We Survived
Well, it took most of Friday and Saturday, but we survived the move.
I am missing my crock pot and keys. Hoping they are in this mound of boxes.
Our first new homeowner purchase was a sandbox
Yesterday, instead of working on unpacking the bedrooms (practical), I worked on the craft room (oh my heart).
I am trying to be realistic with my goals (especially since Matthew and I work full time), but I am REALLY anxious to get through all the boxes and be settled. Tonight I am hoping to at least find my shoes (I had to wear flip flops to work today).
And I have decided I never want to move again. 🙂
What are your getting settled in a new house tips?
When we moved to Nashville from Waco, TX, (normally a 12 hour drive that took 2 full days on account of the lovely Jan. 2011 snowstorms) our couch wouldn’t even fit in the door. So, we had to sell it. Haha! We have no kids, so we were settled in about a day. Best of luck. Moving is no fun. (But, I see nothing wrong with getting the craft room together first)!
Just wanted to say Hi from another fellow Nashville peep!
will you be showing pictures of the new house? cause i.m curious like that :D:D:D
I’m sure over time there will be pictures. I don’t plan on doing a room by room photo tour any time soon though 🙂
I am so happy for you! The first week in our house I stayed up super late working on the kitchen. Be sure to save a “shorter” cabinet area for spices. They’re so small and I always end up moving them because I need the “tall” spaces for other things.
Congrats! Take your time unpacking. I was in such a rush that I unpacked our entire house in 3 days and ended up with shingles! You will be there a long time so no need to rush 🙂
I moved almost two years ago and am still putting off decorating, mainly b/c I feel like I always “need” to spend $ elsewhere (three kids) but I really regret it – unless one counts crumbs as decor 😉
PS do the kids rooms early to make them feel “at home”
I can so relate! We moved this summer and I said I will NEVER move again!! There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to locate things those first few days and weeks. We have been there 2 mos. now and I am feeling better about things.
I organized my kitchen and bathrooms/bedrooms first thing and left everything else in boxes in the spare rooms. I still have some things to unpack, but I am just doing a little as I have time for it. I too work full time so I just do what I can.
In the end, it was all worth it though. We are blessed with a beautiful new to us home that we will be able to fit all our family in for the years to come! Good luck to you! <3
Chele, KS
You and I sound very similar. 🙂
I know you have already moved, but I thought I’d share one of my best moving tips and maybe you can pass it along to your readers. Every time we move (I do it about once a year) I pack a back with at least one full outfit for me and my daughter and all our medicines and some paper plates and plastic silverware. I put in on the drivers seat so that no matter how chaotic things get, I always have at least a bag of essentials.
To get everything unpacked, I try to stack all the boxes in groups by room in one central area and unpack one box at a time. I always get my daughter’s room set up first so that she is comfortable. Then the big things and then everything else.
Good luck!
Just moved too! Still have boxes sitting around, but try to get through at least 5-10 every day. I agree…it was so hard to settle the kitchen when all I wanted to do was get my office put together. My suggestion, if you can stand it, is to do a little bit in every area. It breaks up the monotony and fun to play in a different area! Working on settling the bathroom right now!
Oh..and by the way…we went from 2100 sq feet to 1100 sq feet! So it has been a downsizing challenge but I LOVE IT!
I think 5-10 is a great goal. I did one before leaving for work today, so that’s one less to do tonight.
Keep those realistic goals! The settling will get done one way or another but if life needs you first let it be. We move a lot and this last time was with a 3 year old, 19 month old, and a newborn (4 weeks) and with a new litter of puppies. And we moved into a foreclosure (lots of extra clean). But here we are five months later and the boxes are unpacked, some decor is up, and we are not crazy. But we also didn’t have it all done in a day or week. It is hard with my OCD personality but it is okay too.
I am thinking for us Christmas is a good goal to have no more boxes, eh? 🙂
I definitely agree with the commenter who suggested getting the kids rooms sorted first. It makes life so much easier if they have a ‘place’ to go that is theirs and which has all their things in it.
