Let’s Talk About The “Joy” Of Moving Out Of Your Home Into Another

They say moving is up there as one of the most stressful events in life.

Often compared to the emotional ups and downs of dealing with a major death in the family, the particulars of moving can be enough to drive someone mad. For the most part, I would have to agree with all of this.

Instead of walking through the emotional and physical stress of actually moving your belongings from point A to point B, I want to brush up on some of the initial thoughts and stresses that come about when packing for the big move.

Let’s address the first realization you make when beginning the process of packing up your life. How in the hell did you come to accumulate all of this, for lack of a better term, crap! Every little box, shelf, or otherwise able compartment for filling items with proves to you that you are in fact, a “pack rat”. Be it old movie ticket stubs, costume jewelry you never wear, or an accumulation of key chains you never use…there is just so much random junk. The worst part is that at that moment you truly cannot recall the last time you saw these items.

Purging is essential and you are more than willing to do it. It is easy at first and you feel as though a ton of weight has been lifted off of you with each item you toss to the “give away” pile. However, at some point you will inevitably come to an item that holds sentimental value and struggle for fifteen minutes over whether or not you can truly handle the thought of never seeing it again.

You can.

You come across past purchases that make zero sense to you now. Like the five Jessica Simpson HairDo hair pieces you somehow own. Can you even recall wearing them? Why are they sitting here at the bottom of your closet like a dark secret?

Or how about those shoes you bought in a half-size too big for you just because they were on sale. You convinced yourself that you could somehow make them work. It has been two years, and they have not worked.
The list could go on.

As you continue your vigorous race against the clock, (because of course you left all of this incredible fun to the last minute), you begin to find dust bunnies in areas of your apartment that you instantly feel guilty for neglecting. The ridiculous amount of dust accumulated under your bed is enough to stuff a decorative pillow. Gross! How could you be so lazy?

Now you are cleaning as you are packing, it just keeps getting better!

Next you dive into the slew of wires and adapters you have. Where did they all come from, and do you actually own the electronic devices these connect to? There are literally enough wires in your current space to form a colony. Short, long, yellow, blue…no discrimination here just a bunch of random wires that you stare at with confusion before tossing into a box.

While we are on the topic, what about those old cell phones and computer pieces you have held on to. There is no real reason to keep lugging them around, so you lighten your carbon footprint by passing them off to a recycling program. After you complete the good deed, paranoia begins to sink in. Where do my old electronics really end up? Did I delete enough of my personal information off of the devices? Is some creepy guy in a back room going to poke and prod at my old computer and steal my identity?

These fears will continue to haunt you for several nights to come.

After your patience has been thoroughly tested, you will begin to see the rooms take shape with brown cardboard boxes piled on top of each other. All that is left to do now is sit and stare at your accomplishment, allowing the strong waves of stress to wash over you when you begin to realize that this is only the halfway point of the hell you are about to endure.