Stages of Making a Big Move
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!
Here are some posts I think you might like!
16 Comments
Julie
To me, when we moved we had take out almost every night for dinner and we loved It! We just moved and continued to work our full time jobs, the last I wanted to do was prepare dinner.
Winta
Haha, Yep! It’s part of our curse that we love home-cooked meals so much. We also make a habit of wasting as little as possible :S
Amielle De Torres
Oh, the struggle!!!
fallingforsnow
damn, you move a lot! I only move to different village and it wasn’t that far away.
Winta
That’s nice, I would love to move not so far away. At least you could still take a bus ride within an hour or something. All my friends are so scattered around!
everydaystrangeblog
Moving to North Carolina was tough, but it really help my husband and I to start packing over a month in advance, being ready for the movers helped make the 18 hour drive feel less exhausting. But it seems it’s always draining no matter what you do! Beer is always my solution!
Winta
I’m pretty sure we’ve talked about this before! We’re in NC too! In fact, when we drove it was about that much time to get back from NYC! Good thing beer in NC is quality and affordable. :3
everydaystrangeblog
Ha that’s awesome- the beer is pretty great down here!
Curlygirlabroad
Wow you have moved quite a lot so far! I only moved once in my life, to my dorm room, the hardest part for me was to be sure I hadn’t forgotten anything important.
Winta
Haha, no kidding! There’s always something left behind… :3
chasingsydney
I understand your dilemma with getting rid of “keepsakes,” but I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve moved so much that sentimental “things” mean nothing to me. Not sure if that makes me heartless or not. But once you move so many times, it becomes easier to part with things that you only ever see when you’re packing and unpacking and have no use to you otherwise. My go to for as soon as I’m unpacked is to cook an amazing meal in the new kitchen!
Winta
Ohhh, I know the feeling!! I loove cooking! These days, the only keepsakes I like to hold on to are digital photos, which don’t “take up space”- (as I buy another hard drive, haha)
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