Start Packing, Now
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:54AM | by David Tinjum If you are considering a move within the next five years, do yourself a big favor: start packing now!
It is not the actual move that gets most people’s blood boiling, it is the packing of the “stuff” you’ve acquired and accumulated over the past ten, twenty, thirty years in your current home.
If you still have boxes in your attic/basement/garage or storage facility that you haven’t unpacked from your last move, it’s time to pitch it all.
If your kids went off to college and haven’t lived with you since, it’s time to clean house! Do what my mother did when it was clear I wasn’t coming home for anything more than a free meal: she informed me that if I didn’t come and get my junk by Sunday at 5pm, everything would end up at the end of the driveway. She wasn’t kidding. Luckily for me, no one saw the value in my National French Honor’s Society first place trophy. I was able to save it and yes it’s still in a box in my basement that I haven’t unpacked since 1993. Maybe my kids will want it someday when I’m gone.
Note to self: the kids don’t want your stuff. If they had their eye on anything special, they would’ve told you by now. If they haven’t mentioned by now how much they covet aunt ethel’s china cabinet that came from the mother land via Ellis Island, they probably don’t value it as much as you do. If it is not going to fit in your new downtown digs, do yourself a favor and put it on Craig’s List or take it to an antique consignment shop now.
This is a process so take it slow and tackle one area at a time. Once you are on a roll however, be careful, it gets pretty easy to start tossing things. The following areas seem to be best to tackle first. Instant gratification:
- books
- clothing
- basement/attic
- office
- garage
Next step: make the following piles or categories:
- keep or take with you downtown
- donate or consign
- give to kids
- trash
That’s it. If it is not coming with you downtown, it must go into one of the other piles. Note there is no pile for miscellaneous.
Start doing this now and your life will be so much less stressful when it comes time to the actual move.
