Blogging and Moving just don't play well together
.
I can tell you this from experience. It all started 3 weeks ago when we received an offer on our house. The house we were living in. Sounds like a good thing, right? The complicated part was that we already had a contract on the house. Buyers #1 had a Home Sale Contingency with a 48 hour kick-out. Because they really wanted the house,
Buyers #1 removed their contingency and agreed to close at the end of the month, a few weeks sooner than we expected.
We had already started packing and moving things to the new house.
It seemed simple enough, fill boxes move them. Fill boxes, move them.
In the 13 years we've lived in this house, my mother passed away and I have boxes of 
her "stuff", my grandmother passed away and I have boxes of her "stuff" and my 100 year old Aunt Margaret passed away and I have a storage unit full of her "stuff". This is what the middle bedroom looks like with Their Stuff!
This will be my office when I get rid of this stuff.
It really seemed like the more I moved, the more there was!
We've been without Internet for over a week now. I race to the office to check email and read a post or two but then it's back to 
the old house to pack boxes and clean. That's all I've done for over a week.
Finally EVERYTHING is out of the old house and we can go to closing. Goodbye old house!
Yikes! What am I going to do with all this STUFF!!!
Today the Cable/Internet/Phone guy comes to hook up everything. We'll set up a makeshift office area in the master. It's not perfect, but will have to do until I figure out where everything else is going.
My blogging has taken a beating, but I'm back.
Connie Harveyis a local agent with Pilkerton Realtors, serving home buyers and sellers in Nashville, TN, Brentwood TN, and Franklin TN. Let her help you realize your Real Estate goals. She can be reached at 615-371-2474.
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Connie, congratulations on the sale and hang in there with the move. Your post has inspired me to pay a visit to our Santa Fe Animal Shelter store - What the Cat Dragged In - today to donate some things also know as boxes of stuff I still have from my Mom's passing in 2007!
Connie, we just went through this with my Mom's death and she had her grandmother's, her sisters, and her mother's furniture and things. The family took the things that were important but the rest of it, well, my nephew and his wife are adopting and so we put the leftovers to good use and they had a fundraiser with a good portion of it to help with the adoption process. Seems like you've handled the transition well even though it interferred with your blogging.
I would go with quick videos to update people on your move! You write wonderfully though so that may be tough.
Connie,
Having just went through a similar experience I know all you mention. Then throw in the fact that I had to fix up my old house after we moved to get it on the market before turning around and working on the new home I discovered three months had gone by and my business took a beating.
Welcome back! I still have a few boxes I never unpacked from the last move. And that was 5 1/2 years ago! I should just throw them out . . .
❧ Welcome back to the Rain my friend.... I've been thinking about you. Sure hope you're feeling better... Can't wait to hear you're all moved in!!!
How's Sweet Pea like her new home?!
Pamela
Hi Connie...
You hit the emotional nail right on the head about moving after a lengthy stay in one place. Some many life-events, so many memories. How do you pack all of that up in boxes and just walk away without all of those feelings swelling up?
Hi Connie! You'll get there and it will be so worth it, but I know you are beyond ready to be settled!
Stuff......OMG I'm going to have the same problem!
Did you make reservations for RETSO? Holiday Inn?
Are you finally moving into your new house? Wow! It has been a long time. Welcome back and congrats on the feature. I will give you a jingle later today...
Emily - some of the things are wonderful, but you can't keep everything. I've promised my husband that it will either be used, sold or donated. But it will NOT stay in the middle room!
Barb - A fundraiser! What a wonderful idea!!!
Chuck - Very kind of you. I guess I could have done that but I was so overwhelmed!
John - We've been fixing up the new house since last summer. Just after we closed my Mother-in-Law passed away and that just complicated everything else we had to do. Thankfully we didn't have to do a lot to the prior house to sell it, but we stayed in it so it would be staged and show better.
