If you've known me for a long time you know that I have some Obsessive Compulsive tendencies. I've never been formally diagnosed with OCD and I could totally be inappropriately self-diagnosing. Most people just know me as "anal" or "picky." What I know about myself is that I can manage my anxiety if I can prepare and be organized on the front end. The picture above shows how I'm packing this time. I say "this time" because the last time I moved my house and classroom at the same time I did it a little differently. I learned from my mistakes and tweaked my system.
Each box or piece of furniture gets a colored tag. Each color is specific to a room. The living room is light blue, bedroom #1 is lime green, etc. The yellow tags are special instructions -- fragile, this end up, etc. There is space at the bottom of each tag for me to write the contents of the box. If I can have my ducks in a row early enough I'll put a coordinating colored tag on the doors at my new house to identify which bedroom is which and where the boxes and furniture should go. I'm not above drawing a floor plan! I have several people who are coming to help me unload the moving truck and I want things to go as smoothly as possible. I realize I can't control everything, but that's not going to stop me from trying!
The other reason for all of the planning and preparation is to make the loading process as efficient as possible. Moving is incredibly expensive. It's way more expensive this time than it was the last time I moved. Part of that is distance, but just hiring people to come load the truck I've rented is twice what I paid three years ago. At over one hundred dollars an hour and a two hour minimum, it's costing me over $200 minimum, just to load the truck. That doesn't include truck rental, fuel or any other moving expense I haven't discovered yet. That being the case, I am bound and determined not to have these movers for any more than the minimum. I'm hoping if I have everything organized and work the night before the movers come to load some of the boxes, then perhaps I can keep the movers at two hours.
I truly started packing late yesterday afternoon. In some ways I've been preparing to move for several weeks, by cleaning out and selling items that I'm not using any more. Yesterday was when I really started packing. As of tonight I have completely packed my guest room (including taking the twin bed apart...go me!) and have packed portions of my room, my office and my bathroom. Certainly there is a lot still left to do, but I feel good about where I'm at. If anyone would be willing to come pack my kitchen I will totally allow you to do so. That is a room I DO NOT enjoy packing!! So long as I can put my hot pink "kitchen" labels on the outside of the boxes, I'll let you pack the boxes however you'd like. Promise!
I'm a little tired and a little sore tonight. I've started to feel arthritis in my hands. Arthritis runs on both sides of my family. Historically, symptoms begin showing up in the thirties, I'm keeping with that pattern. I'll have to pace myself so that I'm not so tired by Friday that I can't be effective in loading the truck, but I think I'm on pace to do just fine.
Six days left in Stillwater...I have no doubt they will go fast!
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