moving poll

[keryx]

I've started packing. Lord willing & the creek don't rise [I'm getting tired of saying "if all goes as planned".], I'll get the keys to Willie in exactly one month, and the movers will come the next day. Today it was suggested that this was a very early time to pack things, and that I might be somehow exceptionally anal.

So, you? When do you pack?
[Poll #1230726]

I figure this: I can handle about 20 minutes of packing in a row. When traveling, that's usually plenty of time, so I can do it the night before or morning of. But. When moving, you need hours of packing. I do, on average, an hour of packing every 3 days, which means - if I want to keep my sanity - I have to start at least 24 days in advance assuming I can pack the whole house in 8 hours of uninterrupted work. If I start 30-45 days ahead, then I can take time off for good behavior!

I contend that the only way this is anal is that I've actually taken the time to calculate how much time I can pack without distracting myself. Same with labeling things - I only label what I pack so that I don't have to do extra work when I unpack.

Comments

[snidegrrl.livejournal.com]

I've never traveled for more than a week so the idea of traveling for THREE??? Oh my god, if that is going to happen in my lifetime I'd better start packing now.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

You've never traveled for more than a week?! But you've been to Europe and stuff.

I think it may actually be easier to pack for a longer trip, since you stop fooling yourself that you must take everything, that you need at least one outfit for every day, etc - and you start planning what you can borrow or rent there, what you can wash, what you can re-use, etc. Next time I go to HI, I've dared myself to only take a carryon.

[snidegrrl.livejournal.com]

I went to England when I was 16 for but one week! Last year I went to Portland for about a week... And I've been to the outer banks for a week many times. That's about it. I've never had travel as a priority, my money just always goes elsewhere.

Someday though. New Zealand.

[tartedelune.livejournal.com]

The carry-on restrictions are usually surprisingly generous. I pretty much onlytake carry-on when I travel, even with my 2 month trip this summer, because I hate dealing with baggage claim and I am worried they'll lose my stuff.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

I always find baggage claim on the way somewhere to be a nice way to get my bearings. But it's getting to be an expensive pain to check bags now.

[gattabtribal.livejournal.com]

I've had lots of practice with both moving and traveling for extended stays.

For moving, I have a hard time with handling the change, I like to be in control of where I live so moving throws me into a tizzy. I start as soon as I know I am moving. Be it a month+ or just a few days. Packing usually continues until I am walking out the door for the last time. I pack/label a few boxes at a time in order of necessity and depending on how many boxes I have at the time. So if I am moving in the summer I pack all winter/fall things first and vice versa then go according to house hold items I use less frequently.

For extended travel, I start organizing a day or 2 ahead of the departure. For morning departures I finish putting everything in the suitcase(s) the day/night before. For Afternoon/Evening departures I like to finish packing the morning of, so that everything is fresh and I don't have to use my "guest/too late to run to CVS" toiletries.

I am completely anal retentive about packing. When we bought our house last summer and moved out of our apt. I started packing as soon as we started looking at houses. I told my HD that if he valued his and my sanity he would let me pack everything so that I would be able to direct traffic when we moved in to our house. He did pack a few boxes early on, but then watched as I unpacked, reorganized the items and then repacked/labeled them. After that he just let me go to town. I put him in charge of making sure the apt was spotless before we walked out.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

See? I'm nowhere near that anal about packing. I label boxes so I know what they are, and I start by packing things I don't need right now (like you said, things that are out of season or simply decorative go first, bathroom & cleaning supplies go last). But other than protecting breakables, I don't worry about how things or packed and ordered.

My new boxes are colored - and that was just a little overwhelming. Do I have to color code my stuff now?

[gattabtribal.livejournal.com]

Oh! That would be cool. You could color code by what room you want stuff to go in, then you just hand out a sheet to those helping unload the truck or what ever.*Just Kidding*

Although I would probably do that...if the colored boxes were given to me, but I don't think I'd specifically go out and buy them. At least I know I have a probem and admit to it.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

I've sorta organized them by color - blue stuff goes upstairs, purple goes downstairs. But then I'll have other non-colored boxes that I'll need to label in color in some fashion now.

[finefinemusic.livejournal.com]

I spent the six weeks leading up to my last move packing things slowly, so that all my boxes were nicely organized and unpacking was easier. Plus this gives you time to go through stuff, trash stuff, give away stuff...

[firecat]

When I move house, I have the movers pack, except for my computer equipment and small valuables. I highly recommend it.

As for traveling, I try to have 90% of my stuff packed before I go to bed the day before. There are a few things that I pack at the last minute.