Moving is a lot of work, but this move was about as smooth as it could possibly be. Leading up to the move, I made sure to do everything I could to ensure that it would be organized. Even after our big Yard Sale in March, we still had some extra stuff that we didn't need, so we took a bunch to DI. With all of the remaining stuff, I carefully packed it so that it would be easy to find things when we unpacked. Here was the method that worked well for us...
1. First, I gathered boxes... lots of boxes. I had two friends collect boxes from work. One brought me tons of paper boxes from her law office, and the other owns a bakery and brought me the extra boxes they had. That helped so much. To get the rest that we needed, I watched KSL classifieds and got a bunch from people who were giving them away for free. We decided that it was worth it to spend a little bit of money on specialty boxes, so we ordered 3 wardrobe boxes and a dish pack from the U-haul store. They were awesome, and I highly recommend getting them. The clothes slide right in on the hangers so you don't have to fold them up. It is also tricky to get boxes big enough for certain things, so the wardrobe boxes were a lifesaver. The dish pack is super thick and comes with separators for glasses so that you can pack them all in one box without too much extra padding. I had all of the empty boxes laid out in the garage so that when I needed one, I could go out and choose the size that was right.
2. The next thing I did was create a small packing box out of an extra photo box that I had originally gotten from Michaels. In the box was all of the important packing tools like: packing tape, markers, labels, scissors, box cutter, etc. This box went with me everywhere. It made it so easy to move from room to room sealing boxes and labeling them when they were ready.
4. Then, I spent about a week and a half slowly packing everything up that we could live without. I would do a couple of boxes a day and try to clean out closets and the storage room that I knew we wouldn't need. We stacked all of the packed boxes neatly in the garage so that they were out of the way.
5. Three days before the move, I started putting EVERYTHING in boxes. We went strictly to paper products for our meals and we ate up all of our extra food without buying anything new (this made for some strange meals :) so that the kitchen could be packed. I also packed each person a suitcase with clothes for several days so the bedrooms could be completely finished. One night, my friend Geri McCauley, volunteered to take the boys for a few hours while Jonathon and I packed. She spoiled them rotten. They made pizza, had a water fight, made slime, and had treats. While they were gone, Jonathon and I worked hard. We got so much done, and I finally felt like we might be able to finish everything in time. It was such a huge help, and something I want to do for other people who are moving in the future.
6. The day before the move, Jonathon took the day off from work, and Grandma H. came and took the kids to her house to spend the night. We worked hard getting all of the packing done that day, so that we could start cleaning. With all of the boxes packed, we moved them all to the rooms that would be easiest to get them out to the truck (the garage, living room and playroom). Then Jonathon took apart all of the beds, and we moved all of the furniture out of the upstairs and to the entry rooms. Seeing all of our stuff completely fill up 3 rooms made us quite worried that we weren't going to fit in the truck.
My mom arrived that afternoon, and together we deep cleaned the entire upstairs... bathrooms, walls, windows, carpets. Then we closed off the upstairs and didn't use it any more. That night we picked up the 26' moving truck, and then worked on cleaning the kitchen and other areas of the house that were empty.
7. The next day was MOVING DAY! We had announced the move in church the week before, and it turned out that another family in our ward (just 2 houses away from us) were also moving that day. We coordinated with them and decided that we would try to get as much done on our house as we could before 9:30 when they could pick up their truck. Then we would split the help, so that both families could get moved. Thankfully, tons of people showed up at 8:30 am to help. We were overwhelmed by the love and support that people showed us. People just kept coming! We bought donuts, chocolate milk, and juice for everyone that came to help, but that seemed like such a small way to say thank you for the amazing service they provided. Since everything was in the garage or front rooms, it made it so easy for people to quickly grab boxes and take them out to the truck. The entire house was completely empty within one hour.
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| If you look closely, you can see the other families' moving truck just down the road. |
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| So many friends showed up |
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| Mormons make great movers :) |
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| Loading the truck |
8. Several friends, family, and ward members helped me finish cleaning the kitchen, mop floors, and vacuum while the men were packing up the truck. Within TWO hours, the entire house was empty and beautifully cleaned.
Jonathon's dad is a packing professional, and he orchestrated the packing of the truck to ensure that everything would fit. He made sure every little space was utilized. I was so relieved when the door to the truck closed and everything was safely inside. We did a quick inspection of the house, checked the yard, and then locked the door and headed out. It was sad to lock the door for the last time. I was the last one to leave, and it was definitely bittersweet.
Our entourage (Jonathon's dad with a trailer, Uncle Grant and Aunt Sharon with another trailer, my mom in her SUV, Jonathon driving the moving truck, and me in our van) all headed down to Provo to the new house. When we arrived at our new home, I ran inside to check it out. It was just lovely... even better than I remembered from the one brief time I had seen it. They had it cleaned so nicely, and everything was ready to move-in. For that I am so grateful!
Several of my local cousins came to help us unload, as well as Joe and Kym, some of Jonathon's brothers and sisters, and even our new neighbor. When Jonathon got there with the moving truck everybody jumped in and started helping. I hung signs on each of the rooms so that people would know exactly where each labeled box went. It was so nice to have everything in the right rooms so that I didn't have to move it all around again after everyone left. While all that was happening, my mom and Kym were putting shelf paper on all of the shelves in my kitchen. That is my mom's special housewarming gift to all of her kids when they move. It is a special thing that she can do that would most likely not happen if she wasn't there. It is just an extra little touch that shows her love.
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| Unloading at the new house |
Within about an hour, the truck was unloaded, and people were starting to leave. I was shocked at how fast everything happened. It was 2:00 pm, and we were done with the big part of the move. Uncle Grant and Aunt Sharon's family stayed around for another hour or two and helped us set up all of the beds. They assembled them, and then made them with the bedding. It was so nice to have a place ready for us to sleep that night. What a huge blessing!
Then some of Jonathon's family showed up and helped put stuff away while I did some grocery shopping. When I got home, all of the games were put in the closet, all of my craft boxes were put away, the furniture was all assembled, and the playroom was unpacked. I couldn't believe how much they had done. It made everything so much more manageable, and it really started to feel like home. We can not express our gratitude for everybody who helped us so much. Our family and friends really came through for us in ways that we didn't even know we needed. Thank you is not enough, but please know that we will pay it forward the very best that we can. It will take a while to get settled, but we are off to a great start!
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