Moving Changes Everything…Almost

Your systems will save you…

?You may not think this is for you, as you are not a detail-oriented person.?I am not detail-oriented either, but let me say, this is especially for us! If we follow our systems of organizing, we are calmer, less anxious, less frustrated because we do not waste time and headspace looking for lost items.

I wrote recently about the disorientation of moving, mostly focusing on the exterior change: streets, restaurants, church, Library, supermarket, etc.?In this post I want to write about dealing with the changes inside your house.

Unless you are moving into a furnished house/apartment you are moving into an empty shell that is somewhat different than your previous house.?Your furniture gets placed first.?Then you start living out of boxes.?All your stuff is in boxes…

?Hopefully you did your prep work well and packed your things safely and LABELED the outside of the boxes clearly and adequately.?[Always use good tape!?Cheap tape can fall apart and your contents are everywhere.]?This makes your unpacking and organizing easier.?

?But you will still be searching and looking for certain items: your socks, candles, lamps, spices until you empty a good portion of your boxes.?This also is a time to organize well.?If this is not your first move, you will also have systems that you bring with you that help reduce the disorientation of your new place.?

?The glasses go in this cabinet to the left of the sink, coffee and accessories go in this cabinet; dishes go in this cabinet, mugs go here.?We try to place these things as similarly as we did before.?This cuts down on the time to think and hunt for various items you need immediately and repeatedly.

?Your clothes get organized in closets and dressers the same way you had them before…dressing everyday becomes less of taxing, when you can quickly find what you are looking for.

?Your bills and other paperwork get placed on the desk, shelf, or drawer where you always know where to find them.?So you don’t miss a payment because the bill has disappeared, if your bills are online, this is much less of an issue.

?Cooking and baking are crazy hard if your pots and pans are not organized in a system, or if you cannot find your spices and other flavorings because they are scattered about.

?Maybe most important is choosing the place for your keys.?We’ve used bowls, drawers, and now we use hooks near the door.?If we use the system…we always know where to find our keys.

?If you are looking for systems to help you organize try Melissa Maker at Clean my Space: https://cleanmyspace.com/category/cleaning-routines/organizing

?What have you searched for after a move, that you were sure you lost, only to finally have it turn up?