hqueen's collection of Far From the Usual stuff.

[frustratedearthmother]

Feels good to start whittling down the list, huh?

 

[hqueen13]

YES! It's such a relief!

We ended up taking the outdoor drive up unit. It was a few dollars more, but it will be so much nicer to just pull up and unload and not have to fight with carts and elevators. However, this morning it clicked that I've got to store all my artwork and large pictures. I think I might call them today and see how much it would be to just get a 5x5 or whatever their smallest size is. It would be worth the few extra dollars to have the peace of mind that my art and books are not going to get damp and mold. Many of those things can't be replaced if they do, so the few dollars will be worth it. It will also give us just a little bit more space in the big unit to make sure we can get all the furniture in. I think it will all fit, but it will be easier if there aren't boxes in there. Hopefully that will work out.

I picked up the shavings for the chickens last night. If I can get home in a good time frame I should be able to get them moved into the coop at SR's farm. That will be one less chore to take care of while we finish getting ready. I know the BF will be happy when he won't have to drive down to close them up every night (I checked recently and it is a half mile to drive down and around. It's not the shortest route, but that's the distance on the driveway to get to where the coop is. Those minutes add up every day).

So now we just have to dive in and really get things done. This weekend is going to be big for getting stuff moved and out of the house.
Also on the todo list. When I get home today before I lose the sunshine I need to get photos of the hay feeder so I can get that listed and sold. I had a bite on the chicken coop but the person hasn't messaged me back yet (they probably aren't paying attention, which is annoying, but whatever).

So yeah. Let's see:
- Photos of hay feeder, list hay feeder for sale
- Repair chicken coop door (gotta do that before it's sold!)
- Take shavings to other coop and get that set up
- Move chickens (maybe Thursday... that'll be time depending)
- Order bubble wrap
- Research packing supplies for best price

And of course that doesn't mention the perpetual packing and moving of stuff.

 

[sumi]

Crazy days and good deals! I hope everything will go smoothly with this move

 

[frustratedearthmother]

WooHoo - Progress!

 

[hqueen13]

Thanks yall!!
Well, things are certainly moving around!

Got the chickens moved last week, can't remember what day, probably Thursday. They are happy in their 10' x 20' coop now, they have no idea what to do with all that space! RS said they've started laying again, which is good.
Got the smaller storage unit taken care of, and started loading stuff into it. I feel much better having a climate controlled space and a non-climate controlled space.
Saturday morning we took a load up, and moved a few things around since I didn't have the key to the bigger unit with me when I went up, so I just dumped it all in the little one. Saturday afternoon the BF's dad and brother MK came over to help us get some of the bigger furniture out that wasn't needed. His Dad really helped get organized so that they took a full load of large furniture with them. That was a big help. Now I have a lot of little stuff piled everywhere that has to be boxed up. They also loaded up his dad's pickup truck with a load of stuff from the shed, mostly his tools. Sunday morning he got up and loaded the trailer up and took another load to his parent's house and then they got all that unloaded. I stayed at home and took care of the horses and then kept packing and shifting things around. I got quite a few more boxes done, and pulled out several things that were already ready to go for the most part, and so we loaded up the trailer and took that to the unit in the afternoon. We stopped at Home Depot and Tractor Supply to check on a garage tent, but decided to wait since the big one was $500.00. REALLY wishing TSC would send me a coupon right about now!

Oh, Friday I think it was, the guy came to get the small chicken coop and the chickens that TM had caught for me to sell to him. We set him up with everything he would need. He was hilarious and loved every bit of it. He's a new chicken owner and was very excited. Every time the chickens would make noise in the box he would laugh. It was so much fun to get him started, he texted me that evening when he got them home and got everything set up, and then he sent me a text Sunday that he finally got an egg. He was so tickled. I was delighted! So my friend made some money on 2 chickens, I made some money selling the coop and so it was all good.

The big hay feeder should go tonight if everything goes right. That's the last of the really big items that we had for sale. Hopefully it will go smoothly, and we'll still have some time to make it up to the unit to drop more stuff off. I plan to load up my truck tonight so that I can stop by tomorrow after I swing by the office for a few hours to do some work. I'll have a load of delicate stuff to take care of that is better moved in my truck than in the open pickup or trailer.

