Home Is Where the Air Force Sends You

Now that we are settled in this will be our last post about moving, promise.  I did, however, promise a few tips we learned along the way and friends are waiting for a few pictures, so here goes.

34 Week Your House!  Really- it is a verb now!  Prior to this move we ran our 34 Weeks of Clean Series.  (Updated post coming on Monday!) The less STUFF you have sitting around, the less you have to pack and unpack.  Wanna know how much we got rid of?  We went from having three or four packers for three days, to two packers for two days!  I told you I got rid of a lot of stuff!

Do NOT put every box into your house.  This move we had just over 300 boxes.  If you have the movers stack all of those boxes in your house you will have nowhere to move.  Instead, in our garage we have them make neat rows of any boxes that are not full of dishes or heavy books, or easy to open and put away immediately.  That way we not only have more room, but we can open a few at a time and not be overwhelmed.  At the end of the day the garage door can close and you can pretend you are settled.  Until the next day, at least!

Open boxes as they are unloaded.  This is a job I give my kids.  If they see a box that says something simple like blankets, lamps, or lampshades, they unpack it as soon as it is brought in, collapse the box, and make a stack of boxes outside the front door.  By doing so, we probably send 30-50 boxes out with the movers when they leave at the end of the day.

Know where your furniture is going and get it there quickly.  That way once you start unpacking there is a place to put things. YOU can always rearrange later if you need to.

Assign each family member a room and have them work on that room!  Wandering from room to room is distracting and gets you nowhere.  Stay in one room and get it done before moving on.  The kids start with their own rooms first, but once done they move on to help in another room.

Unpack things where they belong.  In other words, take it out of the box and put it where it goes.  No stacking on counters allowed.  Touch things once, not multiple times.

Work for a set amount of time and then be done.  Work hard, then play hard.  At the end of the day, walk away from it all and relax.  It will still be waiting for you in the morning, but if you are exhausted and cranky it makes for a longer day.

Hang pictures last!  This is hard for me because I want things back to "normal" as fast as possible, but take a lesson from one who has messed up before- hold off on hanging things 'til the end.  In case you decide that chair or bed is not where you want it to be.  Just saying.

Don't expect perfection for a while.  Put things away, but know that you can always make changes later on.

Our home is always a work in progress and this one is no exception.  There are several projects I want to work on, but Rome was not built in a day, right?  Until then, we are learning to be a family of six once again, and thanking God for His provision this past year and for blessing us with the place we now call home!

Come visit us!

Blessings,