Moving Progress

Apparently, in the Army, you move. A lot. Anyone who is familiar with military life is probably smiling and nodding vigorously at this point.

I'm not sure how things used to be "in the old days," but moving today with the Army is really quite a breeze! You meet with the Transportation Office and give them copies of your spouse's orders, estimated weight of the shipment, pick-up/delivery locations and desired pick-up/delivery dates. The entire move is then outsourced to a contractor. We were very fortunate that the delivery dates we chose worked with the shipper's schedule. I personally believe that is because the weight of my shipment (my entire 2BR apartment) was estimated at 3,500lbs which is considered relatively small (and, thus, easy to accommodate) by professional movers.

STILL - if I pause just one moment to consider that I am ONE PERSON...do I really need 3,500lbs of STUFF to be comfortable?!! I spent a summer in Japan one year and I got by just fine with an oversized piece of luggage and a backpack...

Apologies for the digression...

Once your shipment arrives at your new home, you're left with quite a mess. Boxes and furniture strewn about with tiny little numbered stickers from the shipper. This is natural. Do not panic. An important thing to keep in mind here is that, sometimes, things have to get worse before they get better...an interesting aside; this same philosophy can be applied to many, many other things in life too!   

This stack of packing paper is 3ft high!

 Now you must begin the process of unpacking. This is where life starts to look a lot like the movie, "Groundhog Day" for me. Every morning my husband leaves for work and I dig things out to sort through and make one of 5 choices:

1. Keep it...find a place to store it.
2. Toss it...and wonder, "Why on earth did I even move this in the first place?"
3. Set it aside to give to my inlaws
4. Set it aside to sell or donate
5. Put it in a "homework" box...when my husband gets home from work, HE can make the decision on these items.

And, every afternoon, about an hour before my husband gets home, I quickly push everything out of sight so that things look somewhat neat and orderly for the evening. Seriously, this has been my routine for the past 2.5 weeks. Soooo not glamorous, but a great feeling of accomplishment and productivity especially since there's been a fair amount of "stuff" that's either been tossed or queued for sale/donation!

So here's what is so great about moving now-a-days: the INTERNET. I have several wonderful venues for disposing of everything from clothing, housewares and electronics to the very cardboard boxes and, yes, even the packing paper. It.is.glorious! My venue of choice has become Facebook. Our particular Post (Fort Riley) has several sites (unofficial) dedicated to the trading/selling of items. Many times, people will even come to your home to pick up these items. Other items I'll just bring with me to deliver whenever I go on Post (which is usually every other day or so). Very convenient!