After all is said and done, I’m now on the other side of the move, and feeling pretty settled. To be quite honest, I am shockingly happy. It is astounding to me that after, what seems to be a lifetime in one home, can so easily be erased. Surrounded by all my stuff, despite a new background, still feels like my home. The stuff that mattered I took with me, the treasured memories of my home, I carry in my heart forever. I realize now that the house is just a shell , and although my footprints were ever present while I lived there, when we moved….. so did our souls. Now in my new home, everywhere I look, it’s familiar, and in some cases, it’s even more cozy. I am loving seeing and appreciating my old treasures in new places. It kind of feels like decorating for the first time, yet I’m just re-circulating the favorites all around the new space. The creative juices are flowing and inspiring me to look at things I’ve had for over 30 years with a keener objective eye. What a great opportunity to re-organize the things I’ve neglected, chosen to ignore, nor had the time to sort through the years. Change can be scary, but sometimes it is good.
The Blog
Day 34: (July 12) Had a brainstorm idea today to combine the functionality of both my formal dining room and casual den. My previous dining room had a two mahogany glass armoires, separated by a bridge, creating a singular wall unit. It housed only formal china, crystal stemware, and fine decorative crystal. Since my former den and this piece are now sharing the same space, I decided to re-purpose the two mahogany armoires and split the usage. I condensed all the china and crystal to one armoire (adjacent to a wet bar) and utilized the other one to accommodate my family photo albums, board games, Cd’s, DVDs. Now I’m talking happy….The room feels right now, albeit may not be the perfect design choice, but now the space matches the activity of the room , and everything I want and need from my den is there. It feels just like my old built-ins that I left behind. Finding new creative ways to enjoy old things is very satisfying.
Resolved my abandoned customized desk issues from the old house, and purchased a desk with a hutch that has similar ergonomics. Not exactly perfect, but good enough for sure. A functional place for my computer, files, work stuff, etc., sitting right in my kitchen extending into my den. Ideal for both home-office, organizing incoming mail and posting social activities. Thank you Raymour and Flanigan!
Day 33: (July 8) I’m finding myself changing my mind about how I want the rooms to be organized. Every time I enter a room, I move something around, and by the end of the day, I’m moving things around again. There are a few categories of clothing that have visited just about every drawer in my closet. Some food for thought….it’s really important to live in the space for awhile, and understand what things need to be more accessible and deserve the primo real estate of the closet. Creating a new order, in a new place, takes a while.
So while I’m deciding, I’m still thinking…still moving.
Day 32: (July 7) As I glance around, I’m getting a sense that everything is finding its right place. My kitchen is organized, and my chotchkes are in place, and for the first time, I can take a breath and take it all in. Although a temporary landing place, this will be where we live for now, where my children will come to visit, where we will celebrate our holidays, where we will share the good times and the bad, the laughter and the tears. No, this may not be considered our permanent house, but wherever my family is, we shall call that place, “Home”.
There is so much still to do; bathrooms to organize, drawers and closets that need organizers, towels, floor mats, garbage pails, etc.. Need to make a list….Bed, Bath, and Beyond here I come. There is additional technology to purchase; phones, TVs, etc.
Taking one step at a time once again, now that I am on the other side of this move. Begin to schedule appointments for phone and computer services to hook up. Here we go again.
Day 31: (July 6) Woke up this morning and had no idea where I was! So strange to get acclimated to new surroundings. Thankful I kept the same familiar sheets and bedding. This is my new house and there is much to be done to make it my own.
It kind of feels like a scavenger hunt, locating the boxes and organizing them in the proper rooms. Discovering a lost box feels like finding a valuable piece of gold. I am on overdrive and my obsession to clear the clutter of boxes is relentless. Set myself a goal for the day, and forcing myself to impose a resting point and continue tomorrow. It’s impossible to move an entire house and unpack it in a day. My brain knows this, and my body surely does, but something else drove me to stay up until 3:30 am.
Day 30:(July 5) All this planning and organizing, and anticipating….moving day is finally here! Two trucks, six men, and my family, all ready to start the marathon. I was directing traffic at first, but within minutes, the men were dispersed all around the house, and all you could hear was the cacophony of shrink wrapping, boxes being assembled, and shouting commands from the head supervisor. Things were happening so fast, I was amazed how fast the men were preparing the furniture, dismantling my piano, building boxes in record speed, and loading the truck. It was quite impressive. Watching my huge armoire and dressers come down the steps required all six men, and frankly, I needed to look away. It seemed that everything that I had boxed and labeled were being randomly loaded onto the truck, based upon the moving men’s organization of the interior of the truck . Apparently, they had an agenda and it clearly wasn’t in sync with my plan. I was getting increasingly anxious about the potential disorder of locating and unpacking my boxes.
When the trucks were finally loaded, off we went, and although I was feeling stressed, I was excited about getting to the other side to begin organizing.
When the trucks were unloading, and as expected, I was losing the control I thought I could maintain. The wardrobe boxes were taking over the garage and the smaller boxes were getting lost in the mix. The moving men’s goal was to deliver, unpack only things they wrapped, re-assemble the furniture and be done. My dot system was only working if I happen to be at the truck when they were unloading it. I thought about posting signs over the doors of the rooms with the name and colored dots, but was beginning to realize the men just wanted to get the boxes off the truck and out of the way, and move in the big pieces of furniture. Unfortunately, I was so busy surveying the rooms and trying to track my boxes, and as soon as I turned my back, boxes were being dropped off in the wrong rooms. The boxes were coming off the truck so fast, it was difficult to make quick decisions, so I ended up using the lowest level for most of the smaller boxes to be dealt with later. Fortunately, my new space is a three story townhouse with an elevator, so I can sort at my convenience. At the end of the day, the move went into overtime and the men were getting cranky. It was the hottest day of the summer, and obviously with all doors open, it was hot as hell. It didn’t help that I changed locations of furniture after they had already placed them, but hey…I’m allowed to change my mind! Don’t get me wrong, the moving company did a stellar job, but all moves are hectic and challenging.
When we eventually shut the doors in our new house, we were beyond exhausted. Our legs felt like lead, and it was an effort to talk. The only thing I needed to do was make my bed. I had moved my toiletries and personal items earlier, so it was amazing to easily access what I needed for bed, and more importantly, the bed is what I needed. Slept like a baby.
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