I wonder if this depends on the age of the kids? Mine are so little… Elias right now is just so happy to have his own space, regardless of it being a little hectic. Although, he keeps asking when we are going to get rid of the ducks (the duck border in his room) and paint it blue – ha! I said not until mommy unpacks all the boxes, sweet boy!!
Take your time. Put stuff where you want it in the end. even if it takes a year. If you fly through and just put stuff you will still be meddling in not-so-well put stuff in a year.
Never say never that you will never move again! I’ve moved 8 times in the last 11yrs due to my husbands career. There is always troubles and trials that come with each move. Wheither you are moving one block, one state or one country away! Personally, I find it best to get the beds made first. Know which box or suitcase you put the linens in when you left the last house to find them easier in the new house. You are going to be tired and will be wanting your bed. Then I find my kitchen, everyone wants food and I need kitchen stuff to cook and fix things with. Hopefully boxes are marked well, so unpacking these will be easier.
When unpacking…it is of most important to flatten ALL packing material. This sounds silly and a waste of time I know, but please believe me, when you are looking for that one porcelin spoon or that set of beaters that go with the hand mixer or the magnets that you got in Spain while on vacation…you will soon realize you didn’t go thru the packing paper carefully enough. Flatten all the paper to know there are no hidden objects. Purge, if you haven’t used it in a year – toss it, give it or sell it! Moving is a part of my my life being married to the military. :o)
After moving, I thought to myself, I appreciate military families even more! Thank you for serving our country.
Glad you made it. Would love to see pics of the new place, especially the CRAFT room! Love! I don’t have a craft room in my new house, but I have a sunroom that I have a craft space in 🙂 The plus side is the the lighting is AWESOME!
We have a Mr. Crabbie sandbox too … at 14 y.o. it is finally showing it’s age. I have so many great memories of the grandkids playing in there.
Hi Jess,
We moved from Bamberg, Germany to Baumholder, Germany in June. I had an advanced arrival to the new apt. but my husband arrived 2 weeks later. (His unit was in a big transition). Without kids, I went unpacking one room at a time. I started with the kitchen so I didn’t have to leave every night for food. I agree with Robin that you should get the kids’ room done so they have a place to go. Any little dent in unpacking is a dent! Good luck and I am so happy for your family’s move into a new house.
Glad the move went well, hope things are still going well unpacking and you find the missing bits and pieces. Love the crab, we have a wooden boat as ours… So lots of pirates around here 🙂
We are in the midst of a move to (our stuff arrived last Friday). We are almost there, the main room that hasn’t been touched is the guest room (which will double as my craft room). It’s been awhile since I have had to move but we get to do it all over again in six months (one of the joys of military life). We downsized as well this move so we have been unpacking and repacking stuff to go into storage or to be donated or just tossed. We unpacked the kitchen first of all since it was just full of boxes so we could move around and use it. Good luck in settling!
Welcome to your new home! No tips unfortunately. Just a little at a time and it will all get done eventually. I’m still unpacking just from laying new carpet in our upstairs lol. We had to pack it all up as if we were moving and move it all downstairs. I decided it wasn’t all going back up (good time to purge) so I’m going through each box before it goes back up to clean it out then I have to unpack upstairs. ugh. Good luck!
Tips – patience 🙂 and just doing one thing at a time…trying not to get overwhelmed. I must say – we just got the turtle sandbox (which I had as a kid as well) and with only 1 kid…it’s plenty for him right now – I can see where it is quite small but he doesn’t even like to get in it normally – just wants to play with it from the outside (HA!) – love the crab one! Good luck getting settled & I’d love to see your craft room too/where you do Project Life normally…I always love getting new ideas for organization or how to set-up project life so it’s easier to just sit down and work on!
Congrats on your new home!
Moving is so trying, no matter how its done. I recently moved too. It was kind of a last minute type decision; packing was rushed, forgot a lot of things I wanted to bring (was living w/brother) lost things that are still not found, and after 3 months still feel unsettled. I have always been unpacked in the first 3 days before. My advise is focus on the important stuff that makes life easiest, then dig into the rest as time allows!
Good luck!