Moving Day

Moving day is exciting, stressful, chaotic, exhausting and that's when you have movers … who are efficient, professional and let’s be honest - doing the heavy lifting!

I moved on Thursday … figured I could make the most of the long weekend.  It’s been non-stop.  

The funny thing … The thing I forgot … How disorganized everything is.

This is a rabbit hole, pep rally and pearl of wisdom all in one … 

As organized as I am/was when packing (read labeling boxes with the room they go to/came from and high-level contents) it’s not organized enough.  I’d been in my space forever … found a layout that worked and modified a little here and there.  It worked for the space I had.  

When the contents began arriving, I had to rethink the placement and layout … Thankfully I have friends who are insanely good at asking questions like “how do you want to use this space? … “Why don’t you use x or y?”

The questions forced me out of auto pilot, brought me into the present and forced me to think about the intention of the spaces I was moving into.

Autopilot is faster, in the short-term.  You don’t have to think you just do.  Stuff gets done.  I like stuff getting done.  Pausing, asking questions, being in my space … So much slower … Requires patience … But it’s more intentional and in the long run it will - theoretically - create a better flow, be a setup more aligned with the new space and require less undoing and redoing of work.  

I am continually being reminded I don’t need to finish everything now … which, of course goes against how I think … how I function.  I’m trying to listen.  I’ve got a goal to finish the kitchen, living, dining and main bathrooms by the end of the day.  While that seems lofty, a lot of these spaces are 50 to 75% done and just need finishing and moving things that don’t belong in the space - out.  

The bedroom is largely finding clothes to get me through the next couple weeks.  I’ll need to replace my IKEA wardrobe and am starting to get a sense of how that will need to be set up … Slow and steady.  

Art will be the very last step in the process.  Which hurts my heart a little.  It’s what ties a home together, makes it feel like a home, gives it its heart.  I miss seeing my art on the walls, but until I’ve finished unpacking … Until I’ve gotten a feel for how the light moves, art will be putting holes in walls prematurely  … So I wait.  

Sighs … We’ll get there.  

In a month I should be settled … I should be organized and have a better sense of the space and how it flows … I’ll still need to pick up pieces (read lights) … But I can take my time and look for floor and table lamps that suit the space and work with what I have already.  

Like art … those are the final touches and don’t require me to rush.  

I have mini goals to see me through the immediate needs … longer term goals to keep me on track.  It will come together … It already feels like home … Funny how that works. 

Before long … I will be settled and have forgotten the process of getting here.  I’ll be busy enjoying living here.  That’s a nice thought … Living here.  

On that note … I should start wrapping this up … I have dessert to make - using the kitchen to cook/bake for the first time … So I will get a feel for the stove … You’d think a stove, is a stove, is a stove … Laughs … If you know - you know.  Stoves aren’t alike and timing in one will be different in others … So today, I get a feel for how this stove bakes and will get a feel for timing.  Which, if I’m being honest, could be a whole blog series onto itself!

I’ll sign off with - although I’m not settled quite yet, I am home.  In the sense that I’m where I belong, that feeling you get when you’re with your people, or you walk into a space and know … It’s a good feeling … One I’m grateful for … One I’m breathing in and taking a moment to appreciate.  It’s been a lot of work getting to this point … but as Rick Warren said “transformation is a process … it’s a journey of discovery …”