Hello, Readers!

Whew! What a hectic life this is. After taking a break from the blog world, I'm diving in again. 

No bones about it. Moving is stressful. You are forced to go through every inch of your current and past life and anticipate your future one. If you really want to do some soul searching, simply clean out your closet or kitchen!  

Surviving a move can feel like surviving a natural disaster. I should know. I've been through both. My family and I just moved into our new home about 3 weeks ago. Thankfully, our move went pretty smoothly. So I thought I would share a few tips to help make the stress of moving a little easier to take.

Don't panic!  To move a mountain, you gotta do it stone by stone. Just remember that this is only temporary. While the actual move may only take a day or two, everything before and after it will take months. There was one point in all of our insanity that I literally could not think past a few hours ahead in each day. That's alright. Life keeps moving forward and will not come to a complete stop if not every thing is the exact way you want it. 

Have a "Plan B." We were simply moving across town and have a trailer and a few great friends. But, in the weeks leading up to the move, it rained. Every day. For weeks. We knew our chances were slim of actually getting through the entire day rain free. Call and reserve a moving truck, or at least see if they have plenty available for that day. 

Have an array of boxes.  The objects we accumulate in our lives take all shapes and sizes. Having a mixture of boxes will make the packing more efficient. Just remember that big boxes get heavy. I was accused of packing some large boxes too heavy, or filling medium boxes way to full of books. Having plenty of boxes helps spread things out so that no one gets a serious injury.

Pack room by room. It makes it so much easier when unpacking if everything for that room is in grouped together. It saves time walking back and forth from room to box to unpack.

Label each box. Immediately after taping the box closed, write which room it goes in. You don't have to label everything that is in the box, just the room. It saves time all around, trust me. 

Purge. If possible, don't take the time to pack and move unwanted items. Drop them off at a local charity store on your next errand run. 

Pack slowly. Don't wait until the last minute. You will be surprised how much stuff you can actually pack up and live without for a few weeks.  Knick-knacks are not essential to every day life. You aren't going to read every book on your shelf between now and moving day. Crafts and hobbies? You can survive without them for a while. Anything on the walls can go first. They tend to be things that need careful packing anyway. Do those first so that you're not rushing later. 

Have a designated box spot. All those boxes can get messy. Designate a spot in your house where all items that are ready to be moved will stay until moving day. Pick a spot out of high-traffic paths, maybe even an entire room. 

Use what you have. Blankets, towels, sheets, curtains and those thousands of plastic store bags make handy packing materials. Plus, you're re-using what you have. Which leads to...

Reduce, re-use and recycle. Make as few trips as possible when moving. Be smart in your packing. Use what you have on hand first.  Ask local stores if they have spare boxes. When you're done unpacking, give the boxes away.You can post a curb-alert on local and national trading sites. Everyone loves free boxes and moving supplies.

Happy moving and I hope you enjoy your new home!

Sunshine Menefee

Specialists of the South