You just found out or decided that it’s time to move. Congratulations or condolences as the case may be. Once your emotions settle down a bit, it really hits you – you are MOVING! Where to start? What to do? Can I get it all done in time? Relax. Breathe. There is a light at the end of your tunnel.
Having moved more times than I care to think about, there are many tips and pointers that I would love to share with you. The first thing to accomplish is to purge, purge, purge. If you haven’t used it in the last year, donate it, give it away, sell it or just plain toss it in the trash. Everything you move will have to be packed, moved, unpacked and a place found for it. Think about the changes from your current residence to the new place. Is the weather different? Is the space going to be larger or smaller? If you are moving from North Dakota to Florida, you are not going to need all those galoshes, gloves and heavy overcoats. Will the style and size of your current furniture fit into the new place? My palm tree and fern patterned Florida style furniture really looked out of place when we were in Kentucky. In short, make sure that what you plan to take with you is something you NEED to take and will be a benefit to you.
If your budget allows, new boxes are stronger, cleaner and since they are of a uniform size, will stack more compactly when loading them onto the moving truck. If you need to conserve funds, boxes are available from most stores. It helps to speak with a manager to determine the best day and time to pick up boxes from the store.
Assemble your boxes, packing tape, bubble wrap, wrapping paper and scissors at a table or counter top suitable for wrapping and securing items to be packed. Start with the things hanging on your walls. Take down pictures and as you wrap them, write a short description of the item on the wrapping, i.e. family picture, Dad’s graduation photo, grandkids at the beach, etc. so that you know what is underneath the wrapping paper when you get to your new home. Right now, you think that you will obviously know each item, but after experiencing much frustration over this point, let me assure you that a few descriptive words now will help you in the future.
Move on to all the decorative items you have sitting around. This takes some purposeful looking because everything just looks like it ‘belongs’ right there. Candle holders, figurines, whatever you have that makes your home personal to you should be carefully wrapped and packed.
Be mindful of the weight of items being packed. Books are amazingly heavy so put them into many small boxes rather than one large one. If you are fortunate enough to have guys moving the boxes, some larger ones filled with light items such as linens or pillows are fine.
As each box is filled, write a list of the major contents of the box either directly onto the box or on a 3 X 5 card and tape it onto the top. It’s so wonderful to see the words “light bulbs” on a box when you arrive and find that the previous owners took every single light bulb with them. Or the words “coffee pot” (!) – how welcome are they?? I am all for reducing frustration whenever possible.
Take some time to consider what each person will need in order to function up to the day of the move. If possible, set those items, such as clothing, hygiene items, shoes, etc., aside and then pack everything that is left. It is very helpful to have a staging area where the filled and labeled boxes are assembled. On one of my moves, I used the guest bedroom for my staging area. It had a window that opened onto the front porch so the boxes could easily be passed out the window, onto the front porch and then to the truck without having to carry them down the hallway which was quite narrow. A weather proof garage would be a good choice but any space with access to a door leading out of the house will work.
Always leave yourself several boxes for last minute things that need to be put into something, somewhere, somehow. You will be amazed at how much stuff is still left on moving day even after packing and packing and packing. Utilize your garbage cans to hold small items from each room. Put in a new liner in the office garbage can and put the stapler, sticky notes, scissors, pens and other small items from the desktop into the can. In the same way, if you have a large pot from the kitchen, fill it with your spices, kitchen tools or towels. Fill every available container.
When filling the boxes, I like to use my blankets, sheets and towels as padding. Kills two birds with one stone, so to speak. Pillows can also be used for extra heavy padding but be sure to note on the box or card that pillows are in the box.
On moving day or before, as each room is emptied, look around to be sure that nothing is missed. Vacuum, wipe down, whatever you feel you want to do to leave things clean and emptied and then close the door to that room. Do not go back inside that room as it is now finished. Focus your attention on the next room and the next and before you know it, you are loaded up, the house is in decent shape and it’s time to set out on your new adventure.
This has not been intended to address every conceivable situation, but hopefully it will get you started and help you to avoid some of the pitfalls that others have made. I wish you all the best with your move and that you will soon be settled into your new home, enjoying your new surroundings and thriving.
Tips for Women Who Fish With Men
Women who fish with men have a few advantages if they are aware of some facts which have recently come into my possession. Because men are wired differently, some might even say weirdly, there are ways and methods to take advantage of the situation.
The first thing to remember is to always brag on every single cast. “Perfect!” or “Wow! That was just where I wanted it to go.” following your cast, no matter where your bait or lure happens to land is necessary verbiage. As long as you get the bait in the water, it’s a great cast. Don’t worry if it ends up behind you or ten feet from where you actually wanted it to be, declare it to be just right and it will confuse the heck out of every man within hearing. The only exception to this rule will be discussed in the next paragraph.
Should your bait / lure end up in a tree branch or on your husband’s head, it must be his fault somehow. He obviously shouldn’t have been standing where your bait ended up or he took a deep breath and ruined your aim or some such excuse. It doesn’t have to make sense, but never, ever take responsibility for a bad cast. If you listen to the men around you, you will pick up enough lines from them and won’t have to make up your own excuses. That is to your advantage.
Never bait your own hook. If it wriggles, hops, jumps, swims or any way objects to having a sharp hook pushed through it, let the men take care of this job. They like it. It makes them feel manly and protective of you. This is one time you should be totally squeamish – it is to your advantage. And if you ever bait your own hook, know that you are betraying the fellowship of female fisher persons. We will find you!
It is inevitable that you will experience the ubiquitous snarl in your line. It happens to everybody who fishes, not just to you because you are female. Don’t believe the men when they imply otherwise. When it happens to them, a man has the freedom to look over the line, check it out and plan his attack on the convoluted filament. It shows that he is taking his time, making a plan and is master of the situation. However, you do not have this right. Should you take more than a split second to get started, you will be labeled as confused, incapable of fixing it and definitely in need of being rescued by a man who knows how to handle things. This is to your advantage as you can sweetly hand him the pole and let him fix it while you relax and enjoy the scenery. Bingo.
You should also know about ‘cover’. It is the holy grail of fishing. Cover is anything that gives a fish something to hide behind or play peek-a-boo with your bait. It also is a deadly trap for anything you throw close to it causing loss of bait and lures. But look for the cover and while the guys are throwing at it, around it and into it, throw your bait away from it. Everybody knows that fish swim from cover to cover so you can catch them on the move without getting hooked up in all the lovely cover. This is another advantage for you.
And be aware of ‘points’. A point can be the place where a canal changes direction making a corner. Or it can be a jut of land pushing out into a lake. A point translates into a shopping mall where fish hang out. Guys love to find a point and should it also have some cover they will be all over it. However, everyone knows that to be there, the fish will have to swim from their previous cover so it really doesn’t matter where you cast. You will be just as likely as the guys to catch a trophy fish if you throw your bait in the water that leads to the point and it will make the guys madder than heck when you land the big one.
This topic is a bit delicate, but it must be addressed. Everybody knows that guys come with a built in water hose for those times when nature calls. As a female, you will need to take a bucket and a poncho for privacy. But rejoice! This is also to your advantage. When you get caught in a sudden rainstorm that was clearly predicted by the weatherman, you will have something to give you shelter from the deluge. Everything works out for the female in the end.
Now that you are armed with some insider information, have a wonderful fishing trip. Praise your casts, let the guys do the yucky work and fish in the not so obvious places. You’ll have a great time and enjoy the experience much more. And that is also to your advantage.