Richard - That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid. By putting the office temporarily in the Master, it will motivate me to get the "stuff" out of the room that will be the permanent office.
Pam - We all love the new place. It's one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the area, especially for walking. I'm much better thank you.
Everyone, I'll be back in a little while, I have to go work out!. My trainer hates it when I'm late!
Connie ~ I don't envy you on the move ~ Stuff is so hard to go through ~ Just donate it ~
Connie We moved about 15 years ago - I dread the next one - welcome back
One of the best moves I ever made was years ago from a large home to a very small home. Not just because of the new ocean view, but mainly because it forced me to purge tons and tons of items that I had kept for years and years. This was shortly after graduating college, so I had moved a majority of boxes two or three times...without ever unpacking or even opening them.
Garage sale - good way to meet some neighbors.
Donations - good way to help the community.
Connie, looking on the bright side moving usually gives you an opportunity to get rid of the things you no longer need or want. I don't envy you. Glad to hear you are back on track.
Hi Connie, I went through the same thing a year ago and am just now getting to finalize organizing the basement and attic. The house I am in now is constantly under construction, a total rehab, (as well as having to work on 2 rental properties) so I can empathize! Kudos for getting back to AR so quickly!
Connie, moving out moving in is sheer turmoil I agree.
Connie:
Enjoy your new home. Sounds like a garage sale or estate sale might be worth your time. Good luck in 2011.
Connie, congrats on your transition! When you find an efficient way to purge, let me know. I've been trying to do that all my life, and still have my Brownie uniform from 196--.
Richard - I hope to take a few days off and just take my time going through some of the things.
Ann - Yes, most of us end up going through this sooner or later. Yes I'll see you there! Can't wait!!!
Michael - We moved last week. Yes, it has been a long time. We moved the guest furniture over at Thanksgiving and went to stay there a few times. It was like camping. But better. :)
Moving is a painful experience no matter how one looks at it. We have to throw out stuff we do not need. Then, pack it up and unpack when we get to our destination. We only throw more stuff away. Welcome back
Frank and Karen - I will do that with much of it, but many things I will keep if we can/will use them.
Karen - This will probably be our last move. I want to purge now and not put things in the attic that will never be used. If I can get us down to the bare necessities, we can live clutter free for a change!!
Kevin - some things will go on eBay and Craigs' list. Garage sale as soon as weather permits and then yes, donations!!!
Connie, Moving just your own stuff is hard enough let alone stuff with emotional attachment from 3 other family members! Deadlines help in such situations. Having someone come in who is not emotionally attached to things can be very helpful in letting things go. I have one sister who can just eliminate things to the bare bones. She was very helpful when we were going through my parents house after they died to put it on the market.
Well once the dust settles you will be able to get into your blogging groove and enjoy your new home! All the best to you and your family in this new chapter in your life!
Gloria
Welcome back Connie!!! I thought that maybe the bottom picture was that you had already gone thru all the stuff. Moving is so stressful, good thing you weren't sick anymore.
Michael - It's nice to be able to work from home again. Not that I do much work there, but at least the computer is up and running.
Samantha - thankfully we did all the rehab before moving. That's totally behind us. When I get the kitchen and bedroom functioning I can just close the door on the middle room and work on it when I have time. I want nothing in the attic except files. It either gets used or it leaves the premises!!
Gary - I said to a friend the other day " I can't believe I make a living putting people through this!" LOL
Lorraine - First nice weekend the "garage sale" signs go out. That will clear out a lot of the garage. the middle room will take some sorting first. It's more Craigslist stuff.
Dianne - My great aunt who passed away never threw anything away. I have Magazines that have Eleanor Roosevelt on the cover. Do you know how old those are????
Harry - There's a lot to laugh about. My husband couldn't find his underwear for 3 days. He told a friend that he was wearing mine! LOL
Gloria - I want to get my bedroom, closet and kitchen settled. The rest can wait for me to take a breather!
