Comment by Jenn

October 23, 2006 @ 2:48 pm

Okay, so if you read my comment in the previous post about not posting because we’d be busy packing, etc., I lied. Blogging is a great way to procrastinate!

Comment by Jungle Pop

October 23, 2006 @ 5:35 pm

Tape a sheet of paper on the top of each box, with a complete description of the contents (as complete as time allows). That way, it allows you to procrastinate in unpacking, because you can just take out what you need when you need it!

Comment by Jenn

October 24, 2006 @ 11:54 am

Ahhh, a man who understands me without ever meeting me! Thanks for the tip, Jungle Pop!

Comment by Lynn

October 24, 2006 @ 7:22 pm

We moved last year. I will pray for bright sunny days and lots of friends with trucks and hand trucks!

I recommend writing not just on the top of the box, but on a couple sides as well. That way if boxes are stacked you have a chance of seeing what is in them.

A friend of mine said to write which room each box goes to in addition to the contents.

Pack books in very small boxes, as they are heavy.

Get bedrooms and kitchen set up first. Then bathrooms. Placement of other furniture, books on shelves, can wait.

McDonald’s let me raid their dumpster for boxes — and I got many from there instead of paying for boxes, good boxes, broken down that I put back together with packing tape.

I explained to our then five turning six year old that we were taking our table but leaving the walls, taking our chairs and beds but leaving the roof because we would get a new roof, that her teddy bears etc. are coming with us, and our clothes, but we are leaving behind the closet because we’re going to get a new one. Probably your seven year old is past the need for that kind of explanation.

I will pray for your adjustment. It takes a while. I still don’t feel totally moved in here, but we are.

We wanted to move to be closer to the school my older girls go to. We also were feeling cramped in our small house — it had a big yard, but no basement, no attic, and was three bedrooms, one bathroom eat-in kitchen, and living room. We have several hundred more square feet and another bathroom and a half, plus a basement now.

I will be praying for you all.

Comment by Jenn

October 25, 2006 @ 2:53 pm

Lynn,
Thanks for all the helpful suggestions and the prayers.

Your comments inspired a conversation with the 5yo about what was moving and what was staying. It was interesting. Surprisingly, she wanted to leave more stuff behind (”But we don’t use that!”) than we will actually be leaving behind. And, of course, when I mentioned leaving the toilets behind, she dissolved into giggles.

When the 7yo heard our conversation topic and I asked her if she had any questions about what was going/staying, she replied with a roll of the eyes and a typical, “Mo-o-o-m!” - which is her way of saying she’s too old for this level of discussion. (But she giggled discreetly about the toilets, too!) She is way more interested in getting to help decide where to put furniture. etc.

*Sigh* Back to the boxes…

Comment by Rey

October 28, 2006 @ 3:15 pm

When we started looking for places I started getting my son involved in the process; looking at houses, visiting home depot and picking up color chips–that sort of thing (though I did have to make sure he stayed within an acceptable color spectrum–heh heh). When we started packing the boxes I had him pick the color marker to label his boxes.

He got into it. It became something he was part of instead of something happening to him. Even when I was working on the new house I had him come in and look at the status of his room and how the colors were lining up.

BUT the hardest thing was getting him to understand the new cultural setting and that one is still something that is hard to get him to understand. In New York we were in a Bi-Lingual assembly where I spoke for an hour every week in a small packed room after meeting in a large packed room where we had boisterous worship songs for a half hour and another hour of Breaking of Bread. Our new assembly is all white, very conservative, everything is divided into neat intervals of time (45 minute Lord Supper, 15 minute break, 3 songs, 1 40 minute lesson, 1 30 minute lesson) where the speakers come from afar or within and there’s no connection from one week to the next in teaching. Sometimes he brings up visiting the old church (but since it’s over 300 miles away that’s not an option–heh heh) so this is taking some getting used to.

But that’s us, so you might be fine. Sorry I didn’t get to answer sooner–something is up with my bloglines recognizing updates on your RSS feed.

Comment by Rey

October 28, 2006 @ 3:19 pm

Oooh, packing tip:
1) “Fragile” means nothing.
2) “This Side Up” means nothing.
3) Take the TV, the computer and the DVD player in your own car.
4) Expect the sofa to get damaged.
5) Help them pack and unload the truck. This way they are careful at least when you’re near the truck.

=)