Moving? - Bloomington,IN

When I moved a few years ago, a few very helpful mamas here on this site directed me to Fly Lady. http://www.flylady.net/d/?s=moving

This was GREAT advice! We have moved many times, and it had always been sooooo painful. Well, this last time I followed Fly Lady's advice down to the letter, and it was almost absurd how easy it was. I'm not even kidding. For the first time ever, moving didn't make me want to jump off the nearest bridge. :)

The great part about it is, as long as YOU aren't stressed out, your kids won't be, either. The last time we moved, our kids were 8 and 5. I just approached everything in a matter-of-fact way with them. I explained why we were moving. I asked if they had any questions, and I answered their questions as honestly as possible. My younger one was concerned at first because she somehow thought *we* (my husband and I) were moving, but that *she* wasn't! In her little 5 year old mind, she was trying to work out who was going to live in our house, and what that would mean for her. It was kind of cute. Anyway, we assured her that we would ALL be moving together, AND we would bring all of her things with us.

When it was time to choose a new house, I went first and scouted ahead. Then all of us went together one weekend to look at the houses that we were seriously considering. The kids got to see the place we were moving into before we moved there, which I think helped them. They could imagine their new rooms and their new bathrooms, they knew they'd have a pool to swim in, etc.

At school, their teachers planned little going-away parties for them on their last day, and their classmates wrote letters to them that they could read on the way to our new city. That was really nice, I thought.

Anyway, Fly Lady. That is the ONLY way to go. Do everything she says. I promise it works!

Do u think it is worth the move for only an hour away. Or are you looking for an excuse to move. I would take one room at a time and start throwing out
What you do not want to take.

For the actual process of moving, I cannot recommend enough flylady.net. She has great ideas for helping the process so VERY smoothly.

Start decluttering NOW! Trust me, you won't be sorry.

Start packing things now that you don't use regularly, and be sure to label (see flylady.net ideas for moving)

Have you toured schools in the new area?

ETA: Sorry, didn't see the fly lady post below me! SEE, she is great!

I've moved about 40 times in 30 years ... As my background.

Pack VACATION style (clothes for 1 week, a few toys, toiletries, etc.). Into suitcases.

Then... Quite literally... Pack EVERYTHING ELSE EXCEPT THE KITCHEN.

People are often tempted to keep using dressers, toys, etc. Don't. Pack. Everything. Live out of your suitcases.

I go room by room, starting 1-2 weeks ahead. I pack out one room, label the boxes, and clean the sucker. Then I move onto the next room.

The kitchen I pack 2-3 days ahead at least, and preferably 1 week ahead. I leave out: 1 pot , 1 pan, something that stirs, a spatula, and a couple coffee mugs. All dishes, silverware, AND dry goods get packed. We use plastic & paper plates, utensils, cups.

Its really tempting to leave stuff out "to use" or "to save $". Don't. That stuff will get used eventually... And it really does take an eon to pack it all. Into boxes they go!!!

Once the entire house is packed & basic cleaned (I prefer 1 week out to aim on being done)...

If making several small trips, take a day off, amd start moving stuff now. I prefer to start with furniture. That way

1) I can "see" better (new house, for unpacking)
2) Sleeping in the new house that night emotionally detached from the old house (it can be hard to be motivated to leave the familiar, and things drag... But once one is sleeping elsewhere...you want all your STUFF with you.
3) I can "see" better with the emotional detachment in old house.

((If making 1 big trip, hire movers... Its too much for the average fam to handle on their own))

Then.. Over the next few days, I schlep all the packed boxes, and over the next few days, I deep clean the old house & make any repairs needed.

IDEAL schedule

Day1 - Furniture & "vacation" schtuff
Day2 - Boxes
Day3 - Basic unpack
Day4 - Repairs to old home
Day5 - Deep Clean old home
Days 6&7 are spare days for Murphey's law

I PLAN a week ahead for the ideal schedule, but I insist on it because one only NEEDS 2 days. In case of Illness, Injury, Natural Disaster (Ive had all 3)... That week is your padding. And the grueling move itself happens in 1 day, cleaning & repairs on day 2.

Are you moving to Indianapolis? Sorry to be nosy! I'd never leave Bloomington, LOL.

I'd start doing 15-30 minutes of true decluttering every day. And Flylady (that the other moms mentioned) IS wonderful.

I'd also start scouring zillow for prices and ideas for the new location. I might even consider renting a year first, to make sure I like the area (that's what we did when we moved to FL). If you *are* moving to Indy there are four distinct sides of town, with different flavors to each.

Good luck and I hope it all goes well and smoothly.

1. Look in to the school district for the new location. If there are more than one elementary school, research the pros/cons of each school. Knowing which school (if there are options) you want to attend will help narrow any house hunting.

2. Go room by room, closet by closet and declutter. One trick I've heard is to go in to the closet and turn off of the hangers backwards so that the hook part is facing you. As the item is worn, turn the hanger the correct/normal way. This will help you see which items haven't been warn lately and can possibly be donated.

3. Look in to local moving companies/PODS/Uhaul prices.

Google for tips. Declutter. Spend a few dollars on the labeled moving tape. It's AWESOME - anyone can read it. If you have movers, they can put them right in the room they belong in. There are books on moving for kids - hit the library for them. The kids can help pack their rooms. The library might have books on moving tips as well.

Do a craigslist yard sale if you have a batch of like items. Example: baby/kid stuff - Asking price $400 (if you want 300). Include pics. Everything must go. It worked for me :)