I’m in my own personal hell. My Room 101. Or Rooms 101, as it were.
Eeek, you exclaim, what could possibly be the matter?
Ach, I reply, my house is in chaos.
So it is. As the move is picking up pace and the deadline of Tuesday is coming ever closer, perparations are afoot and my home, my haven, my reign of order and peace, is being progressively destroyed. Well, not destroyed, exactly; that would be a calamity! But certainly… upheaval-ed. If you must know, I am obsessively tidy and organised, so this… is my idea of hell.
But! Being obsessively organised and tidy, I rule over the chaos with an iron fist and while it’s bad, it’s not that bad. I thought I’d share a little photo diary of the preparation for the Wells family move. Grab a cuppa, sit back, and relax while you count your blessings at not moving house right now! 🙂 Happy Friday, one and all, and have a great weekend.
There’s always a list. In fact, I’ve got several on the go right now but I won’t bore you with the hierarchy. Suffice it to say that this is this week’s masterlist, the countdown to Sunday with everything that needs to be achieved… in every area of my life. I’m Queen of Lists!
After two days of hard labour, two sets of wardrobes are finally dismantled and resting peacefully (and neatly) in the dining room awaiting collection by their new owners.
The wardrobe doors, alas, have to reside in the lounge, so as not to break the mirrors. Rendering the lounge largely unusable, especially for the kids.
Like our new wardrobes?
Oh yes, and the stylish storage system. Efficient, if impractical!
The kids, at least, adore their new furniture. Maybe we can keep this style as a space saving solution?
Of course I’m cleaning the fridge for the new owner. Who wouldn’t? I’ve cleaned the oven too, but I’m sparing you the picture. Alas, now I’m refusing to use either appliance, which is posing a lot of meal-time logistical problems. It’s only for a few more days, right?
It may not look like much, but it is heavy… several years’ worth of confidential paperwork. What to do with it?
Problem solved. Filing system lean and clean. Paperwork disposed of. You’ve got to love moving house.
Just keep cleaning, just keep cleaning, just keep cleaning, cleaning, cleaning….
Can’t get myself to take our home-made Jubilee bunting down. Maybe on Monday?
Kids are getting into the spirit… and are doing some modest sorting out of their own. Well done, boys!
And there’s the rub. The big problem. The rather large hole in front of our house where the removals lorry will have to park on Monday morning to start loading. I’m assured that the hole will be gone but… I don’t see it. Hm.
And that’s it! Over the weekend, things will no doubt descend into chaos. And on Monday morning, when the removals firm arrives (always assuming they can get here!), I will just exile myself to the coffee shop to save me from a nervous breakdown. So far, so good.
How do you get through moving house, folks?
Nicky Wells: Love & Thrills 
OH MY GOD! You are so organised!!!!
I am in awe of how bloody organised you are.
You have now elevated yourself to Goddess like status in my eyes.
It took me weeks to pack up my flat when I was readying to go to the Maldives in 2002 and even though I had help, I still wasn’t finished when I had to fly, my brother did the last few bits, bless him. I didn’t sleep for the 48 hours. I arrived a space cadet. I pray to God that when I next move I am solvent so I can hire a moving fairy to do the job. Seriously, this writer here doesn’t travel light!! Very best of luck on D-day. You’re going to be fine : ) Yasmin xx
Haw haw haw, you are so funny, Yasmin! Must be those German genes, but organisation is my middle name. Seriously, I don’t even do chaos unless it’s organised, but I thought everyone would like to have a little laugh about it. Thanks for visiting and for your good wishes. I’ll be offline from next Tuesday so bear with me… But there’s a Music Monday coming up before then! xx
Yes, as a fellow neatness and control freak, I can fully empathise with you. The not finding anything you need until you decide to buy another one of them… whereupon you promptly find the original! The endless lists and cleaning. The problem is: it never gets easier. I mean, yes, you get more organised, more expert at the whole moving business. The logistics of it. But it still feels heartwrenching, messy, chaotic and all that…
One last bit of practical advice: write fairly detailed descriptions of what’s in each box on the box itself, as ‘Clothes’ is not adequate when you are searching for the raincoat or a particular pair of socks (as my husband discovered).
Ooooops, too late for that. The searches alone will make me unpack, ha ha ha! Thanks for your encouragement, I’ll gladly absorb all the good vibes… will need them next week! Have a great weekend, Marina!
Another neatness/control freak here – and I have three words: Oh. My. Gosh. Now I remember why I haven’t moved house for 20 years. (Well, that and the sea view!)
I really wish you all the best over the next few weeks as you clean (still!), move, settle, and relax into a chair (finally!) with a big glass of wine or massive bar of chocolate.
