We are officially 23 days away from closing! It seems so crazy that we could have gone from 71 to 23.
Now I’m trying to figure out the timeline. See, I think we should start packing. Brian – not so much.
A few weeks ago, I noticed a couple of really good boxes in a pile for recycling at work. That night, I casually mentioned that I was going to bring them home.
That idea was shot down in 0.2 seconds.
His logic is simple: we won’t actually move until probably mid-May, so why do we need to start collecting boxes in March?
My logic is also simple: it is never, never too early to start gathering packing supplies (I realize this makes me seem like a hoarder).
At the end of the day, he won. Kind of. I moved the boxes from recycling to my office at work and kept them there until yesterday, when I put them in my car. Then this evening, while he’s working late, I snuck them in the house. Win!
In all seriousness, the timeline of our move is throwing us both off. We are incredibly lucky – we take possession of the house on April 29 but don’t have to be out of our rental until May 31. We are grateful to have an entire month to clean, paint, and renovate the new house without having to live in a mess. At the same time, figuring out when to pack and move is a bit of a struggle when a month-long window of time is involved.
Here’s the rough timeline:
April 29: Closing/possession date
April 30 – May 1 and May 14 – 15, plus most weekday evenings in May: Clean/paint/renovate (we are out of town May 7 – 8)
May 21 – 22: Main moving weekend
May 23 – 26: Clean rental
Our main issue is figuring out when to pack our current rental. I know Brian doesn’t want to live amongst boxes, but I really don’t want to wait until our closing date. I’d much rather start packing now, so that once we close, we can spend all of our time and energy on the new house. Otherwise, we are going to have to split our time between houses, which I think will be a mess.
Obviously, we can’t pack everything now – we’ll need quite a few items for daily use between now and the main move weekend in mid to late May. But things like china? I’d rather get it packed now so we don’t have to worry about it later.
Isn’t it funny how the positive things in our lives can also be the most frustrating? Have any of you had an untraditional moving situation? How did you sort it out? Am I crazy for wanting to start packing now?
I think he’s finally coming around – hopefully I can get the first boxes going this weekend. We’ll see!
Pack now! dedicate a room you rarely use as a box room so you’re not ‘living with boxes’ and pack anything end everything you don’t need. Craft stuff, dvd’s, books you’ve already read, ‘best’ china, tablecloths… Stuff you only use on special occasions and can do without! it will make moving SO much easier
I love the box room idea! Unfortunately the main room we’d use is upstairs, which isn’t as practical. But I’m sure I can find another space!
Thankfully, I’ve convinced the other half that it is no longer too early – hopefully the packing will start this week!
I’m like you — I’d rather start early on the stuff that isn’t used that much (like china, books, etc.). I don’t want to have to rush through the process when the time comes.
Good luck with all of those tasks!
Thanks, Kanalt! There are lots of tasks, but thankfully that means I get to make lots of lists 🙂