Christina - It's good to be back "talking" to my blogging friends. The bottom picture is my home office on a picnic table in my bedroom. I donated my desk, filing drawers and shelves to the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home. I wanted a new setup. That will motivate me to get the middle room done, just to get the picnic table out of my bedroom!!!
Moving is definitely not on anyone's love to do list! I am sure that you will be settled in and back to normal in no time! Welcome back.
Connie - moving does not play well with anything. First thing we did last time moved was get our internet and wireless set up, even before the furniture got delivered.
Sounds like you need to have a yard sale Connie! I agree with Mike (#30) moving doesn't play well with anything. We moved in to our house 4 years ago and I'm hoping it will be our LAST move!
Connie, you made it to the new house, that's a praise. Only I hope you aren't like me and a couple of years later you still have all that stuff :)
I often think moving is the easy part, getting organized is an entirely different matter. I still don't have my kitchen flowing as well as the old one did and we moved 8 years ago!
I recently had the same thing happen, compounded by the fact that my husband and I built our house and did a lot of work on it ourselves. From backfilling the foundation by hand in October to putting up a wood ceiling on Christmas day, there hasn't been a minute left, or any energy, for doing anything but the bare minimum. Still trying to get my blogging groove back! My new house is pretty though, so it is all worth it. I am sure being in your happy new home will make it all worth it as well!
it's all good and it only gets better.
Welcome back, Connie! Congratulations on selling your home (and condolences on having to pack up 13 years worth of “stuff.” Been there, done that!) And glad to hear that your getting your cable/Internet/phone connected today. That must be a HUGE relief!
Look slike you've done a great job purging old items, Connie. It's refreshing to get rid of stuff!
Karen - I just try to do a little before I leave. Some more if I stop home for lunch, and a bit more after work.
Mike - I should have done that. I did have the cable on basic so at least we could have a glass of wine and watch the news!
Donna - Yard sale is big on the list. It will certainly make room for us both to park in the garage again. This should be our last move too!
Teral - No, no! I promised my husband. AND I can't stand the thought of having my computer in the bedroom! LOL
Corinne - I don't think I'll be able to wait that long. Yesterday my husband said he missed the old kitchen. I just need to be patient and study it a little better.
Wendy - It will be worth it. I have no doubt. I can't believe you did so much of the work yourselves! Now we have to focus on business, which means getting our blogs back up to speed!
Congrats on your new home! I fear the day when we decide to move.... TOO MUCH STUFF!!!! So for now I'm watching my granite countertops get installed. :-) Welcome back to the blog!
I sympathise with everyone of my clients who have to pack up their homes. It makes me shudder to think about doing that again!
Janet - so well said. Yes, getting better and better!
Bill - I got home yesterday and everything was up and running. Yeah!!!
Aaron - They know me by name at the local Goodwill Dropoff!!
Brenda - Thank you. It's so nice to be back with my blogging friends!
Ellie - The empathy that I seem to have lost for my clients, is back and stronger than ever!!
Connie- I'm glad you're back. I've moved so much, I have a lot of empathy for anyone who is moving. Isn't it funny how much "stuff" we all collect... and that includes stagers. And we collect everyone else's stuff. I'm so hooked on ActiveRain and being connected to the Internet that the thought of being disconnected for even a day would be mortifying. Glad things are settling down.,
Welcome back to the blogging world, Connie! Congratulations on your move as well.
Kathy - Thank you! Yes, being able to communicate with everyone is priceless! The rest will happen when it happens.
Lydia - You could have never convinced me a couple of years ago that I would feel this way about blogging!!
Congrats on the sale of your home! I know packing and moving can be very overwhelming...we have done it 5 times in 10 years so I understand. But, I am now down to the point where I just get rid of things...it drives my family mad that I don't hold onto things but when you move THAT much, it becomes easy! Hope you get settled and into a routine quickly!
If nothing else, you gained empathy for buyers and seller.
