I HATE MOVING!!!

Akuko · Chosen of Bast Age: 45 Gender: Joined: 03 Mar 2006

I am one week away from the movers arriving and am getting antsy as well as frustrated knowing that I will have approximately 24 hours after the move to completely clean the empty apartment to get my security deposit back. ARGHH! Motherf&%@#*!!! I wish I didn't live alone so I would at least have one other person to come help me clean. LOL.

I am also a huge pack rat and tend to keep the smallest thing, even if it is years old, too small, too torn/worn, or just has sentimental value. How do I give up 'my precious'?!?' and know what to keep and what should really be given away/donated to Goodwill et cetera?

I am almost thirty and I still have stuffed animals that I had when I was a wee baby. I don't want to give them up and yet I know I should. Any suggestions?

Shandriz · Your Death Shall be Swift Gender: Joined: 28 Sep 2003

Don't you have friends nearby? See if one of them will help you clean up a bit. <3 That's what friends are for, afterall. And you can pay them back by treating them to lunch or dinner afterwards.

As far as giving things up-- sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Take pictures of the animals and stuff you still love, and then find new homes for them. Realize that another child somewhere will get the same enjoyment you had out of them. If it's too old, though, it's more likely that places won't take them. If you have any crafty-type bones in you, though, you could save scraps from them and make, say, a quilt or something. ^_^

Akuko · Chosen of Bast Age: 45 Gender: Joined: 03 Mar 2006

Thanks Shandriz! Bribing friends is so hard as I don't want them to have to clean, cause that just sucks as I myself hate cleaning, but I might have to, just to make it go faster.

Crafty I am not... LOL! But I do know that I could get rid of a lot of my stuffed animals, although I won't get rid of a big teddy bear I have had for quite a while. *snuggles her Cinnamon* He's the only one I won't donate.

Shandriz · Your Death Shall be Swift Gender: Joined: 28 Sep 2003

Aw, most friends don't mind, as long as you're not asking them to come clean your house every week. It's just like asking people to help you move. ^_^

I know how you feel about the stuffed animals, really. I have most of mine still too. Fortunately, I'm probably going to be having kids soon, so I figure I can hang on to the stuffed animals and just pass 'em down as necessary. ^_-

Doot · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:42 pm Post subject:

Akuko - I know what you mean. I think I've exhausted my friends group but luckily I'm in a house now and don't anticipate moving any time soon. I have been returning the favors lately! (ahem - Saturday!)

As for the pack ratness - OH I KNOW! I advise keeping the ones nearest and dearest. I still have an original E.T. stuffed animal AND a Paddington Bear complete with rubber boots from when I was wee. I won't ever part with those. Then again - I lost my mom ~5.5 years ago and so I tend to keep things that have a connection to her with a tight grip. I suggest finding a chest, tub, foot locker that you can put all your cherished items in (especially for the move - older dolls are hard to get rid of and are ALWAYS cool when you get older and can show them off to your kids) but let go of those items that don't have a strong tether.

Also, if you haven't touched/missed something in a year/years then go ahead and get rid of it. It's hard, believe me I know, but sometimes all that stuff just weighs you down.

Jaena · Senior Otaku Gender: Joined: 09 Jan 2007

As far as the stuffed animals and such, I completely understand. I have ALL of mine from when I was little. I'm in a similar boat as Shan though... I just already have a child to give some of them to. If someone you know has kids or is expecting to have kids, you could give the toys to them so you know someone has them and they're making someone happy. I used to work at a Goodwill, and with some things are are quite picky depending on the particular one and what they don't use gets trashed. So I understand being leery about donating them too. You want to have some security in the knowledge that they ARE being used and loved still, because if you wanted to just trash them you would've done it yourself.

And the cleaning... friends should understand. And it's either you're unavailable/sick/cranky/stressed or you can ask them to help out and have fun while doing it too.

Daijaga · Chosen of Luck Gender: Joined: 17 Dec 2003

Try getting one of those storage units at one of those rental places. Theres so much competition at those places you can probably get a walk-in for a pretty cheap price and store a TON of little things you'd like to keep, but don't need everyday. Also you have the luxury of moving it once and keeping it all there if your moving around a lot.

Trash bags are great for this sort of thing as well. Boxes are nice but expensive. If your just hauling stuff and dont care what it looks like, just a roll of blacks and load em up. Try to donate a bunch of stuff to charities or goodwill. Take care to note any items you may be able to right off.

Things I dont advise for getting rid of stuff - garage sales. More trouble than their worth - almost every time.

Ming · DOOM! Gender: Joined: 13 Jan 2003

My strategy for throwing things out (and I've been prone to pack rat syndrome over the years) is to get yourself in a groove of cleaning, throw stuff out quickly, and don't think about it or look back. When you're done cleaning you may miss whatever it was that you threw out, but within a day you'll most likely already have forgotten.

The more you force yourself to do this, the easier it gets each time.

Akuko · Chosen of Bast Age: 45 Gender: Joined: 03 Mar 2006

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! ^_^ This week is going to be stressful but thankfully I actually have movers to do the actual loading and unloading. It is just a matter of getting rid of distractions and just getting it done and over with.

FawkesFyre · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 5:06 pm Post subject:

I'm a total hippo for giving this advice since my house is terrible but you've just got to get a good routine going and throw things out. I need to be better about it and Dloe needs more work on it than I do...sorry hun...but its pretty good to say, "if in doubt, throw it out"

I need to go through my clothes, that's something that can really pile up. If it doesn't fit anymore, donate it. Donating is the easiest to do for clothing, plus you get a receipt to use for a tax writeoff. Also get rid of the clothes that you just don't wear anymore...and if you're like me and have some nicer stuff that you don't want to get rid of, move them out of the closet and into something else.

Smaller stuff can be collected into one box and just kept in a closet

If you have any kind of storage space, use it. I've always been a stuffed animal addict and have been forced to donate in the past. Keep maybe 1 or 2 of your absolute favs out, and then get one of those plastic storage containers and stow the rest. they'll stay clean and safe.

I was iffy about this at first but, shelving really helps get things up and away and are pretty cheap. You can get them for about $30 or even find them at Goodwill in decent shape.

I've actually just started going to a Goodwill down from my office...and they've got some great deals on stuff. I spent $4 on an expandable, metal shoe rack that costs $20 in the store...its a decent place to just look around for some cheap ideas.