New Home, Same World

  

She's ready to go!

  Our move is finally over and the last picture is, well...almost hung. We were blessed to have a contracted move to base housing and even more blessed to have a house in a cul-de-sac that is full of other kids Monkey's age. The move however, like all moves took planning, patience, and a level of understanding for each other that we don't normally have to have. In my previous post - Not Uprooting, Just Replanting - I mentioned a few things that we use to assist in our moves. This time around I went ahead and put all my other tricks down too. I figured I would share them all with you so you could have your own easy move guide as well!

  My first step is getting my go-to supplies:

• Accordion Folder
• Clipboard and Pad-folio combo (Target sells them for about $12 and they are awesome multi-taskers)
• Two pens, different colors (I use black and red)
• Coffee, Coffee, Coffee!!!!

   Secondly, I always have a calendar and utilize a schedule but in a move 

He's such a goof...

my calendars either get erased or are too small to be effective. Because of that, I print out a weekly calendar for the week of our move and live on that till we are in our new place. All our moves have happened on a weekend, so all my preparations have started around Tuesday and ended around Monday. Here's the one I use:  Weekly Calendar.

   Next, is my reminder list for my Utilities. If possible, print it front and back to make it easier on yourself. I write down the companies as we remember them, call them, write down if we are getting a deposit back, even if they are coming to either house for anything and on what day. The best part is it is all on one sheet and my Hubby knows where to find it when he needs to do the bills come payday. Just remember to keep the latest bills in your Accordion File so even if you are not settled in to the new house you can still stay on track and not get penalized for late payments. 

     **Side note: always keep your utility companies programmed into your phone to make it easier to pay or solve an issue. If your pay online, bookmark the page. As well, keep a list of your account numbers and PW's for your significant other in a safe location. That way if something happens and someone needs to assist you with that part of your day it will be less stressful.

Pick your battles during a move people.
Pick your battles.

 Also, Your accordion file will come in handy for a few things. Here's my favorites:

• Important Family Documents (to keep them safe in the move)
• Bills, to make paying easier
• Separating money: get cash for your cleaners, sitters, etc and put them in separate files with notes for an easier day. that way no matter who is taking care of that "chore" it is laid out and can't be messed up due to stress or mis-communication.
• Paperwork from the movers

   Lastly, for my family is food. I always shop on payday and normally cook every night. When we move though I try to empty the fridge as much as possible so I change how I shop. We go to a lot of munchies and sandwiches and purposefully build in a few days for take-out. Don't forget that most likely you won't be shopping for a few days after the move as well so plan for that as well. Take-out, freezer meals, sandwiches, etc...to get you through. If you have a grill - use it! And don't forget your paper plates :)

  

Take a moment to just let it all out! 

Cracking out!

   I mentioned at the beginning, moves take planning, patience, and understanding. I can help you Plan, but learning to have Patience with the process and the companies is all you. The area my family has had the biggest learning curve personally is Understanding. Every move is different, every age is different, even every day is different. We go into our moves knowing there is going to be upheaval and issues and back pain even. The cat will hide in the empty closets and the dog will go crazy about the new back yard. My child will crack out on the latest cartoon addiction for days while I try to unpack as quickly as possible all while telling myself the back pain is worth it as long as we can get back to "normal" quicker. My husband will keep the coffee pot running 24/7 just to survive the chaos and somewhere in there we will end up laughing at everything. Nothing will be normal but everything will be ok and through every move we learn a little more about each other and have a little more understanding for each other. Just remember that moves affect everyone differently. Step back occasionally and see how the ones you love are coping.

Don't forget to do a date in folks :) and Laugh!

Best Wishes,
Jules & Hubby 

Not Uprooting just Replanting!

 

My Boys are Crazy!!!

   We are moving. Again. I have moved so many times in my life that when I married my Airman moving was not a hangup in my mind, it was another part of our great adventure story. When we had our son, however, moving took a turn for the complicated. To adults, Movers who come in and pack up our stuff and move it onto a truck are lifesavers, grape flavored...to toddlers they are bad men who are disrupting their world and taking their stuff. In order to ease up on the issues that moving can create it takes a little planning and a lot of help. So as the master of lists I sat down and figured out what I needed to do to make this transition as easy on my son as possible. 

   We are moving in town. That in and of itself helps. While we love our current house and the big yard the distance from our stationed base is tough on our family. It cuts us off from our community and has made us feel isolated. So my husband suggested moving into Base Housing. We took a look (and I did some research into the floor plans, community layouts, drama issues, etc) and decided that all pros outweighed the few cons. We also found out that we qualified for a contracted move so my Husband and I don't have to lug the furniture ourselves up all those stairs! Thank goodness! It left us with a few things that needed to be handled that are pretty common across the board for moving.

• My Child's Sanity
• Cleaning
• Food / Opened Products
• Overnight Accommodations
• Animals

So let's tackle these one by one.

