The Adventure of Moving Home

Moving home is a door to a new life. It’s the opportunity to make a break from your previous life and restart it. In fact, the act of moving is a reset button that, when you press it, takes you to the future. However, nobody ever said that moving was easy and fun. Indeed, packing, transporting, and relocating your personal belongings is a process that’s far from simple.

Paradoxically, when you move home, you disrupt your house, your life, and your patience. In my life, I’ve moved home five times. So, I can confidently say that I have some experience of moving. Despite this fact, every new move still fills me with hope. That said, my previous experiences mean I now know how to moderate my expectations.

When I move home again I’ll be more aware of the process and my expectations will be more realistic.

Reset button: on the way to the future

Moving home is cool. Or, rather, the idea that you build in your mind about what it means to move home is cool. Let’s face it, we romanticize moving. We do this because we know that change is good. It’s important to learn how to bring certain stages to a close.

“Everything changes, everything happens, everything reinvents itself.”

-Alicia Escaño-

Moving home implies regenerating a whole universe of relationships.

Boxes, lots of boxes

Often, the amount of junk, belongings, and objects that we manage to store is incredible. Every time I move home, I turn to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM-5 ) and dive into the diagnostic criteria for hoarding disorder. Sometimes, I even convince myself I meet the diagnostic criteria!

If you think you only have a few possessions, you’ll probably change your mind when you move home. Every time I’ve moved I’ve needed numerous boxes and endless amounts of sticky tape. The truth is that, although you might think you have only a few things, when you pile them up and see them all together, they seem to have multiplied. And you have to pack them all into boxes.

Garbage bags

When you put away your personal belongings, it’s likely that you’ll find some items that you no longer want.

Remember to recycle! The planet will thank you.

You’ll probably find some useless items. For example, receipts from months ago or shoe boxes that you don’t use anymore. What about that really old shirt that, to date, you’ve resisted throwing away? All those things that were previously hidden and invisible are now revealed.

The positive part of moving home is that you give way to many other things and memories. Remember that life is change and movement. However, the process of separating what you’re going to throw away from what you’re going to keep, putting it in a bag, and recycling it, takes time.

At first, all the packing and throwing away was difficult for me to plan for. However, over time I’ve learned that, by accepting that it just has to be done, I reduce my stress levels.

Transport

Do you have a van? If not, maybe someone you know does and can lend it to you. After all, you’ve suddenly remembered you only have one car and it has a small trunk. Alarm bells start ringing in your head. How are you going to take everything that you’ve packed to your new home?

Basically, there are three methods:

You call a relative and propose a plan. For example, tell them you’ll buy them a meal if they lend you their van. Sometimes, it works.
You rent a van. They can be rented by the hour or the day and are a good alternative.
Make a thousand trips! If neither of the above options is for you, you have the choice of taking more than one trip in your car.

I’ve used all three of these methods in the past. They all have their advantages and disadvantages and depend on your availability, time, and budget.

After the move: relocation

Unpacking and rearranging is my favorite part of moving home. It’s such a creative process. New spaces with memories of yesterday are beautiful spaces. Naturally, it takes time to organize but, in my opinion, it’s really comforting because it involves building a new home from scratch, however temporary it may be.

Moving boxes — Home is people and memories; the feelings of belonging to a place and the security of being safe.

Hello neighbors!

This is one of the most important aspects of moving. You should always consider your new neighbors when you move home. You need to know you’ll get on. Whenever I move home, I always try to have a ready smile and a greeting for all my new neighbors. After all, a good neighbor is a real treasure. At any given moment, you may need a helping hand, and vice versa! It’s a potentially symmetrical synergy that can bring you a great deal.

Finally, moving home is an adventure. However, it’s also a challenging process, which is far from relaxing. I’ve found that readjusting my expectations has been an extremely profitable strategy. It allows me to enjoy the move more and reduces my stress levels.