So we closed last Thursday. It's official. We're homeowners. We will actually be moving. I am at turns exhilarated and freaked. My mom was in town this last week helping me with Lowell while I shuttled back and forth from the city to Beacon. Matthew and his dad and uncle were up there priming every possible surface in our new house. (This might not seem unusual but none of these relatives live close by - all took planes to get to us - we are not worthy!) I have picked paint colors, not a favorite activity since I can barely commit to a lunch order. Our apartment is getting tinier by the second in comparison to our new space. When I was in kindergarten we moved from an apartment in Chicago to a house in Indiana. I remember that the thing that I was most excited about was that my sister and I would be able to run as much as we wanted in the house and there would be no downstairs neighbors to complain. I am re-living that excitement on many levels. But as much as I am itching to get into the house I'm also feeling very strange about leaving Brooklyn and life as we know it.
First of all I am starting to realize that I don't know anything about living in a house. I haven't actually lived in one since I was 18. You wouldn't think that it would be so different from an apartment but we might as well be moving into an igloo. There are all sorts of things that are very foreign. Like having a garage. And a washer and dryer. And a real kitchen. And stairs. And owning earth. I decided to water the flowers in front of the house since we'd be gone until the weekend. (This is in itself humorous because I had no idea what I was doing, it just felt like something that should be done). I asked Matthew if there was a watering can. He was like, "Yes, it's called a hose and it's attached to the side of the house." A hose! Our very own hose. This was a revelation. Also, how many smoke alarms do you need in a house? And goddamn if there aren't a lot of doors to lock. You pay for sewage? How exactly does a thermostat work? What is the etiquette with your neighbors? Whom do we call about the groundhog in the yard?
But that's in the future. Right now I have to pack. And I am feeling very, very, very overwhelmed. Thank you for the tips so far - they have been really helpful. If you have any more I would appreciate them. I have spent a couple days staring at the inside of boxes wondering how exactly they are going to get filled and then have just gone back to throwing stuff out so I don't have to move it. At this rate I'll be taking everything up in a couple garbage bags. Seriously though, even though I have moved several million times it is still a mystery to me how all the crap actually gets into containers and then shipped and then in place again. It's like I go into a semi-coma state so I can't remember anything the next time I have to do it all again. Any and all advice is welcome.
You're right about Lowell in his hat -- half newsboy selling papers for a nickel, and half JJ Walker selling nickel bags.
I hope you're getting pumped for living in the sizzling Beacon. Lots of love to you and the family. Must be a weird time.
Posted by: Neil Mitchell | April 20, 2006 at 09:42 AM
I know. My god, I KNOW.
Posted by: alice | April 20, 2006 at 02:16 PM
Hi there - i'm a new reader and I just wanted do say congratulations on the house! Good luck with the move.
Posted by: Brenda | April 21, 2006 at 12:38 PM
Hi brenda - thanks!
Posted by: LetterB | April 22, 2006 at 12:49 PM
There was a time in my life when I moved 5 times in 7 years, and during that stressful period, I acquired some moving wisdom which I am happy to pass on to you.
(a) Slow and steady wins the race. Always be packing. Give yourself little goals like "pack four boxes after dinner" or "two boxes before I have breakfast", "three more boxes, then I can go get a latte."
(b) This will come as no shock, but you simply must resign yourself to a life of living space chaos for a good month. There's no way around it. Your apt. will be chaos as you pack up, and your new house will be chaos as you unpack. Attempting to fight this truth will only lead to frustration, grasshopper.
(c) When in doubt, throw away. Find that extra egg beater that has been lying unused in a drawer for five years? Toss it. The sweater that has not been worn since before we all heard of Monica Lewinsky? Goodwill. It is at times like these that I am reminded of Thoreau's sage words, "He who owns little is little owned." If there's an upside to the process of moving, it is that it allows you an opportunity to shed excess shite.
(d) Label the boxes. This is easy at the beginning, as it is easy to fill boxes with "books", "kitchen utensils", "clothes", but gets more challenging as you near the end. You will wander the apartment, half-filled box in hand, looking for things to fit in it. How to label the box that contains the cuisinart, a pencil holder, three winter hats, and an itsy-bitsy book light (tm)? "Stuff" is what naturally comes to mind, but this will be regretted when you get to Beacon to unpack.
(e) Get one of those tools that applies the packing tape and cuts it--deployed like a pricing gun at the supermarket. This not only a time saver, but a remarkably entertaining toy.
Posted by: Ohio philosopher | April 23, 2006 at 06:21 PM
oooh - all very good OP, thank you. Especially b - this is what makes me really crazy, the chaos. I am very much an "everything in it's place" type (people who have seen my apartment are now doing spit-takes - look, it may not seem organized or tidy but i know where every single thing is and can retreive it in a minute or less). It's really hard for me to deal with the chaos but I do just have to accept it and know that it's temporary.
Posted by: LetterB | April 24, 2006 at 03:06 PM
ha ha ha h a ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!
*falls off chair*
everything in it's place!?!?! ha ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!
*snort*
*falls off chair again*
Posted by: kara | May 03, 2006 at 11:01 PM
no, i'm kidding. it's true. what she says. for the most part anyway...
Posted by: kara | May 03, 2006 at 11:03 PM