Not a real couple…notice the perfect hair and smiling faces.
Moving sucks. Let me rephrase that. Moving during the Christmas season REALLY sucks. At least we didn’t get rained on and we certainly didn’t overheat like we have in the past carrying box after box of my collection of Dostoevsky in the original Russian (yeah, I really HAVE read The Brothers Karamazov in the original text–it’s much better than the dry Constance Garnett translation most of us sleep through in our college lit classes). But I digress. We’ve discovered a few new things this move.

A good place to buy boxes in a hurry: U-Haul on Franklin and Broadway–you’ll think the place is closed because it’s not lighted up like a Rivercats game, but a nice young man will help you carry your stuff to your car. If you don’t use all the boxes you purchase, you can return the unused one with the receipt and get your money back.

How NOT to order a U-Haul truck: Don’t wait till the last minute. You’ll wish you had reserved something a week before. Don’t expect to walk on a U-Haul lot and get a 17 foot truck. You might end up with a scary 24 foot truck with headlights that don’t work. We did–but all’s well that ends well. Our junk is out of one house, and in the next. Minus a few Monopoly play dollars that had somehow hidden under the kids’ beds for a few years. (Yeah, when you do your spring cleaning, move EVERYTHING–not just the peripherals–and don’t buy the kids any board games with small pieces like Operation or Monopoly or Junior Scrabble…)

Sort your stuff BEFORE your move. I can’t tell you how many boxes I’ve opened with totally unrelated objects inside. I don’t want to tell you how many. It’d only embarrass me and bore you. But the tip here to remember–sort BEFORE, not AFTER. Got it?

Oh yeah, the last big tip. If you let your husband pack (careful there’s a big sexist stereotype about to be perpetuated), be sure to pack the most necessary things yourself–separately. Like …diapers, soap, toothbrushes…and a few pairs of clean underwear. You’ll be happy you did. Trust me on that.

Related posts:

1. Dark Metropolis
2. We don’t need no stinking arena
3. Sugar, aw honey honey
4. The Scene’s Moving East, You Say?
5. Watch where you’re going!