the same time. It was very stressful. We have lived in the old house for 30 years and There was a ton of STUFF!! I always thought I was pretty good at decluttering.... NOT!! I tried to be selective when packing up my crafting stuff , but in the end, didn't get rid of any of it.. No matter DH said!! Be prepared for a garage melt down with DH. We have had several "Discussions" about garage things. I dont have any other moving tips that have not already been mentioned. But I would recommend that you look for a Neighborhood group on social media, just so you can follow what is happening in the neighborhood. Pick several, if you are not sure what area exactly you are going to land in. It may save you some heartache later if you "see" something you don't like now.
Stamping Help- Moving Across Country
