A Pilgrim’s Digression

Done. Done. Done.  The hard part of moving is over. As of about eleven o’clock yesterday, we are officially living in a new house, with all our stuff around us. We still have to clean our old house, in hopes of getting our security deposit back, and there is still plenty of unpacking to do, and there are still a myriad of little jobs to do around the house.

But as Lynn says, we’re not on a deadline anymore. We’re done with deadlines. We are living in our new house, and we’ve got months or years to do whatever it is we feel needs to be done next.

This day has been a long time coming.  Right up until late Monday night, we were still packing.  At the end, we were just tossing stuff in boxes totally at random, just trying to get as much of it as possible into containers suitable for the movers to transport.

We slept in the new house Monday night, camping out on the floor, because even if we had stayed at the old house we would have been sleeping on the floor.  A double dose of Aleve before bed helped me through the night without too much back pain.

Tuesday, we got up early and got Brendan ready for school.  The movers called about eight, just as we were going out the door.  They were on their way.  So after quickly dropping Brendan at school, we hurried over to the house and met them just as they were arriving.

I was pleasantly surprised how quickly and efficiently they worked.  The company is called Collegiate Movers, and presumably it hires mostly college students.  Three young men moved our stuff: one remained in the back of the truck, arranging our stuff, and the other two carried our stuff and put it on the truck.  The pattern repeated when we got to the new house.

Within forty-five minutes, our old house was empty and we were ready to roll.  At the new house, it took them approximately another forty-five minutes to unload.  Total work time: less than two hours.

We paid them for their time in transit, as well.  Thus the total amount we paid was just $380.00.  To me, it was the best money I’ve ever spent.  I would definitely hire movers again.

I realize we were only moving about fifteen minutes away, so that kept our cost down, but even so it seems like an incredible deal.  If I had tried to make the move on my own, it would have at the very least turned into an all-day ordeal.

I would have had to deal with the assholes at U-Haul, who do not honor on-line reservations (last time I rented one, the truck wasn’t there and the guy told me, “If no one returns a truck, we don’t have a truck to rent.”  Jerk.).  I probably would not have been able to rent a truck big enough.  Being inexperienced at packing a truck, I probably would not have made efficient use of space, thus necessitating more than one trip.  I would have had to hire a couple of Lynn’s students to help me with the move.  After all is said and done, I still probably would have paid close to four hundred dollars.

So definitely, money well spent.  And the move itself went well, with no major foul ups.  Only a few little foul ups.

For example, don’t schedule a tree service to remove trees on the same day as your move.  Even though the tree service folks told me they would arrive later in the afternoon and would not interfere with the move, they were already at work when I arrived with the movers around ten o’clock.

For another example of a little foul up, first task upon moving into a new house should be: hide a house key somewhere outside, perhaps under a rock or under the porch.

Last night, Lynn and I left the house around 4:30 to pick up Brendan at school.  Not until after Lynn locked and shut the door did I realize that I wasn’t carrying any keys.  Nor did I have a cell phone.  And all the windows were locked.

Thus I had the pleasure of meeting some neighbors, a group of college students who share a house across the street.  One of the girls took me to pick up Brendan while Lynn called a locksmith.

That little goof cost me fifty bucks, a discount off the regular price of $65.00.  The locksmith said it was his special “move in” rate.  Funny guy.

Now it’s done.  Our stuff is moved.  We are able to relax a bit.  The trees are down–six large pines and two small-ish oaks.  And we are thinking ahead to next things.

How about a cement walkway around the side of the house to the back deck?  How about stepping stones from the front steps to the driveway?  What do we do about our yard?  Should we weatherproof our front porch and rear deck this summer?

Lots to think about.  And all the time in the world.