Life is a Moving Target

Hi, my name is Karen and I'm in the middle of moving.  What a great time to start a blog!  But writing things down seems to help feel more in control (yes, Karen has control issues) and confident about an otherwise overwhelmng situation.  Plus, I have advice!

Luckily, we're just moving across town.  Unluckily, we haven't sold our current house (more on that later).  But the silver lining is that it's not critical that we pack every, single thing we own and don't have to clean as we go.  Not that I want to spend much time here after the closing...I want to get my new house in shape!

That's where the in-laws come in.  They're coming to help out by keeping the 5 yr old and 9 yr old occupied and out of the way.  I'll also put them to work cleaning once the house starts emptying out.  Pretty sure my MIL would make me crazy if she helped unpack...I imagine being asked about 317 times "where do you want this?"  I know I can only make so many decisions in a day and eventually the answer would be "up your...!"

Hypocritically, I'm asking two of my closest girlfriends to come help me unpack.  But they're down to earth women who will be able to logically arrange a kitchen.  The new one is laid out like the old one so, just pack, rinse, repeat.

Onto advice and websites I've found useful.  The first one that I recommend is http://www.movers-edge.com/, a lot of great advice on moving yourself, choosing a moving company, how to decide which to do and the best checklist on the net http://www.movers-edge.com/Moving-Checklist-s/12.htm.  If you find a better one, please put it in your comments to share!  This check list covered a lot of items, then I added in things I thought of and tweaked the timeline a little bit.

One thing I'd like to share: movers aren't all or nothing.  You don't have to decide between "oh my gosh, how can we possibly move everything ourselves" and "it will cost HOW much to have them move us?"  You can have them move only big items, you can have them move critical areas (kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms), you can have them pack everything, you can have them pack only some of the rooms.  This way you can save money and keep track of your personal stuff.

Before I sign off, I have to share the picture of my son's birthday cake (of COURSE there was a kid's birthday less than a week before we move!)  He wanted a Mario Super Galaxy birthday.  I must say, I decorate one hell of a cake.  I LOVE decorating cakes (I also love sewing, hence the name of my blog).  The cake represents a planet, it's covered with grass (fun little tip from Wilton, can also be used to make hair), pathways and mini-figures.  The starbits are pieces of colored rock candy and gold coins.  Everyone was wowed, even the kids!

OK, folks, that's all I have time for today as the movers are coming in four days to pack the house.  I have a few areas I'd like to get more organized and pack myself.