My Child's Sanity: 

Awesome Splash Pad with Pixie Pads :)

 I know that it can be traumatizing whether he is there when it is happening or not but when professional movers come in they are loaded down with exacto knives, scissors, and tape guns. My child likes to touch everything. I like to monitor the movers as they care about the number of boxes over the fragile items being at the bottom...(read that as antique american flag under pile of stilettos last time we moved). Balancing those two can be tricky so we decided that having a family member come into town and taking care of Monkey was a better idea. He gets to spend time running around with family and going to fun places all while missing his house being torn apart. He gets to spend the night at a hotel room with them and then in his own room in the new house the next night if all goes according to plan. Changing rooms can be traumatic enough for a three year old. Try to eliminate the soon to be questions and issues by getting ahead of them. Pack a bag of toys up and hide them away till the day of. Pack an overnight bag including their favorite stuffed animal and PJ's. Anything needed for their bedtime routine as well, i.e. sound machines, humidifiers, etc. I know it sounds like a lot but it is about making them feel like they are at home to eliminate the possibility of screwing with their schedules. You will be tired enough, you don't need a toddler who doesn't want to sleep on top of that.

Cleaning:

   Most Yard Sale sites have people who are willing to clean for fairly decent prices. Ask for a Move Out clean. They will deep clean the bathrooms, kitchen, windows, and even the fans and baseboards. Most places have requirements for what needs to be cleaned before they will sign off on your move out. It will affect your deposit as well, so be aware of the cleaning. 

   I also like to have a carpet cleaner come in out of courtesy since we have a kid and animals. Most apartments will offer it but if you rent a house they won't. However it can also affect your deposit so plan wisely. If you have tile or wood Carpet Cleaning places can clean those as well but we use our Kirby personally (best Christmas gift ever from my Hubby). You also can use various cleaning products and do it yourself with a sponge and bucket and save yourself some money. I'm a fan of Seventh Generation everything personally so you could find something in their line to use that will be safe and effective.

Food / Opened Products:

I keep finding him sitting in the fridge
during the summer...like a pregnant chick :)

     No moving company will pack or move opened food or chemical containers. If you are moving out of town you just plan appropriately and  give things away or leave the cleaning and painting supplies behind. When you move in town you pack them in boxes and transport them yourselves. Just double check the lids on everything and throw a tarp or paint cloth down in your car to protect your interior in case anything spills. No reason to buy anything you don't need to so take your food with you. Your cupboards you can clean out ahead of time and take over as you go but your fridge you need to plan ahead for. Box quickly, take it straight over, and unpack right away. No need to waste food because of poor planning and the more food you save, the more money you save (which will come in handy as your wallet is probably hemorrhaging money right now). Don't forget to plan that before your cleaning crew comes in to the old house and after the new house fridge has been wiped down. 

Overnight Accommodations:

   We are using a Military amenity with this move. The Contracted Move is being paid for by the Air Force but the timing sometimes can take awhile. As well, our beds may not always be available to be used. You can ask the movers to save the beds to last but you will still end up with a night or two without a home or a bed so plan accordingly. If you are military, use the hotel on base and save some money. If you aren't take a look in advance at some hotels close to where you are moving and make a reservation for one night on either side of what you think you will need it for. You can always call and change the reservation as needed but better safe than sorry.

Animals:

A Boy and his Dog :)

 

  If you have animals please take them into consideration. If you have animals who are super sensitive (like our cat) board them at a place they know. If you can take their stuff to the new house first and get them set up in a safe area where you can close the door then do that. Just take into consideration that they are family too and they have their own temperaments. You don't want to traumatize them either with this. If they are easy going like our dog, a new bone in the new back yard is all he needs but hey...each animal is different so be considerate.

Military Specific:

•  All On-Base moves possibly qualify for Contracted Moves. Check it out!
• You will need your Pre-lease form for your AF150 form (double check to make sure that is still correct as the military always changes things :D)
• Forest City is in charge of a lot of Privatized Base Housing but all Bases have their own websites with a housing link. Check your base to make sure who is in charge of yours. As well, it will help you research your area, floor plans, community plans, etc. 
• Don't be afraid to request things like your preferred housing layout or community. It never hurts to ask! 
• Once your AF150 is filled out (by the active duty member) you can request a start date for your move. Try to take holidays and weekends into account as they will slow things down, rack up hotel costs, and make things harder on your toddler. A little planning can go a long way so ask a lot of questions and whip out those calendars! 

   Moves are a part of our lives and I never run away from the adventure of them, but I do plan for them. I have a printable list that I use that breaks this entire blog down into easy reminders so I can check them off one by one (it makes me feel accomplished :D). You can print it HERE yourself! I hope your move goes as smooth as possible and just remember, whatever goes wrong just becomes a great story to tell later down the line. 

Best Wishes,

Jules & Monkey