Seven Lessons I’ve Learned From Moving Into A New Home

What do cable, high-speed internet, and a coffee maker have in common? Proof that I’ve finally settled into my new home. Yes, after two months and a slew of other major life events, my family and I have moved into our home…complete with endless cartoons for my little girl, homemade coffee for me and the hubby and cyberspace at our fingertips. Oh the luxuries…

I’ve mentioned before that I’m no stranger to moving…26 times in 36 years. I imagine that qualifies me as being somewhat “experienced” in this type of life-altering event. Well, after 26 moves I have learned a few things…allow me to share them with you:

1. No matter how many times you’ve moved, it’s never easy! It changes your life. It alters your routine. It causes stress. It’s all manageable of course with a little bit of organization, but I’d be lying if I said it gets easier.

2. No one cares more about your stuff than you do…but it’s just stuff. Seriously, why would a moving guy think it’s better to pack the printer and the printer cable in separate, unlabeled boxes? Really? Or that it’s a good idea to pack heavy coffee mugs on top of delicate lampshades. And that oil paintings can be stacked together without any padding in between them. Apparently our moving guys did. We were a bit upset at first. Not so much that the items were damaged but more that it felt like a lack of respect for our things. But that’s just it….they’re just things. They way we saw it was we could either trash them, donate them, replace them, or simply live without them. After all…it’s just stuff.

3. Moving into a home is like doing a renovation or do-it-yourself project. It’s never done on time or on budget. I thought I’d have this house unpacked and moved into in less than a week. Well, today is day 7…and we still have a couple of rooms to go. I’m confident it will be done by this weekend which isn’t bad…I just underestimated the time it would take. And of course, little expenses pop up….like groceries, door mats, curtain rods, light bulbs, etc. Oh what fun, but the end is near ;o)

4. It does pay to be organized. From the preparing for the move in Tampa to actually moving in here in San Antonio, being organized definitely helped. In Tampa I made of list of all the things that needed to get done like cleaning, canceling utilities, purging and sorting items. As a matter of fact, the moving folks thanked me for being so organized because it made their packing job much easier. Moving into the house here in San Antonio was fairly smooth too because we knew exactly where everything was going which made it extremely easy to direct the moving folks where to unload boxes and furniture pieces. I also analyzed and envisioned “zones” in my kitchen beforehand (by far the most intensive and important place for me to organize) which made it much easier to put things away as I unloaded my boxes. And the fact that we did a major purge six months before our move proved beneficial too. If we didn’t do a purge we’d have a garage full of unused furniture.

5. Speaking of purging…there’s always room to purge and purge some more. Even though we did that major purge six months before our move, we still found things to get rid of. Luckily, they were only small items and not real heavy pieces otherwise it would have been a waste of money because your shipping costs are determined by the weight of your property. I could only imagine what a waste of money it would have been to ship the couch, glass coffee table, old baby gear and strollers, BBQ grill and other heavy items that we got rid of before we moved.

6. Tylenol and coffee are your friends. In the military we called Motrin our “Ranger Candy” because rarely did you not take some after patrolling up and down hilly terrain in 90+ degree heat with 100% humidity for 8-12 hours with a 40-60 pound rucksack on your back. Yeah…that hurt. Well, as I’ve aged I’ve turned to Tylenol Arthritis as my new ranger candy. That paired with coffee in the morning got me through the beating that moving tends to put you through.

7. There’s nothing like being in your home. I was once asked in one of my graduate degree courses where my favorite place in the world was. My classmates all named off exotic places. I simply said, my home. No matter where I’ve lived or how short of a stay, I always made each place a home (I have my mother to thank for teaching me how). A home should be a sanctuary…a place to relax and feel comfortable…place away from all the chaos in life.

So, with every move and with all the headaches, I hope to at the very least make it a comfortable place for my family. And I think it’s working. Everyday my (almost) 3 year old says: “We’re home! We’re home! This is our home. I love my home!” Well, that’s all I need to hear.