It’s inevitable that every person will have to move at some point during their lifetimes. But, it doesn’t make it any easier to know this fact.
Most people absolutely loathe moving and the packing, trashing, and donating of items, that starts prior to that. I am one of those people. I don’t mind up and moving, in fact I am somewhat of a nomad moving from region to region without much qualms about it. Last time we calculated how many times I’ve moved in my lifetime, it came in somewhere between 20-25 times. We lost count, somewhere in there. But, when it comes to packing, I absolutely hate it.
The un-packing, on the other hand, is joyful, fun, and a good ending to something you’ve started. But, packing is usually done with some measure of anxiety.
The packing itself may not be causing the anxiety, but the things that go along with it, usually are. The fact that most people are on a deadline and must leave by a certain date, the fact that you must keep well documented lists of things that need to be done before the move, and wrack your brain constantly to be certain that you’re doing everything you were supposed to do, before leaving, as well as scrubbing and cleaning the place you are leaving once you are done with all the other details.
I guess the best part of packing in the moving process, is reaching the final destination. For that reason, and only that reason, packing is somewhat tolerable.
But, I have found that if you’re packing while alone it’s much harder to stay on task, but when you have someone else to speak with and work with, it becomes much more enjoyable and you sort of forget what it is that you are doing.
Another good tip is to pack one room at a time. If you’re all over the apartment, house, or what have you, the whole house is turned upside down in order to pack things. But, if you start in one room, get rid of extras, then pack up what you need, and keep those things in the same room, then shut the door once that room is completed, that’s one less thing on your mind. Continue to do the same from room to room until all your packing is complete and you’re done.
Once all that is complete, and you’ve finished all there is to do, treat yourself to something that you love, in order to reward yourself for a good job on completeing this task that was a huge pain to do, but well worth the effort.
