Since we have had months to plan this move, we’re being as organized and prepared as we can to make sure things go smoothly. I’m sure there will be surprises popping up and unfortunately a lot of the tasks are last minute by nature, but we’re trying to plan ahead!  Here’s a little photo mosaic I made of some of our current signs of moving:

  1. A folder with important documents – directions & hotel reservations for the trip, lease agreement for the new place, PODS paperwork, etc.
  2. A spankin new United States road atlas Peter bought. I know we’ll get a lot of use out of this beyond the trip cross country.
  3. Some of the paperwork from the folder. I picked up a USPS moving guide. A lot of it is ads. It has the change of address paperwork, although you can do that online now. The most valuable thing in this packet to me is the 10% off any purchase coupon to Lowe’s. That’s useful whether you’re moving or not.
  4. Peter highlighted the entire journey in the map and made notes of where our hotel stops are.
  5. Giant tower of scotch tape for boxes!
  6. Boxes in three sizes from the Moving Kits we bought at Costco. We had priced boxes from a packaging catalog but after jotting down everything we needed it was going to be $400 PLUS another $100 to ship the boxes to us. That’s insane. So we scrapped that idea.We bought a couple dozen plastic tubs from Target to move weather-sensitive/breakables. Once we unpack we’ll resell those tubs and get back at least some of what we paid. We did purchase some moving kits from Costco at around $40 apiece which include plenty of boxes and packaging material for the non-breakables.And Peter got a hook-up at our grocery store with the chips vendor who said we can use his boxes if we need them. They are various sizes but sometimes beat-up so this is a good option to have but not one we want to rely on solely since it is also unpredictable.
  7. Tabs Peter stuck in the atlas for keeping track of where we are easily. The numbers correspond with what day we’ll be where (i.e. Day 4 we’ll be in Oregon).
  8. Guest room has now been designated for storing yard sale items.
  9. Using our DYMO Label maker, we came up with a template for labeling boxes. On the opposite side is a sticker that says “If found, please contact…”
  10. Linens, blankets, and some clothes can go in garbage bags. They will work well for filling in gaps while packing the POD. I stuck huge labels to the handles so they aren’t mistaken for garbage.

I’ve started calling utility companies to change the name on the account back to our landlord’s. I tried to call our cable/internet/phone provider to schedule the disconnection in advance but apparently their calendars don’t go that far.  The list of stuff I can only deal with a couple of weeks before we move is growing.

I’m off to Greece with a girlfriend for ten days come Friday. An ill-timed trip in retrospect, but it was planned long before the moving timeline was established. I’m looking forward to it, but I know when I get back things will kick into high gear! The POD will get here before I return and knowing Peter he’ll waste no time packing stuff into it.