Hello again 🙂
When I initially started this draft, I was still in my old home in the Midwest and getting prepped to move myself and my family down South. At the time, I couldn't help but reflect on how moving out of my apartment went. Honestly, it was super rough - for a few reasons which you'll see down below. Having just moved again, I can assure you that it doesn't get more enjoyable.
So flashback to that second move - the one out of my apartment. September was incredibly rough - I caught COVID for the first time. On top of that, work was rough. We had an 18 hour drive to look forward to; packing our stuff up in a storage unit, etc. September was just not a kind month and Green Day hit.
Moving out of my apartment and back home temporarily
Then, when I moved back with my parents in the Midwest, I stayed there for a few months (longer than I expected). Fast forward, I went again a few months later back down South to move in to my new place.
Here are the things I learned:
- Pack way in advance if you can.
- Throw away what you can replenish later/doesn't have sentimental value.
- Be flexible with your expectations.
- Moving isn't the only stressor.
- Keep hydrated and keep on moving.
Pack in advance
We started putting little things away 2-3 months before we were going to move out. Things we packed away earlier included:
- the extra sets of bowls and plates
- glasses, mugs, cups,
- books
- extra linen, etc.
We tried to be smart. However, a lot of the stuff we left unpacked were things we needed to utilize still. Plus, friends were already planning on coming to stay with us for a few days. (This was planned before the lease renewal and price increases showed up at the door.)
However, shortly after the friends left, everyone in the group started feeling sick. One by one, we all got tested positive for COVID. One by one, they all came back positive.
In addition to feeling extremely unwell with COVID, the social distancing required really impacted how we were able to pack and move. Even though I was sick, I was very determined to get even a little bit done. However, I didn't feel right about going to the store or be by near people since I'd feel awful if I went out and was contagious to others.
Due to this, and busy work schedules, the bulk of the packing only began a week or two before we were hoping to move out. This resulted in some tears, and a lot more additional stress since we had to put the stuff in a storage unit outside of the city.
Throw stuff away
This is something I'm particularly bad at. (I get it from my parents who hold on to EVERYTHING.) This trait only eccentuated during the big move back down to the South. I kid you not, my mom told me to pack her fly swatter. (You read that right.)
However, because we were bad at actually packing in advance, we had to do a lot of last-minute packing. This became a lot of "Okay, where would this go at the new place? Is this something that will be used often? Will it fit in our storage unit?"
Random things like an old license plate - yes, an old license plate from out of state... I thought it would've been cool to preserve that. Was it realistic? No. We ended up tossing it and a bunch of other random miscellaneous things that we could easily replace.
We did salvage whatever we could - for example, unopened bulk buys, such as pasta noodles. I ended up driving that back to my parents' home with that box to save everyone some monies. We also gave a bunch of other things away to my work friend. That helped me to feel better about waste.
You'd be shocked how much stuff is acumulated over the years, so account for the garbage earlier on if you can.
Be flexible with expectations
Initially, I was hoping to leave the apartment a few days earlier so I could surprise my parents and my dog. However, due to COVID and the delay everything caused, dates changed several times. We also had to get last-minute plans rolling as well.
We still made our deadline because, well, we had to. Our unit was already rented out to new renters and there was no way to delay that.
It took some sleepless nights and miserable days in the heat, including 6 AM drives to the storage unit. However, we did it. Trust me when I say that your plans will likely need to be adjusted, and you just need to practice giving yourself some grace.
Other stressors outside of moving
Before moving out, we had to, of course, pack everything and move it all out. However, because we lived in an apartment, and I had put up shelving during my time there, etc... we also had to hole patch and paint. S/O to cool Home Depot guy (I think his name was Adrian) who tried to help us to color match. We probably took 10 trips to Home Depot, no lie.
Work
I cannot stress how stressful work stress was stressing me out... stress. Literally, thinking about it again is giving me flashbacks. I'll admit it! During the move, my workaholic brain thought more so on work than the move. I'm aware that I'm brainsick.
To make a long story very short, it was one of the harder struggles I had at my job. Up until that point, everything else was small fish. I had been doing well, making moves - and BAM. All hands on deck for one hot issue after the next. I can recognize that the situation was much bigger than just me - but because I am me, I couldn't fully accept that at the time.
Take it from me - please have a healthy boundary between yourself and work. It shouldn't take a cross-country move for you to establish and maintain healthy work habits/expectations.
COVID
Let's also not forget about the fun COVID surprise. Despite being vaccinated, I still couldn't breathe during the work day (and it got worse at night). I honestly don't know how I got through it. Thankfully, the worst part actually wasn't when I had a fever for several days straight. It was the long COVID. That was the killer of all of my motivation and joy. Although, if I'm being fair about the situation - I didn't rest as much as I should have. Resting more would've likely helped the recovery process, but again - brainsick. See above.
Lack of Transportation
The third blow that I have not even told you about yet - I also had a flat tire. I woke up and discovered that I had a long construction nail in my tire one morning. Immediately, there went my ability to transport myself - or anything.
When I lived up north, I had coverage on my tires. However, that coverage was only good for a few locations in partnership with the mom & pop shop I had them installed and covered at. So, I had to call my insurance and get a tow. During this process, the front bumper of my car got cracked making its way up the tow truck. Then, I had to spend money to buy a brand new tire since the nail was stuck beyond repair. All of this was happening at once and I was just not having a good time.
Keep hydrated and keep going
One of the things that helped me a lot during COVID was to drink lots of water. Honestly though, now that I'm living in the South, I will keep swearing allegiance to water as an overall. Even if I didn't catch COVID, I would tell you to keep drinking a lot of fluids while moving. That helped me tremendously in the apartment since I lived on the top floor without an elevator. Those trips up and down really did a number, and during each break, water was my go-to. I had other stuff on hand to hydrate (like juice, milk, and smoothies). However, nothing tasted quite as good as a glass of cold water.
Staying hydrated also saved me this most recent move back down South. My trick was to have a bottle with me in the car and water always ready in the fridge. It's too easy to stop by a fast food restaurant and grab some soda. However, water is so much better for you.
Plus, I have this thing where when I drink too much soda, and my face breaks out. I don't understand it. It's helped me to avoid a pop addiction though, so I can't complain too much.
In the end, it's you and your journey. Moving is an important and stressful part of it. However, if you have fair expectations going into it, it isn't as bad.