So my 'what if' for today shall reflect that and a little bit of my own fastest ever move back when I was a kid.
Today's question: What if you had to move out of your house in 3 hours? What would you take with you? What would you leave behind? How would the time crunch affect your choices?
My inspiration for today's question is obviously all about moving and how that's been on my mind for like, oh forever now. And watching my friend get to her big dream of moving to Hawaii has been super crazy and fun. Moving over water is quite different from a land move! Oh, the choices that must be made! The craziness of it all reminds me of the time when I was 4 and we moved out of a rental house in 3 hours flat. It was a small house and we were in trouble! Many friends helped us out. But the thing I remember most about that move is that it was such a wonder that it never felt like we had left anything really important behind.
So tell me all about your moving experiences- real or imagined! What 'moves' you in deciding what stays or goes when you have to/decide to move?
 | |
| Abstract Motion, Blurred Meadow stock photo found at freedigitalphotos.net |
Good luck to your friend in her new home.
ReplyDeleteI don't even want to think or write about moving. I moved 3 times last year and I still have boxes upstairs that have to be eliminated and you know how difficult that is. The older one gets, the more memories are connected with our possessions and especially if a person has died, it is all you have left of them. I have asked of everyone in my family," Please no more gifts." That is the hardest thing…. to part with the little gifts one's kids have given "Mom" throughout the years.
But, I want my upstairs, so everything has to go.
May all your days be happy ones…..
Having worked with many people who needed help organizing, especially after a move or the death of a loved one or both, I think this has only added to my sincere desire not to be weighed down by 'stuff'. When you see someone who finally gets free of their stuff it makes you never want to be stuck like that. I actually tell people that the gifts I give them are not a life sentence and that I will not be expecting them to keep these items forever! I hope you find the balance you need with your memories and your want to have your space.
DeleteSo many thoughts here...
ReplyDelete1) For a time I was fascinated with anything Native American. I read books... blah blah blah. One of the things that amazed me was that they didn't own anything they didn't need. Most of the tribes were migratory and they could easily pack up and be gone inside 15 minutes. I still try to imagine that and cannot. Roll up the teepee, gather up EVERYTHING you own, and be riding in 15 minutes flat. Wow.
2) We just moved a year ago and it seemed like it took forever. There was so much to do before we moved. We went through everything (or most everything) in an attempt to donate stuff we didn't want/need. And we still ended up with way too much junk for this house. It takes up entirely too much garage space.
3) My mom loves to watch HGTV and likes the show International House Hunters... mostly because it's a peek into other countries, cultures, etc. I sometimes watch it with her. Then she says something like, "Maybe we should move there. You can buy a lot of house with a little and get a whole new cultural experience." Yep. It sounds good for about five minutes and then I think about what a move like that would entail. It would be bare bones and there are so many things that I don't want to let go of, mom doesn't want to part with, and so on. Our memories are tied up in our belongings. We have a set of dishes that my grandparents used. Every time we eat on them we both think about her parents. But how would you justify moving dishes? Or furniture? Or knick knacks? In the end, we both say that we NEVER want to move again. But we've said that before...
4) Three hours. I really don't know. Pictures. And then I'd wish I had them ALL on a disc drive so that I would have time and room for more stuff. I'd probably end up taking all of the knick knacky things with memories, my kindle, my laptop, and I don't know. I am sure it would all be okay in the end, but oh... the stress.
Hi Robin-
DeleteI love all the facets that you brought up here.
1) The ability to move about the world unencumbered by 'stuff' is amazing. It really is a feeling of freedom like no other.
2) We have a two car garage. Therefore, 2 cars reside in it. I have nothing that is worth more than the cars so the decision is easy.
3) I watch a fair amount of HGTV myself! We've realized that, other than Bermuda, there are not a lot of exotic locals where it would be easy for my husband to find a job. I find the choices of dealing with what it makes no sense to pack to be very freeing. If it doesn't make sense to pack it, then the decision is already made- easy peasy. No, I'm not sentimental when it comes to 'stuff'.
4) I do have all my pictures on an external drive and backed up on CDs in case the drive doesn't work. I keep them in a firesafe. So I guess we just figured out something I AM sentimental about. And also yeah, I get paid for my organizational skills.
We move...a lot...when we got stationed in Alaska we managed to live in a small travel trailer with 4 kids and two big dogs for several months. I guess it made me realize how much we don't need. We had a fire scare this summer and were evacuated. I left in 15 min. We each grabbed a change of clothes, our meds, the dogs, and the family pics off the wall. That was it.
ReplyDeleteNow the small space thing, I am simply amazed at anyone that can do that for any period of time. I am perfectly good without a lot of stuff. I am SO NOT GOOD without space- to move about, to get away if needed, etc.
DeleteYour fire evacuation was a good indicator of what's really needed. And not much more stuff than that, honestly, is needed to survive.
My wife and I have moved 29 times. The stories are too long to relate, but almost every one is interesting. As for speed, with respect to our last move from New Hampshire to Florida, my wife was told she was developing arthritis in her hands due to the cold weather. I listed the house that day, and two months later, we were living in sunshine. The things we have are just that - things. We can be on our way in an hour.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on having done a ton of moves- 22 for me- but almost all within the same county! Although it feels as if I've been wanting to move forever, maybe we're just too risk adverse around here! All I know is that I'm going through everything in this house one last time and whittling it down to the bare minimum as I fully intend to move to California this Spring. No ifs and or buts about it!
DeleteGood for you! I hold on to items with memories attached, and dump, sell, or give away everything else.
Delete