Moving is hard. And not something I like to do. I lived at my last house for 22 years. And, if you stay in a place for that long, you begin to accumulate things. In my case, a lot of stuff! And those things have to be moved.
I decided to test the market of my previous house this past spring. The quiet of the sleepy cul-de-sac had been destroyed by a new road built during the winter. The large multi-family homes on the new street had tenants that drove up and down the road like the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans. An early offer on my house meant that I knew I would have to move sooner rather than later, even if I didn’t yet know where. The main criterium was to move to a quieter location - I missed the relative quiet of the cul-de-sac, and the development in the neighbourhood was going crazy.
In anticipation of a move, I started pairing down and packing some of my hobbies. This was hard - I have many hobbies I enjoy, and they generally lead to giant boxes of things to move. I spent most of the summer selling or giving things away, yet, despite my best efforts, by the time I had to move, I still had a lot of stuff!
On the most excellent advice of my friend, Stuart Lennon), I decided to, and am privileged to be able to, “throw money at the problem” of moving. This summer, this became my mantra, with hefty investments in hiring professional packers and contracting a full-service moving company. I also engaged professional cleaners, carpet cleaners, and window washers to help with the move-out. Weighing in at just shy of 21,000 pounds and taking up most of a 53’ professionally packed truck, mine was a big move, with hundreds of boxes and lots of blanket-wrapped furniture. My extensive downsizing was not as successful as I had hoped.
The moving company I used, LaPorte), was fantastic. They disassembled and set up our beds, which was a great help. But they can only do so much. The unpacking, organizing, and setting up furniture, decorations, and hobbies into a different house with a higher room count and use is challenging and time-consuming. I have several rooms in the new home filled with miscellaneous boxes containing things that could go in one of several unique rooms. These piles of boxes are daunting.
Two weeks into the new house, I have just a couple of rooms (mostly) straightened up. I’m a long way away from emptying boxes and having my new home entirely usable.
I’m living life in boxes. Sometimes finding things, more often than not, still missing them. I have lamps without bulbs. I’m still missing a speaker for my surround sound system. My music room is in pieces, with my instruments standing on end against the walls or hidden in closets to protect them from damage. I haven’t even begun to put together my modelling room yet - and that has a bigger problem as my desks don’t fit in the new space.
And yet, living life in boxes is showing me the importance of things. I’ve set up our kitchen to prepare food and the secondary kitchen as a wet bar to entertain and eat informally. I mostly set up my home office to work remotely and reduce the stress of working from a room full of boxes. I have a table for the family to eat at and beds for us to sleep on. Everything else that isn’t essential is still in boxes. And, while the boxes are messy and a little overwhelming, it isn’t a bad thing. We have the necessary stuff set up. And the important things are a lot less than I initially thought they would be.
I’m looking forward to having all of my house set up and the way I want it. I doubt that will be until Christmas. But living life in boxes is teaching me what is truly essential.