Why the ‘or’? There’s no ‘or’ about it… I’ll have that glass of wine AND the massive bar of chocolate. I’ll have earned it! Thanks for visiting and sharing my journey today. Believe it or not, it does actually make it more fun this way, with blogging friends cheering me on from the ‘virtual’ sidelines…. XX
Oops, my bad. Of course it was an ‘and’!
Well, cheering may not help pack the boxes, but hopefully it keeps your mind a little happier :-)))
LOL! It certainly does. And also blogging gives me a break from cleaning and packing, highly commended! xx
LOL. I love that all your commenters (including me) are ALSO “obsessively organised and tidy” – we must be attracted to each other somehow. It’s certainly why we work so well together!!
Sounds and looks like your own your way. I hope you’re getting some sleep in the middle of all this.
My parents recently had a flooded basement (all repaired now) and found confidential paperwork from the 1970s. Dad burned it all in the yard. Guess that’s probably not allowed in your neck of the woods. But he did find it entertaining looking at the price of things “back in the day!”
Good luck this weekend… and Monday. It’ll ALL be so worth it when it’s over. 🙂
Hey, you! Well, you know me probably better than anyone, hee hee! Thanks for visiting today (and up early, too?!? It’s only 7am in your neck of the woods?). On the matter of the paper work… we have actually burnt quite a bit recently. We had to take down a large part of our damson tree and we decided to have a bonfire with the cuttings. So we used bankstatements, etc, as the kindling, which we thought was pretty apt, the way we’re burning through cash at the mo… LOL. Anyhoo, we ended up toasting marshmallows and roasting foil potatoes in the embers, so it was a brilliant afternoon. No more wood left, though, so it has to be the shredder this time.
Sleep… well, I’m getting some. We are all very excited though and almost counting down the hours so sleep doesn’t feature that highly. So thrilled you took the time to comment, it’s lovely hearing from you! xx
PS–when you do take your big trip to this side of the pond, you know there’s a room waiting for you in this new house of ours….
My dino-dial-up won’t load the pictures… and I’m sorta glad. Moving gives me nightmares, aweful ones! I hate moving with a passion! Good luck with your move!
Moving stops me sleeping, full stop. Had two hours last night stressing about the hole in the ground. Still there, but removal people are undeterred so far…. Thanks for visiting and commenting, Emily!
What a job! But you’ve done very well. I wouldn’t dare show my pre-moving pictures to the world. And now after all that organizing, it should be easy to unpack at the other end of the move. All the best in your new place.
Thank you for your kind words and best wishes. I have to confess, the pictures are no longer entirely accurate as things are rapidly disintegrating here… Still, the removers are starting on Monday so the end is in sight. As for unpacking… all in good time, heee heee! xx
Yes, you can take your time at the other end. This is where it helps if you’ve labeled which box has the toilet paper, and the kettle, etc.
You are amazingly organised Nicky! Just keep thinking of how fantastic you’ll feel when you are sat having a glass of wine in your beautiful new house! x
Oooh I know! About the sitting in the beautiful new house with a big glass of wine… Hope you and Michael will come and visit us soon. Thansk for commenting, that was a really lovely surprise on my blog tonight. 🙂
Brilliant! I love making lists. 😀 Good luck with the move!
A fellow list maker, yay! Great minds and all that…. Thanks for visiting, and it’s all happening already. Must be off… **waves goodbye**
Guten tag.
Wie geht’s? Ihre Zimmer nicht su gut.
Teus
Harvey, du bist mein Held. Vielen Dank fuer den Besuch heute… Tschuess!!!
I have a solution about the hole – whatever you don’t want to take with you, fill in the hole with it and then the removals will be able to pull up outside.
Good luck with the move – at least now when I visit my mum, I will be able to combine it with a visit to you too.
xx
Haw haw, I ought to do just that. Hole is only covered with metal plates. Which, I’m now told, aren’t strong enough for the big massive several ton truck about to come and collect our wordly possessions. DOH! Have been telling them for weeks and am now thoroughly teed off. Just told the crew that, no, my removal people couldn’t just move the van AGAIN as I was paying them to pack, not to move their van. Got cheers from upstairs but am now persona non-grata with the water crew. Ah well. Gone tomorrow… Thanks for visiting! xx
Oh, Nicky, I feel for you right now. I moved homes in March and it was chaos for sure. I didn’t use movers, but took advantage of family members. Big mistake. Several pieces of furniture got damaged. My beautiful tile top dinning room table was smashed beyond repair and my husband’s Oma’s china hutch was dinged and scratched. 😦 Never again. Next time I’ll pay the money and have professionals do all the work.
I wish I were as tidy and organized as you are. Maybe next time I’ll take more care.
Good luck to you! I hope all is going well!