Packing & Boxes & Scheduling Snafus
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Well, I guess it’s next to impossible for everything to go according to plan when there are packing, boxes, and scheduling snafus. And then it’s like a domino effect.
This is what Kendra does every day for both herself and the investors who hire her for contracting jobs. I don’t know how she does it. Think I’d lose my mind.
On Monday, Kendra was at the house when Lowe’s brought the refrigerator. She had measured, but had not allowed for the baseboards that stuck out from the wall. After taking all the doors off everything to get it inside, they then hit the new obstacle.
So the delivery guys just had to leave it sitting there, and Kendra will have to saw some of the baseboard wood out to allow for the refrigerator door to open.
Installing The New Countertop:
The next thing she’s got scheduled is the countertop’s arrival. Kendra figured she might as well wait till the countertop guys get out of the way to get the refrigerator situated. She said this way they won’t accidentally ding the fridge.
She said she took the sink to the company doing the countertop so they could measure the space it would need in the countertop. I’m not familiar with all this, so I don’t know how it works. She picked the sink out, so I have only seen a photo on her phone.
The poor plumber has been out to the house several times to hook up this and unhook that. Kendra can’t be here with me on Friday morning. She has to wait over at the house for the plumber. It won’t be cheap. She’s paying and will tally things up, and I’ll then pay her.
They can’t paint the exterior yet because there must be 48 hours between rain events. And it’s supposed to rain. Apparently, they’ve been chipping off paint, she told me.
Packing Boxes Sizes:
I swear, whoever makes these dish packing boxes is way off. I think my dinner plates are the standard 10-inch (don’t quote me on that), and I could barely get them in the box.
Even though my grandson Riley took a set of my dishes to college, I still end up accumulating dishes. Mainly salad plates to change things up for holidays. Take white plates and add a seasonal salad dish, and you have a whole new look.
I gave John two sets of 4 glasses, as I had already packed two sets. John now has the recliner, the glasses, and various other things I’ve given him. He deserves to get it because he’s helped with getting boxes to the second bedroom, so I have room to walk.
However, now I’m at that stage where boxes are everywhere, and I’m wending my way through a circuitous path to get from room to room. And of course I find I need something that’s long been packed, though I thought I’d planned for every eventuality.
Where Does The Time Go?
Lord, where does the time go? Time seemed to crawl by as I waited for moving day. Now it’s speeding past at a fast clip.
Let’s say when I tape, I really tape the moving boxes. I sat there feeling guilty about all the tape and paper I’ll be contributing to the landfill. Maybe Teri wrapped and taped the same way; I don’t know. But I’ve gone through so much tape, I stopped counting the rolls.
It’s just easier on my hands to keep wrapping tape than to take scissors, make a cut, and start again.
I’m rather mindless instead of strategic at this point. Informative responses have flown out the window. I’m just huffing and puffing and trying to get it done.
This morning, I cleared out the refrigerator because Greg’s coming and he has mighty biceps and can carry all these heavy contractor bags to the dumpster.
So much stuff! How do we manage to collect so much stuff?
Changing My Mind:
I changed my mind about taking a table/desk. I have two black tables, and I decided to move them instead. Kendra kept telling me I surely wanted a desk. And I kept saying no, I don’t really need one because I work in my chair.
Then, yesterday, I woke up and decided, yes, I’m taking the tables for the small office space.
One will go in that little room that leads to the backyard. Kendra said that’s where she thinks other tenants put a desk. So I pretty much know it will fit.
Ivy’s Cat Carrier & The Boxes Of Ashes:
I’ve got to get Ivy’s cat carrier down from its perch on a shelf above my washing machine. I’ll ask John to get it down, along with a red box that’s next to it.
What I probably won’t tell John is that inside that red box are all of the pets (ashes) that I’ve had cremated. They’re all in their own little wooden boxes, with their names engraved on them, and stacked in that red box.
When Maria was cleaning for me, she seemed to have an aversion to all my pets’ ashes being on display. She was more than happy to hide them in a box in the closet.
My intention, when I die, is to be cremated, then mixed with all the pets’ ashes. I’ve asked Kendra and Kasi to combine them all and put them in a flower garden.
I guess they could pour all the ashes into the flower bed I’ll create. But then Kendra would rent the house and someone else would live there.
Moving Boxes:
Both a plate and a drinking glass box were included in the kitchen assortment moving box I ordered from Amazon. But what about bowls? Couldn’t they include a box just for bowls? Who designs these things anyway?
Then, just a bit ago, I realized I had not completely emptied the little coffee bar in the corner of my kitchen. And I found at least a dozen more white plates!
If I ever even mention the word “move” again, someone please shoot me. Somehow, I don’t think it will ever happen. I believe I was destined to live in the house I named Mamie.
Oh, Brenda….you will love your new nest……when you get settled in!!! You are so fortunate to have your daughters to help you in all this activity! How blessed you are.
Can you give me some information on the GORGEOUS pictures of flower arrangements and the BEAUTIFUL black cat you have included in this post and the one about anxiety? I would absolutely love to have copies of these….do you know the artists name? where you got them?
Thanks for the info/entertainment about your life….
Barb
You crack me up 😉 you sound like my hubby. I want a small cottage, he says he’s done with moving. Maybe John or Greg can put your closet in your car like so you can just hang the stuff up. Same as your coats. Wish I was closer to help.
You’ve been writing blog posts nonstop . Your hands must be feeling better to write every day . But maybe take a break and focus on moving . And expecting everything to be done on November 1st is unrealistic. I am very impatient but this is out of your control.
I had new countertops put in at least 12 years ago. And a new sink. I remember taking the sink to the countertop people and it came back with the new counters. I don’t remember if it was attached to the countertops or they attached it here. I think I was trying to stay away from the delivery process.
Brenda, just because you arbitrarily made the date to move to be this Friday doesn’t mean that you can’t change it. Even if you moved it to Monday or Tuesday, you would give yourself plenty of time. I understand that you have decided you were going to be out of this place by then, but you could also decide that your mental and physical health is more important to stick to your guns stubbornly on that. there’s no reason you can’t change it. also, you need to get these grab sticks from Amazon. we can’t live without them around here. they are so well made that you can literally use them to pick up a dime off of the floor or grab large items on a tall shelf. 2-Pack 34 Inch Extra Long Grabber Reacher with Rotating Jaw – Mobility Aid Reaching Assist Tool (Blue) https://a.co/d/3OYWqgI
I have felt like “never again” every time we have moved I think. But when we miserable enough, yep we will do it again. I am wondering, are you getting a new recliner? Cause of all our furniture those recliners are our most important. As one ages, you simply must have one for resting, sleeping etc. Nothing else does the same. I hope it will all come together. We all get a bit crazy at the end…just start giving away or throwing most everything away even…
This, too, shall pass.
I think when it gets down to the wire, we see all that is left to pack. But it messes with the brain because it doesn’t always take as long as our brain seems to think it does. Like oodles of errands, but several take 5 minutes. Seems more, KWIM? Baseboard measurement – I live in a manuf home and they forgot to measure the fridge space and add in the baseboards. No biggy. We removed them and no one noticed! Then it fit just fine. Boxes and plates? Probably the same people that made the boxes, made my Bosch dishwasher where the prongs are too close together to put in my Phalzgraff dishes. Total eye roll. I have Corelle now, but you gotta wonder. LOL on the “mighty biceps”. I had a visual, but then you said he couldn’t reach something above your closet – the visual was destroyed. 🙂 LOL Hang in there. It’ll be over soon.
please, the Bosch dishwasher prongs! I love how clean it gets my dishes, better than any I’ve ever had. And so quiet I’m not even sure it’s running. but oh my gosh what kind of plates do they use in Germany that they think this would fit anything? do they not use any kind of bowls? it is the most frustrating patterns of prongs I’ve ever worked with
EXACLTY!!!!, Robin!
It will be all over before you know it…then you can relax and enjoy your new home one day at a time…take your time and enjoy decorating…we all wish we could help…you are so loved by alot of people💕
Brenda,
Je pense beaucoup à vous et à ce déménagement.
Tout va bien se passer et je souhaite une belle nouvelle vie pour Vous et pour Ivy!
Thanks! I’m taking care of Ivy. She rarely leaves my side.
Brenda,
I was wondering about something. You mentioned you will pay your rent until your lease is up at your present apartment. Then you also mentioned you transferred your utilities. I would check your lease and make sure whether you need to keep the utilities on at the old apartment until your lease is up. I know a lot of apartment places the utilities will revert back to the apartment place when you turn them off. I just didn’t want them to have a reason for them to say you broke your lease or find a way to charge you in case a pipe froze etc. It has just been on my mind, and I would feel bad if something like that happened. Take care and Good Luck!
I’m leaving the utilities on here.
Brenda,
Good to know. I was just worried they would try to mess with you more. You are very loved, and we all worry about you! I check every day to see how you are doing. You always make my day! Thank you for all the blessings you send out. Take care of yourself! I am so excited for you and Ivy!
Just read your “The Moving Plan” post and love the name of the beautiful new house and wanted to had to the name analogy:
In french, “Mamie” is a cute way of calling your grandmother. My mom was “Mamie Jojo” to her grandchildren since she was called Johanne. 🙂
So your new house is like a nice, welcoming, grandmother who baked cookies and pies and always have a container of candies (preferably butter candies, those were my favorites!) somewhere hidden for the small children!
