I'm baaaaaaack...just in time for June's Share Four Somethings

Although I'm slightly whiplashed by how quickly June flew by after the past 16 months' trademark molasses-speed, I’m thrilled to (finally) jump back in the blogosphere and to (finally) rejoin my friend Heather's fun Share Four Somethings blog link-up. 

Something Loved

Michael and I took our first post-pandemic road trip this month! It was just a few hours south to our former city of Baton Rouge, but man, was it good for the soul. We caught up with great friends, ate and drank and were merry, and did lots of reminiscing in the place we individually and collectively called home for so long. Aside from the bottle of water I spilled directly into Michael's lap about 1/3 of the drive down, the whole weekend was packed with charmed memories. #pray4michael    

Something Read or Said

In an effort to come out of a reading slump that only chick lit can pull me out of, I broke down and delved into Beach Read by Emily Henry. What a pleasant surprise! I think I was expecting it to be super light -- you know, like an actual beach read? -- but in truth, it included some deep topics that made me think. Because they were presented smoothly and with humor, I didn't feel like I was being jolted into Actual Serious Thinking. But tricky Emily Henry! I was still pondering some of the Serious Topics once I closed it, and I was pondering them with a smile. 10/10 recommend.

Something Treasured

Early in the month, we fully experienced "one man's trash is another man's treasure" by participating in our neighborhood's annual yard sale. Even though the weather freely handed out thunderstorms followed by intense humidity, it was nice to be part of a group effort while cleaning out and making a little cash. One of my favorite things about it, though, was combining efforts with our neighbors (and friends and COVID bubble crew). Not only did we score a cool piece of pottery that Maggie was ready to part with, we also logged a ton of laughs and great memories.  

Something Ahead

Next month, I'll transition from my current job as Assistant Director of Communications with the LSMSA Foundation to Senior External Affairs Officer with the school itself. It's a bigger Something Ahead than I anticipated, and like most changes, it's bittersweet, but I am excited to have been offered the opportunity to get the word out about all the great things that are happening at Louisiana School! 

Your Turn

Visit Heather's blog for instructions on how to join the Share Four Somethings link up. 

Smooth Move: Tips to Make Moving Bearable

Most of my IRL peeps are aware that we recently moved. Again. (Whoever's counting and guessed that we have moved to 3 houses in 4 years of marriage, you win! And whoever counted about 7 extra "mini" moves -- HA -- after our house flooded, you win extra credit.)

That said, even after all.these.moves, I still find myself asking for advice when a big one comes along. And thankfully, I have a tight group of ~500 online friends who have been with me through thick and thin AND who are willing to share a wide variety of wisdom in any circumstance you can imagine. I realized it would be selfish to hoard the great tips I got this go-round, so if you're looking at a move, whether close or far away, I hope these tips from real life friends of mine will help make your life a little easier.

(Please note that I sadly did not follow all of these helpful hints -- much to my family's collective chagrin -- but I hope that if the unexpected, unlikely day ever comes for us to move yet again, I will check this post before proceeding.)

These are categorized by topic and phase, but we'll start with the one piece of advice that everyone yelled unanimously: PURGE.

But I love my STUFF! (Stop it. Purge, purge and purge some more.)
- Moving is the best time to get ride of stuff you don’t use/need/like anymore whatever the case.
- It feels so good to go through everything. Marie Kondo the hell out of it!
- If it doesn't break your heart to get rid of it - throw it away!
- We got rid of half of our belongings before moving cross-country. The only thing I regret is not letting go of more. I did sell a ton through multiple avenues and the extra $ came in handy.
- Garbage!!! Trash and Marie Kondo the shiz out of whatever you don't need! It's refreshing.
- Purging gives you a good grasp on what you have and what you’ll need for your new place.

No really, I promise, I'll start packing tonight.
- If you pack yourself, don’t do any of that “just throw it in the moving truck” stuff. Don’t leave ANYTHING LOOSE. We buy plastic tubs (and have used them and used them and used them!) so that everything stacks nicely and is organized. Our friends love to help us move because it’s all packed up.
- Buy good boxes and packing materials (Home Depot, U-Haul, etc) and pack yourself, but hire movers!
- Craigslist for free/cheap moving boxes. If you're using a moving company, they may offer used boxes for free as well.
- U-Haul often has used boxes at their locations for free.
- Use your bedding/towels/potholders etc to pack. Free packing materials and your taking it with you anyhow.

