Unpacking

Unpacking can be inconvenient, whether you've moved across town or across the country.  I've done both many, many times.  This latest move was across the country, and complicated by the fact that I went from a 2400 sq ft house to a 998 sq ft apartment.  Obviously, spare beds and the like were sold on Craigslist before the move, but still.  That's a big difference.

I remember when I was in high school, and my family moved from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Bend, Oregon.  The movers came, unloaded everything, and Mom, Dad and I spent the day unpacking boxes.  I seem to remember that we had everything* unpacked by nightfall.  Now that's efficiency.

Of course, there were three of us.  I unpacked all my stuff; Mom and Dad unpacked everything else.

These days I live on my own, so I get to do all the work.

Here are a couple of things I've noticed about my unpacking this time:


First, rather than taking a steady, all-day approach, I'm allowing myself lots of breaks, mostly for reading.  So it's taking longer than it could.

Second, my kitchen here is way smaller than my kitchen in Georgia was, which is causing me to procrastinate fully unpacking the kitchen stuff.

Third, same deal with my closet space and clothes, especially when you factor in the uniforms.  What to do with those...?

Fourth, I've gone for quantity over quality for the most part - unpack the boxes and shove everything in them on shelves and in cabinets; will organize later.  Normally, I would be much more methodical, but my priority is to get rid of the boxes as quickly as possible so I can see my living room floor again.

Fifth, my unpacking triage priorities may be a bit skewed.  After my china to make sure it was undamaged, the first things I unpacked were books and DVDs.  Last thing I'm unpacking: clothes and cook-ware.**  This might say something about the order in which I value my things.

Sixth, the moving company that packed my stuff used a lot of packing paper, so my garbage/recycling is a bit out of control.  I've never dealt with this much paper and box volume before.  I think I probably should have taken it out to the recycling bins early and often.

Seventh, as much as it's a hassle, unpacking is also fun!  Every book, movie, and souvenir is a rediscovery.  Having gone without it for a couple of months, it feels a lot like getting a bunch of new stuff all at once.^


Unpacking.  It's pretty much my life right now.



*With the exception of those boxes that remain unpacked for the duration.  Like ones belonging to my brothers, who were both away at school.

**Cookery?  Pots and pans.

^This has been the cause of most of my breaks.  It's distracting!