Around 2013-2014 I had someone contact me and they told me something about how I had more Pinterest followers than anyone in OK. And that people mostly liked my pins of what they called “Grandma’s kitchen.”
I know it’s a major pain in the neck right now with time running out and you feeling the pressure, but this too will pass. Take everything with you that the movers can fit into the truck, leave the rest to move over time until your lease expires in a few months. If you give things away now you may later regret some of it and maybe all of it. You can also put aside at Mamie what you are not sure you will be using once you get there, and then decide whether to donate pieces, try to sell them online or give them away to friends and family. It has never failed, I’ve given things away or donated them before moving and of course after I move and start to get settled, I’m looking for the things I donated or gave away and I could kick myself – duh! Then I have to decide whether I can live without them or buy brand new. Does Mamie have a basement where you can store things, or a weather-proof shed? I think it would be best if you settle into Mamie before deciding what to give away/donate. Yeah, we’ve got that huge storm system surging in from the southwest meeting the dip in the Jet Stream filled with cold air. It’s been super-windy here in SE Wisconsin the last several days and rain is predicted to start here later tonight and through tomorrow (Thursday). My front yard is LOADED with what looks to be a ton of leaves blown into my yard from the strong winds, and the trees around here have just begun to shed, I’d say only a quarter of the trees in the neighborhood are bare at this point. I may be cleaning up leaves on Christmas Day at the rate we’re going. The City deadline for cleaning up leaves is November 15, weather permitting. Well, the City is going to have to extend their clean-up crews to maybe Christmas this year, LOL! What will come first – finally the trees are bare and stop shedding, or the first blizzard? My guess is – the first blizzard. See Brenda – it could be worse!
It can ALWAYS be worse, Jan! The only thing I’m giving away, or already have actually, was the extra recliner I gave to John. He needed it far more than I do and he never has money. He is just thrilled that he got it and that makes me feel good.
When we sold our house and were moving into another house after 30 years of accumulating so much stuff, I thought we would never be able to get everything sorted out and packed before moving day. The realtor stopped by and commented on how much we still had to get done and only a few days to go and I told her we worked best under pressure and we would have everything ready to go in time, and that we did. The move went very well. I’m sure you will have everything under control and your move will go smoothly too.
I know it will get done. I’m probably just going to have to have them do some of it. I’m the opposite. Pressure puts me in panic mode.
Brenda, I feel your pain. When we moved the last time and it is the last time, I said the same. Where does all of this stuff come from and why do I need it. We downsized from 4000 sq ft roughly to 2700. That doesn’t sound like much unless it is filled with stuff.
Thank God for Terri. How wonderful that she is coming to help and that you have John, Greg and your daughters too!
Once you are in the house you will forget all about the anxiety of moving.
Good luck and looking forward to seeing your wonderful new place with your stamp on it.
I remember that move. Seems like it was just yesterday. Then you did all that remodeling. And now you’re having to do it again.
Hello, I have been a follower since your Tyler days, I love your blog! I found this poem, modified it just a bit, just for you. FYI, there was no author listed,
Packing boxes all stacked up high,
I can’t help but let out a sigh,
Oh, moving day, you’re such a pain,
But it’s time to bid farewell again.
Packing boxes, what a chore,
Tape, tape, tape, tape galore.
Upside down and inside out
This move is making me scream and shout!
AND ONE MORE, AUTHOR UNKNOWN-
Ahead, a path unfolds,
In its twists, future holds,
Each step a new discovery,
In every path a treasury.
Sure hope there are no more snags and the move goes great!
ps How is Ivy handling the disarray of her home 🙂
Oh, thank you! That is so true!
Boy I hear both stress and lots of excitement coming from you. It will
get done just you wait and see. Sorry to hear you aren’t going to use that cute bed but it will be sweet in the guest room. I do hope
the counter tops get out in before you move though. Sounds like Kendra is really on top of things.
If I had her job I think I’d shoot myself. She coordinates contractors all day long for a living. And now she’s having to deal with mine.
Wow! Your post almost made my head whirl! I could feel the stress just reading it. I just hope things go better from now on. You will be in my prayers for comfort and peace. I think you could use them right now!
We will be waiting for pictures of your new home.
Blessings,
Joan
There will be lots of pictures!
Always last minute things to do, you seem extremely organized, good luck . How is Ivy handling all the activities 😎😽
Ivy is not too happy. She’s very needy and I’m trying to give her lots of attention. I’ve been brushing her off and on today.