We have a lot of stuff. Like, a LOT. Are we really gonna move all this?!
- HIRE MOVERS. It’s one thing to move down the road, it’s another to move a few hours away. Plus moving in the heat just sucks and it will not help you win friends. Y’all don’t have a lot of stuff so the moving costs should be minimal.
- Get boxes that are a uniform size. It makes stacking and sticking boxes in the moving truck a lot easier. Also, no shame in hiring somebody to move you. Also, wine and coffee are wonderful.
- For the love of everything, label EVERY BOX or bin. Even if it just says “kitchen” it will help you. - U-Haul has something called U-Haul help. You can hire movers to load and unload your truck. Well worth the money and way cheaper than bids from actual moving companies. We’ve used them as have our family members and it was awesome. You save but still have help.
- U-haul. Just U-haul. They have the best boxes (including wardrobe boxes which are the best thing ever invented imo). Plus they buy back unused boxes. And they have bags to put your mattress and box springs in so they don’t get dirty. And tv bags and just all. The. Things.
- If you label your stuff I’d suggest writing what’s actually in the box. Not kitchen stuff, but kitchen stuff (spoons, cups, forks).
* rebekah's note: a tip we could have used given it took 2 weeks to find real utensils
- PAY SOME MOVERS
- Hire a moving company.
- We packed ourselves but we did hire movers to come and load the whole house.
- Find movers someone you know has used before and liked. Some are less careful than others.

I've packed up my life and I'm losing.my.mind.
- We decided to store packed boxes in the garage so they weren't taking over the house, so the day the movers arrived all the boxes were in the garage and all the furniture was in the house.

The moving truck is full. Both cars are full. Buckling my seatbelt set off a can of Lysol. Will I ever find anything when we get ther?!
- In your vehicles, pack a suitcase with a couple of sets of clothes and a trash can with cleaning supplies in it.
- Take your laundry basket and put two sets of towels and a set of sheets in it and toss it in a car too.
- Pack a suitcase with clothes and whatever cleaning supplies you’ll need when you get there. Also things like a bottle of hand soap, a hand towel, paper towel, a roll or two of toilet paper.
- Take your important documents with you on your person. I know this is a no brainer, but just....
- I have a laundry basket that we keep in the car with us that has the coffee pot (so critical), mugs, two changes of clothes for each person, a fresh towel per person, a bath mat, a shower curtain, all-purpose cleaner, a sponge, a washcloth, body wash, toothbrushes/toothpaste, a roll of paper towels and toilet paper.
- I pack a cooler in the floorboard with water bottles, a pound of ground coffee and filters, and some fresh fruit. It has saved me literally every time, in one way or another.

We loooooved our old house....and now it's empty...and dirty?! What the.....
- Hire people to clean your house. Full stop.

Yay! We're at our new house! WHAT.IS.HAPPENING TO MY LIFE.
- Make sure boxes go into the exact room you want them in at the new house. It will make unpacking so much easier!
- Tape a paper note outside rooms that you put on the boxes (kid #1 bedroom, etc) saves you time having to direct people unloading.
- I set aside a laundry basket with clothes and sheets for beds I need so I don’t have to dig for it when I’m tired.
- Make your bed first when you get to the new place. Order pizza for dinner.

We're here! New house! New chapter! (Ummmm....where's the iron?!)
- Cut yourself a break. It's not going to be perfect. It's not going to all be put away and pretty right away. A month later, and we're still working on getting the cars into the garage.


I don't mind one bit telling you that this is my last suggestion here only because I hope it will stick with you.

Attitude of gratitude:
- Corny but attitude is everything. We’ve had two major moves and both times it took me two years to acclimate and enjoy the new instead of mourning who and what we left behind. That’s a lot of wasted time! Enjoy the process and adventure. 🙂

Do you have moving suggestions to add? Please comment here and I'll update this font of wisdom. xoxo and happy trails!