So, I’ve made a bit of progress with the moving readiness, and I thought I would share my progress with the world. In addition to cleaning out the baby’s toys, I have cleaned off my junk from the dresser (and thrown away one target bag full of stuff…), I have cleaned off large portions of my desk (and thrown away two full garbage bags of paper clutter), and I have started making my lists. Lists of all the different things I need to get done before moving week, during moving week, and preparing for the new home.
The Move Notebook
For every move since we started moving 17 years ago, I have had a move notebook. In the notebook, I start with lists of things that have to be done before the big day. Chores, house repairs, de-cluttering, finding a new house (with a list of our priorities…), pictures of houses in the area that we like, realtors business cards, lots of information ends up in these notebooks. For today, we are just focusing on starting our lists.
The Cleaning Lists
But, it starts with the cleaning lists. My cleaning list currently includes cleaning out all kitchen cabinets and removing all unused items, cleaning out all closets and removing all unused items, cleaning out all bathroom cabinets and removing all unused items, sorting through toys in each bedroom and removing unused items, cleaning out the toy room and removing…. Are you seeing a trend here?
The Room Lists
Once I have cleaning lists done for each area of my home, I go through each room and make a list of everything that needs to be done besides cleaning. Will the blinds need fixed? Is the carpet stained? Are the dresser handles attached? Will the silverware need bagged? [I learned this moving tip from a dear friend before our last move, and it save me boatloads of time! Everything that you currently have in drawers – silverware, toiletries, art supplies — whatever it is, put each drawer into one or two ziplock bags and put it back in the drawer. This has to happen a day or two before the packers come. And the packers then pack the ziplock bags. When you arrive at your destination, you just remove the contents of each bag directly into the drawer it where it belongs in your new home. This saved me so much time unpacking – I cannot even explain. You will have to see this in action!] Anyway – make a list of every single “chore” that needs done for that room before the packers arrive.
The Shopping Lists
Now that I have an idea of what needs done in every single room, I need a shopping list! Garbage bags are a top priority. Ziplock bags are also a big deal. Cleaning supplies, labels, boxes, packing tape, packing paper, basically everything we are going to need as we get ready to move over the next few weeks. Once I have seen our new home, I also start making shopping lists for the things we will need once we arrive – curtains, blinds, trash cans, shelving, picture hangers, etc.
Letting Go
If you are attached to your stuff, you need to let go. It is so hard and yet so liberating to get rid of the things that are creating clutter in your home and serving no purpose. Before you move is the perfect time to make this happen, because you are rapidly approaching new beginnings. New home, new locality, new church, new friends, maybe a new school or two, new job, everything is about to become new. Why not start out fresh, clean and without any dead weight? We already talked about making a first pass at Getting Rid of Stuff. Next we will talk about more detailed purging room-by-room.
Moving Readiness Challenge 2: Start your Moving Readiness Notebook with a few lists of your own. Find something pretty or make your own cover for a three ring binder. This is the first step to organizing your move.
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