Last night we also took the trunks of winter clothes down to my friend's house where I'll be staying so that they are ready when I get there. Then I can put away my summer stuff and get out some warmer clothes because I'm freezing wearing the same 2 outfits over and over right now! And I keep spilling stuff on the one sweatshirt I have out, so I keep having to wash it! So that will be my task once we get settled. I've also decided that I'm taking my night stand just as it is so that I don't have to pack it. It has quite a few things that I really value, so I don't want to have to box them up when I can just move the whole thing to my friend's house. We'll just take the drawers out to carry it and put them back in while it moves and then do the same thing once it's in the room. It just doesn't make sense to waste time packing it all up. I've got too many other things to pack!

The christmas stuff is all waiting to go to the unit in the back of the truck right now, and I got started with the christmas china and some of the kitchen stuff. I haven't done any other kitchen stuff yet at all, so that's got to happen quickly, too. I think it's paper plate time.

I ordered a 2nd litter box for the cats, I've been surviving using one but I figured it would be easier for the BF to take care of 2 and that means that if one doesn't get cleaned every day then it won't be the end of the world. I HAVE to clean the single box every single day or they'll go outside the box. So that will make life easier once we move, too. I ordered another bag of cat food so that I'll be stocked up. I was kinda proud of myself... it's free shipping over $49.00, and my total was $49.66. Boom.

So. Yeah. The office looks like a bomb went off. The guest room is sort of mostly organized/packed. The upstairs hallway is still full of a lot of stuff that has to move somewhere. The living room is sparse without the bookcase, entertainment center, coffee table, end table, antique safe or rug, but there is now cat stuff EVERYWHERE (I moved their litter box out of the bathroom because ants finally found it and I wanted them to figure out how to use it in a different place). Our bedroom is slightly better than it was, my big dresser is cleared out/off, it just needs to be wiped down so that it can go to the storage unit. The chiffarobe is at the storage unit already, and the smaller guest dresser is in the room for me to use at my friend's house.

It's overwhelming and exhausting, but I think we're making progress. And it is slowly beginning to feel like it might not be a train...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Wow... I forget how much work moving an entire house is. We moved Dh's mom last fall, but she was pretty well pared down so it wasn't too awful. One trip with one big ol' moving van and we enlisted help to unload it when we got here.

How's the house buying going? You were under contract I think on a house? Is there a closing date looming?

Hope it all goes well!

 

[hqueen13]

Thanks FEM, yeah, it's a huge project to move. And it brings up all kinds of feelings about all the stuff you have, you wish you had, and you don't have LOL
We are under contract. Assuming there are no bumps in the road we'll close the end of November. I'd LOVE to close before thanksgiving, but I don't think that's going to happen. It is what it is.

I keep waffling between feeling really good about how much we've gotten done, and feeling like crap about how much we have left to do. The BF's dad, bless his heart, is worried and cares so much but the way that he expresses it does nothing except raise the BF's and my anxiety level. He will call and then proceed to list out everything that he thinks we have left to do and ask us about each item. And then he keeps saying, "Well, I'm waiting to hear from you about when you need my help. You know if you need my help tomorrow afternoon you need to let me know. I'm really ok helping, but you just have to call me." I really want to yell into the phone WHEN WE NEED YOUR HELP YOU'LL BE THE FIRST TO KNOW! I HAVEN'T CALLED BECAUSE WE DON'T NEED YOUR HELP! But yeah that wouldn't work very well. So it goes.

The BF and I had a bit of a miscommunication (translation: he has amnesia about what we talk about right now) and so he didn't check in with his dad about helping last night, which I would have preferred that he do, but oh well. So instead we sorted through some of his stuff and got a few more boxes of his miscellaneous stuff packed. I swear the miscellany is the most annoying part. Like the little random stuff that you use but not often and it doesn't really have a group or category to go with so it just gets dumped into a box. THAT'S the part of moving that is the most annoying.