Moving is a daunting task. Even when the movers pack and unpack, it's earth shattering.
Hi Connie,
Congrats on the closing.. Thank you for sharing the experience with us. Moving can really be tough, sometimes it just seems endless. Look forward to seeing in the Rain again.
Shannon - When we moved into the last house, I thought it was for 3 years. My husband decided against the quicker move. This will be the last time I truly hope. But you're right, I wouldn't have as much stuff if I had moved sooner!
Lenn - I used to have a lot of empathy for them but I had lost it along the way. This has truly put me back in their corner as far as remembering how terribly difficult this can be!
Susan - I totally failed the February Challenge!!!!
Hi Connie - The good news is you sold your home. The bad news is you have to move. Good luck.
In 2005, we sold our house in IL and almost all our worldly possessions to live in an RV. Now that's true down-sizing. We didn't keep any furniture. We stored a few items for a couple of years at my mother's. It was a very stressful 3 weeks but I found it to be very freeing to get rid of 13 years of accumulation. Congrats on the move.
Good to have you back Connie! You need to get rid of "the stuff". Easy for me to say, right? When we bought our first house we were young, no kids & no stuff. When we sold it & bought the next one, we had three kids & lots of stuff. I got rid of a lot & swore, at that point, that I would not put in my attic or basement anything that I was not going to use. With very few exceptions, I have stuck to it. I recently had to clean out an aunt's house of a lot of un-needed & unused stuff. We swore we would not do that to our kids.
13 years in a place. What a move! Kristine
Congrats on the quick sale of your home. Nothing more fun than packing, moving and cleaning! I'd rather be blogging too.
Congratulations on the new home and selling the old one! Everything will all work out! So glad that you are back! :)))
It is difficult to keep to a routine or schedule when you're moving from one residence to another--nothing like packing all our earthly possessions into boxes to remind us how much "stuff" we accumulate along the way.
My family has several businesses on top of my own. I find sometimes responsibilities with those does at times make it difficult to keep my head above water on blogging and commenting. But the re-assuring thing is that it is there waiting for me...
Conrad - No, the bad news is I need to unpack!!! I've already moved and glad that's over.
Tammie - I've known other people who have done that. Very cool to be able to let go of EVERYTHING!
Christine - When mother passed away, I had to deal with everything. I went through her things and had a garage sale. But there were so many special "family things" that I hated to just sell. So I spread it all out and took pictures of it. Sent the pictures to my siblings to see what they wanted. Then i put everything in the attic. That's where I went wrong. This time it's NOT going in the attic. I'll try to sell the antiques or they'll be given away.
Kristine - Yep. I'll be in the new house longer than that but I'm not collecting stuff I don't need.
Georgina - It wasn't exactly quick selling but quick closing! But it's over!
Joni - Thank you! I am so happy to be back!
Moving is hard enough dealing with my own "stuff". Can't imagine what it would be like to move stuff for 3 other people as well. Glad the move went smooth and you are back to blogging. Looking forward to reading more posts from you in the future.
Norma - Said like a true person in the know! I'm looking forward to reporting on completion!!!
Lori - There's always something else I should be doing but I'm glad I'm back here!
Tricia - Thank you! You'll find that I post about all kinds of things now that it's become a habit!
What a pain in the neck, nightmare, etc but it's ALL GOOD. Congratulations on the sale, and good luck getting where you need to be!
Virginia - thank you. It'll all come together!
Sounds like you have really had your hands full. Hopefully things will settle down for you know at the house and you can focus on other things.
Steve - It's been a busy 3 weeks but I feel like things are getting organized and I'll be getting my head straightened out!!!
Steve - It's been a busy 3 weeks but I feel like things are getting organized and I'll be getting my head straightened out!!!
Connie ~ I have always said that we agents should move about every 5 years or so, in order for us to be able to go through what our clients go through!
Dawn - this has given me a new super dose of Empathy! Yes, we all really should have to move to remember exactly what it's like!