So, I’m a bit of a planner, hence the blog name.
When I can’t plan for something or something in our lives changes suddenly, well, I find myself off kilter and trying to plan as soon as possible.
Such is the case with this move to Arizona. We really didn’t even know that a move was possible until about 6 weeks ago, and then we both thought the chance of a move was remote. Ha ha.
Now, I’m doing my best to plan so this move will be smooth.
We’re planning to be out of our apartment in 2 months. Yes, that is 59 short days from now!
I have so much to do!
Here’s what we’re planning to accomplish:
June
Sell the extra stuff we have around the house. We have a lot to sell including the girls’ outgrown clothes, kitchen equipment we no longer use, one of our deep freezers, a window air conditioner, and homeschool curriculum we either have already used or won’t be using. We also have baby gates and a baby crib.
Weed through household goods. I have a lot of cute Christmas decorations patterned with snowmen and the like. Do people in warm climates put up these types of things in December even though it’s 70 degrees out and there’s no chance of snow? I’ve never lived somewhere without a traditional winter, so please advise!
Pack up stuff we’re not currently using. We have some things that we aren’t currently using like long sleeve shirts and pants and the kids’ homeschool curriculum for the fall. I plan to pack all of these things up in June and create a running list of what’s in each box so packing will be easier when we arrive.
Figure out the timing of our move. So many things are up in the air; it’s driving me crazy! After careful consideration and a long meeting with our financial advisor, we’ve decided to take the leap and buy a house. We did look at houses when we were in Arizona, but we only found one that we fell in love with and thought we could call home. Now, that house’s price has been dropped and is at a price we’re very comfortable purchasing at. The only problem is that my husband doesn’t have his signed contract yet, so we’re stalled. We check the web every day to make sure the house hasn’t sold yet, but if it does, I’m not sure what we’re going to do.
We’ll either have to take another trip to Arizona to see more houses, or we’ll have to just wing it and move the whole family out there, put our stuff in storage, and look for a house once we get there. That doesn’t sound fun. Yikes.
July
Finish Bookworm’s 4th grade curriculum.
Eat up the food we have in the house.
Continue packing.
Iron out the details of our move with a moving company, etc.
Turn off all of our utilities at the end of the month.
Forward our mail.
What Advice Do You Have for Me?
I’m sure I’m forgetting many things right now.
My husband and I have only moved two times during our marriage; the first move was just 5 hours away, and the second move was less than 1/2 a mile when we moved to this apartment.
I have no experience with 2,000 mile moves, especially with children. Those of you who have experience moving long distances, what advice can you give?
If your new area in AZ has 99c Only stores make sure to check them out. They carry produce and brand name products!
Also, I would strongly urge you to look for a home in a community with a pool. It can be expensive to maintain your own pool, but we love the quick access to a community pool.
We did look at some homes with community pools, but the monthly HOA fees were pricey–some as high as $75 a month!
I saw those when we were out there, but I didn’t stop by. I’ll have to check it out when we get there!
Yes, us warm climate people still decorate for Christmas with snowmen (at least this Houstonian does)!
I’m sure most houses in Arizona have some form of AC, but you might want to hang onto that working window unit just in case. Especially since you aren’t sure of your housing situation yet and AC units always seem to die on the hottest days of the year! If nothing else, you might be able to install it in the garage to turn on in case you or your hubby are working on handyman projects (if you do those sort of things).
You’re on the right track with packing “off season” items now and keeping a list of what is in what box. One hint that I used the only time we hired a moving company (packed ourselves – they just did the heavy lifting), was to NOT list the contents of the box on the box. Just put the room it belongs in and a box number. Then you have your master list/notebook of what is in each numbered box. This way the movers don’t know what is in each box and you don’t have to worry about a box of valuables “disappearing”.
ALWAYS buy at least 1/3 more packing tape and materials than you think you’ll need – you can always return what you don’t open. If possible, keep the box sizes to as few as possible as it will make stacking boxes in a moving truck a lot easier instead of having 100 different size boxes. Office supply stores sell Fragile stickers but I’ve always ended up having to tape them on the boxes since they always want to peel off. Check prices at the major home improvement big box stores and moving companies to see who has the better deal. Places like u-haul have some speciality boxes (i.e. flat screen tv) that the home stores don’t carry.
MOST IMPORTANTLY – have a rubbermaid tote with you (not a taped up box and not on the moving truck (or if on the truck – make sure it’s the VERY FIRST thing unloaded) with the following supplies in it: box cutters (at least two), toilet paper, first aid kit, soap, trashbags, paper plates/cups/silverware, paper towels, hammer, screwdrivers (phillips and straight), shower curtain & rings (if needed), wash cloths and a couple of bath towels. This way you’re able to open the boxes, use the bathroom, eat, and at least take a quick “cool off” shower even if you aren’t fully unpacked yet!
Thanks for the great advice! This is really helpful. How many times have you moved?
I had to count – between the 2 of us I think we’re up to 8 times in 16 yrs! My husband’s job has him working on long term projects around the country so instead of staying in hotels, we’ve accumulated an apartments worth of household goods in addition to the Houston house that I’m located at. So that’s where the last 3 moves have come from. We generally move ourselves except for one time we hired movers because it was August in Houston, we were moving across the metro area (40 some miles) from a 2nd story to a 3rd story apt, and hubs got sent out of town 3 wks before our move out date. No way was I going to be able to lift the heavy stuff by myself!
Our first move after we got married was literally across the street in a small town. Our longest move was from Kansas City to the Houston area. I learned the value of the ESSENTIALS tote when we moved to KC. I had to make 3 trips to Target/Lowe’s that day just so we could start unpacking, use the bathroom and take a shower that night! We went from a place that had glass shower doors to a regular tub/shower and didn’t even think about needing a shower curtain until about 9:30 that night when we were both exhausted and icky and only had about half the boxes unpacked. So since then, I always make sure to have a tote packed and in the vehicle instead of with the rest of the stuff.
As far as HOA fees – ours is about $70/mo and besides access to a lifeguard staffed pool, it also goes to community events and maintenance such as our playground, lighted jogging path, and landscaping, deed restriction enforcement, and additional security patrols. Yes, it is an extra fee of owning a house but you will need to decide if you can work it into your budget and if the extras that it covers are worth it.
That’s a lot of moving! Thanks for the great advice; we’ll be taking it, especially the tub tip!
My mother in law still decorates her house with inflatable snowmen and holiday lights during the holiday season in Mesa, so yes, even where it RARELY snows (I think they got a dusting last year which was a 30-year rarity) they still think about snow. 😉 Good luck on your move! It sounds like moving to AZ will be beneficial for your family.
Alright, I guess the snowmen will move with us. 🙂 I hope that this will be a good move for our family; it will certainly be a big adjustment!
I second the advice above about holding on to the AC. It may come in handy. Plus, with AZ being such a hot climate, you know you will have no issues selling it out there if you don’t need it. Good luck with your move. I look forward to hearing all about it!
Are you still selling the deep fryer? If so for how much? I gave you advice on the Our Recent Trip to Arizona: Yes, We’re Going to Move! post.
Good luck!