So timeline.... here's what is left to do that doesn't have a clear timeline:

- Pack bedroom miscellany extra clothes and such (all the stuff sitting on the closet shelf in various places, all the stuff on top of my dresser)
- Pack bathroom (needs to be sorted into: My stuff, the BF's stuff, and stuff for storage)
- Pack kitchen (sort food to go to various places, pack all dishes and cooking stuff)
- Finish packing miscellany stuff from dining room drawer storage, make sure semi important things like batteries are available later
- Pack the rest of the framed pictures and mirrors

Furniture that needs moving:
- My big dresser
- Apothecary Cabinet
- Massage Table
- Small Bookcase
- Large Bookcase
- Singer Sewing Table
- File Cabinet
- Printer
- Dishwasher
- Guest Bed (Saturday, after it is slept on)
- Fridge

Things that will go with me to my friend's:
- Smaller dresser
- Nightstand
- Little freezer
- Contents of Fridge

Things that will go with the BF:
- Dresser
- Night stand
- Gun safe and misc stuff
- Cats and accessories

Other things to be dealt with:
Empty sheds and take to BF's parent's house

Today I'm in the office (which is why I'm writing this because I have time and am stuck at a computer!), and so this afternoon when I get home I'll continue working on whatever I can. Our realtor's son is bringing his trailer over to help move the chicken coop this afternoon at 5:30. The BF is hoping to get off of work a little early so that he can have that prepared to go. He needs to take off half the roof to make it more manageable to move. That will likely take most of the evening, so I don't expect to get much else done. If we do then it's a bonus!

I have all day Friday to myself. I can keep packing smaller boxes and/or make a run to the storage unit. Friday morning I do need to feed Storm and Simon before they move Simon to the other field. I just hope it doesn't upset Storm too much.
Friday evening I plan to take the chinchilla to my other friend's house, and then go pick up my riding instructor at the airport. Friday evening the BF's dad and possibly a brother will probably come over to take a load of furniture to the unit, most likely most of the things in the top part of the list.

Saturday morning I have my lesson which I intend to use to load the horse with the help of my instructor. He hasn't left the farm in 4 years and he wasn't thrilled about the ride the last time he went into a trailer. I'm just praying for a miracle at this point and telling him how important this is.

Hopefully I'll be wrapped up with that by noon, or shortly there after. He's going to my friend's place around the corner, so it won't take long to get there. Meanwhile, the BF and his dad/brothers should be continuing to load the rest of the furniture and the shed contents. I will need to take my stuff for Storm over to my friend's farm at some point, but likely I'll do that either Friday or Saturday afternoon. It doesn't have to go on the trailer with him, especially since he's so close.

Sunday we're expected to get 1-2" of rain, so that pretty much nixes doing any moving of anything important. I have 2 friends coming over, and I plan to put them to work finishing packing the kitchen and cleaning the house. My goal is to get everything packed up that hasn't yet been packed and then clean the entire house since there won't be much in it. I think it is totally doable, and shouldn't be difficult.

The BF took off on Monday, so together we will move the things to his house and to my friend's house that we need, and possibly take the last few things to storage. That leaves me with Tuesday to wrap up anything else that needs to be taken care of that was left undone. The BF could help me that evening when he gets home if he needs to. We don't have to be out until then so we can use up that time if we do need it.

Honestly, I feel like this is a reasonable timeline. The real catch is how much is the BF's dad going to get in the way and waste time talking about everything that needs to be done rather than doing it. This is why no one asks him to help because he ends up farting around doing who knows what and suddenly time is gone. He's like a time suck or something. I need to figure out a subtle way to manage the situation so that I can keep the proverbial cats herded and all in line so we can continue to make progress. His father doesn't take well to direction so that is a tricky situation. I'm trying to stay as grounded and organized as possible. That's difficult when his dad gets hung up on some detail that isn't important to the bigger picture in that moment at all.

That about sums it up... more than likely I won't get to update until next week when I get back into the office. I'm not expecting to get to the office again until Wednesday, but we'll see what happens.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Ewwwweeeeeee - I feel for ya - I really do. I'm not sure if seeing it all in a list makes it more manageable or more frightening, lol. But, you are getting lots done. It helps to be able to parcel it out in increments. Hope BF's dad actually turns out to be a help and not a hindrance!

Good luck moving Storm... hope he surprises you and just pops right into that trailer!

 

[sumi]

Ugh, moving is a nightmare... It's lovely once you're in your new place, but the getting there part… Big

 

[baymule]

We moved 160 miles from our old place 3 years ago. We downsized by 1,000 square feet and upsized from a city lot to 8 acres. We sold a lot of our furniture that wouldn't fit in the new place. But at least we didn't have to move twice! Bless you, I hope everything else goes well for you!