Packing and Planning Ahead

Week 2 of operation pack-up-the-house-to-move has come and gone. I’m finding the process to be a mind-bending series of decisions that come from all different directions. On the one hand, we’re sorting and purging items that are no longer useful to us ~ taking piles of things to the garbage and thrift store. On the other hand, we’re planning ahead to our new place and trying to envision what should go where. When my mind starts to spin out of control and hits the “overwhelming” mark, it’s nice to have the luxury of time to be able to step away and go for a cup of coffee ~ or perhaps~

rearrange the living room!

Isn’t that a normal thing to do when packing to move?

Actually, there was a method to this madness. I sat down and spent a little time with a “faux” floor plan of our new home (created only from my memory). I tried to think through the details of furniture placement, but quickly found the exercise sorely lacking when I didn’t have specific measurements on hand. So, in the absence of such, I instead decided to try out a “mock” new living room, in our old one.

I found this fun little exercise both:

helped to create a fresh, clean, peaceful space to come when the rest of the house feels slightly chaotic and
helped to organize some new decor for the new living room.

As I’m thinking through the packing process, I’m also trying to think through ways to transition smoothly into our new place. The plan is to pack up the living room last and put all the decor into the “living room” box, so at least one room can feel relatively “put together” quickly on the other end.

In other fun news, I will have not 1, but 2 fireplace mantels to decorate in our new place! I did a quick little Pinterest search for ideas, and did a practice one on our dining room buffet.

It went into the “Living Room decor” box so that it, too, can be set up quickly on the other end. (And then, I’m sure, tweaked over and over…Ha!;))

We’ve decided to leave the Living Room for last in the packing department. That way, there’s one place that we can sit and relax without being surrounded by towering boxes…

Thanks for the helpful moving tips that some of you have written to me. I loved the colored duct tape idea for marking which boxes go where. I used that trick when we packed up our son’s room yesterday. He’s always been a fan of duct tape and already had an assortment of colors available!