If you're travelin'

Moving across the country. I can’t believe we did it! It seemed like such a monumental task, and in some ways it was. For the most part, it was a much better experience than we expected. We’ve had a month to reflect on it, so here are some lessons we learned, in case you ever find yourself in this situation.

1. Purge, purge, purge.

When you're paying by the foot in a moving truck, it's time to have a heart-to-heart with the things you think you can't live without. Plus, we had a three-bedroom house and needed to downsize for what we thought would be a small apartment in California. We had at least three rounds of getting rid of stuff. The first phase was the most difficult, for me at least, because I'm a sentimental person. I have a keen appreciation for items that are passed from family to family. The more we got rid of, though, the more I wanted to purge even more. Every couple of months, we would go through our stuff again. We had two garage sales (one of which was held three weekends in a row). We donated at least two car-fulls of stuff. And we gave meaningful items to meaningful people. Our mahogony dining table from Two Mom went to Pat's sister Alli and Mykl. Our nice grill, a housewarming gift from my parents, went to René, as thanks for letting us live with her. Our piano, also from Two Mom, went to our dear friends Craig and Shawn, who want their boys to learn to play. It is much easier to part with things when you're passing them on to people who will love them just as much.

2. But don't purge everything.

So, we didn’t end up in a tiny apartment after all. We ended up in a house. I don’t regret selling what we did, but there are a few items we now have to purchase that will end up costing us more than if we’d kept them. I’m very glad we kept our favorite pieces of furniture, because we have familiar pieces to warm up an unfamiliar home. And I’m glad we kept my car. We came very close to selling it before we left. It’s older, needs some TLC and we weren’t looking forward to the expense of driving two cars across the country and registering both in a new state (with stricter, more expensive emission standards that we don’t meet … ahem). We went back and forth on this quite a bit. I’m happy with our choice. We own the car free and clear, and we don’t have to worry about coordinating our schedules on one car, which is one less headache in a sea of life adjustments.

3. Find yourself some good boxes and a Super Mom.

I’m very lucky because I worked at a hospital, which gets huge shipments of computers all the time. Computers come in nice boxes. With handles. I was able to get tons of them. If you ever need moving boxes, I recommend calling some of the large companies in your area, like hospitals and schools, and ask if they have any boxes on their way to the recycle bin.

Once you’ve got boxes, make sure you have an awesome, amazing, helpful mom like mine. She visited us for almost two weeks and packed up the majority of our house. And I tell you, she is an Expert Packer^TM. As we opened boxes in our new house, I would literally gasp as I discovered items so perfectly snug and fit, every inch of space maximized. Each box was helpfully labeled (my favorite one: Dremel Tool, Crock Pot, Owl). Mom, I don’t know what we would have done without you.

4. Don’t hire movers. Do hire a trucking company.

We got many quotes from different companies and the prices ran the gamut. I was surprised that the bulk of what you pay is for people picking up heavy things for you. Silly me, I would have thought driving an enormous truck 1,500 miles through mountains would be the most costly part. If you cut movers out of the equation and simply buy space and transportation, it’s much more affordable. On an online forum, we read a recommendation for U-Pack. It’s essentially a semi container – very long and very tall – and you pay by the linear feet of space used. I reserved 13 feet. Pat took one look and said “We’ll do it in 9.” And darned if we didn’t use exactly 9 feet. (The Jacobs family is known far and wide for their ability to Tetris objects together.) U-Pack was only a little pricier than renting a U-Haul, and we didn't have to drive the truck ourselves, thank goodness. Leave that one to the professionals!

5. Save up, because you’re going to spend some dough. 

We did everything we could to minimize and cut corners, but moving is moving, and there is a bullet to bite. We knew this going in and began saving for it two years in advance. Some major costs we ran into:

• Selling our house (Realtor fees, repairs). Those of you with more equity in a home might actually make money on this one, but not us. And, you know, recession.
• Car repairs/maintenance, for safety and gas efficiency on the long trek. Just so you know, there is an unspoken law: If you plan to drive two cars across the country, both of them will suddenly need major, indisputable repairs.
• Travel (gas, hotels, meals). We also treated the trip as a mini vacation, with a couple touristy stops along the way. I still regret missing this, and Pat is determined to go back for this.
• Moving truck. Much cheaper than movers, but still a pretty penny.
• New housing (deposit and first month’s rent). This may be significantly less if you’re moving to a state that does not begin with CALIFORNIA.

Thank you to everyone who helped us get from Point A to Point B and everywhere in between.

Title lyrics – Girl from the North Country, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash