Moving to another apartment, city, country, or continent can be daunting. It is especially so when you’re moving along with someone else (like my boyfriend).
In my entire life, I’ve moved countless of times. From the Philippines (3 cities) to Iowa (2 cities) to Georgia (2 cities) to North Carolina (4 cities, 3 houses, 2 dorms, 1 apartment) to Singapore to New York City (2 boroughs)…
So I’m not a stranger to moving to a different city.
Now, preparing for a new adventure, we’re packing up to move again.
I typically undergo several stages of emotions as I undergo the process of moving such as bouts of denial, deep sense of suffering, frustrations, impatience at the inability to make it all poof into thin air.
Stage 1: I have this much stuff???
There’s always more stuff than I expected. I get so infuriated by the fact that I hold on to so many things. They always show up whenever I move. Dozens of small things that add up.
Even worse, my boyfriend and I have very different methods of packing and moving. I prefer to get everything packed up and ready to go as soon as possible. He prefers to do an all-nighter packing up all the stuff at the last minute. /sigh
Stage 2: Where does it all go??
I’m not sure where this goes. I don’t want to throw or give it away, because it’s a keepsake. I don’t use it enough to keep it in my main luggage.
This is where I get my feeling of helplessness, feeling entrapped by my own possessions.
Stage 3: The Specifics
- Timing the cooking right so that all the food runs out on the day we have to leave. At the end of every move, our goal is to finish up all of our leftover perishables. Dairy, vegetables, frozen foods. We hate to have food go to waste so we would plan our meals accordingly to have food cooked and packed completely as we move to our new location. I know, serious issues, right?
- One way car rentals are wicked expensive. Just like how one way flights are ridiculously expensive compared to round trip tickets, so are car rentals.
Stage 4: The long journey
Sleep deprivation, exhaustion, claustrophobic of all the stuff in the car but pulling through because it’s almost over. The car is heavily over-packed, weighted down by all the possessions we own.
Stage 5: In the End
A shower and a cup of coffee will fix everything.
My insta-fix for a big move every week is a simple shower and a cup of coffee. What’s yours?
Do you also know the struggle? What are your ways to wind down after a stressful move? Do leave a comment and let’s connect!
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