Moving Mojo

For a few days this week I was like the Roadrunner being chased by Wiley coyote as I planned and packed for moving! I sold things, I threw away things, I cleaned things, I packed things, I gave away things, I smelled things, I fixed things, I looked at things, I imagined things… I stayed awake at night thinking about my plans for packing things and getting rid of things and unpacking things and not breaking things. I thought about and acted on moving all the time.

And then, suddenly- I came to a screeching halt. And this is not okay. Why? Because I’m flying to Michigan for a week and I have to bring 2 suitcases full of things that will then permanently reside in my boyfriend’s closet until I make the move and place them all in my new dwelling. I need to think carefully about what to bring and make the most of the available space so that I’ll save space in the car later on. I’ve packed about one half of a suitcase, I don’t know what I’m wearing for the week I’m there, my room is a disaster zone, my dishes are piling up, my cat has figured out how to unlock my door, I need to go shopping, my bed is barely made, I need a shower, the house needs a once-over, I’m hungry, and my parakeet’s cage needs cleaned. I have one day to do all of that, but all I’ve accomplished so far is standing clumsily in the middle of random rooms focusing on nothing in particular. Just now I got a load of laundry out of the dryer and was supposed to put the clothes from the washer into the dryer, but instead I sat down and began writing this…. oops.

What’s happened to me?! Well obviously, I’ve lost my moving mojo. Obviously. And now I need to get it back. After a long and painful period of confusion, I have formulated three simple steps for doing just that. They would work not just for me but for anyone:

Step 1: Stop writing. Some things that may seem important (like writing a blog about moving) might actually be counterproductive to the main goal (moving). Quit doing that stuff!
Step 2: Eat some of Keri’s enchilada casserole (for energy). I know most of you don’t have a Keri to make you some enchilada casserole (and I pity you), but the point here is to take care of any important biological needs (eat, use the bathroom, blow your nose, take a shower) first so that you’re not constantly distracted by them as you’re trying to recapture that mojo.
Step 3: Get back to work, slacker! Simple, though harsh. The number one cure for not being in the mood to get stuff done, to kick some moving butt (or whatever butt) is to just. start. doing it. 90% of the time when I know I should be doing a frenzy of something but all I feel like doing is sinking into my pillow, actually starting will get me in the mood fairly quickly (and then just try to stop me, but that’s another topic).

Let’s see if I can follow my own advice today and regain my moving mojo 😀

Getting Down with Downsizing

So when my boyfriend and I first decided that I would be moving to Michigan to be closer to him, I warned him that I would need some kind of large U-haul to transport my vast treasure hoard of belongings. “I know it doesn’t look like it, but I have a LOT of stuff!” When you stay in the same place for three and half years you will not believe the amount of STUFF that accumulates in dark corners and endless closets. I really thought I’d gotten my point across until somehow he convinced a reluctant me that it would be more cost effective and still feasible with regard to space if we bought a large van and drove it from Washington to Michigan, where we would then sell it again. Voila! No money lost! I realized that I wouldn’t be able to move much if any furniture using this method, but I agreed that it was a good idea. I felt a little bit claustrophobic at the thought of forcing my precious belongings into a reduced space, but I dealt with it.

Fast forward to today… and I am now planning to move across 3 time zones in a car. That’s right, a car! What can you move in a car??? I really can see the benefits here: less gas spent, the opportunity to simplify my life, and the ability to drive something besides a van around once I reach my new home. Still, though, I must self-soothe regularly to keep from freaking out and reverting to daydreams of a huge U-haul trundling across the desert with my possessions virtually rattling around in it. A car is a vastly different thing. I am only mollified by the suitcases-full that we have already managed to transport ahead of time during our visits back and forth to one another. This weekend, in fact, I am stuffing another two suitcases full of things I will (hopefully) not need again before moving day and putting them and me on a plane to The Motor City. What do I put in those suitcases?! I panic slightly at the thought that after this trip, everything I still own will need to be stuffed into a mid-sized car. Either that or it will have to meet the fate that many of my belongings have already met in a big pile with a sign on top proclaiming “FREE”. I swear that fully half of my wardrobe has made it out to the curb. I gave up one of my comforters, several roles of hoarded wrapping paper, and eleven pairs of shoes. Ok, ok, these doesn’t sound like painful sacrifices, not yet, but I cringe when I imagine what I could be forced to discard as moving day looms (my favorite teddy bear, my hottest pair of shoes, photo albums…). I’m terrible at space estimation, so as I look around my room I have NO idea what’s going to fit and what isn’t. Oh, did I mention I have a cat and a bird??? The birdcage alone will take up a few square feet of space and litter boxes aren’t tiny.

Most of all, I want to pack up RIGHT AWAY, am ready to move, ready to start my new adventure, ready to know for sure if my special dessert plates are going to make the cut or not, but I have unfinished business in this town before I can move on. Therefore, against all internal persuasions I put down the suitcases for the time being and turn my attention the never ending thesis…

I know, however, that tonight while I try to get to sleep my mind will be racing, doing a mental sweep around the apartment. What can I get rid of and not miss? Will THAT fit in a car?! Will anyone think I’m crazy for taking THIS and not that thing over there?