Hi! Born in the great state of Texas and raised in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, this Daughter of the Alamo/Georgia Peach is still adjusting to life in Razorback Nation! My husband and I live just outside of Little Rock, Arkansas with our two toddlers and two crazy pups. I’m a small business owner, chocolate aficionado, and travel lover with a 2pm coffee hour no matter what time zone I’m in!
When you’re moving, the list of things to do seems endless: scheduling start/end dates for utilities, contact the post office about mail forwarding, signing/sending/receiving paperwork so you can move into your new residence, registering your kids for school, let everyone who sends you mail know what your new address is, register your pets with the new city you’re moving into, quote movers, quote cleaning services, find a new pest control company, continue to keep up with your every day responsibilities, and oh yeah, PACK!
My husband and I are about to move to our 5th home in just a little over 5 years of marriage. That’s a LOT of packing!! Whether you like to pack or loathe to pack, are super organized or more carefree, have lots of extra time or no extra time, I’ve learned that keeping these 6 tips in mind while packing up my home always makes the packing piece of our moving adventure a little easier.
1. Start Immediately.
As soon as you find out you’re moving, begin to consolidate your existing packing materials (large boxes, packing tape, duffle bags, suitcases, permanent markers, labels, and stuffing such as grocery bags, packing peanuts, bubble wrap) so you know what you have to start working with and you can budget for the materials you’ll still need to purchase. This will help ease the unavoidable financial cost involved with packing.
2. Purge.
As much as I do not enjoy packing, I do enjoy purging! Take this opportunity to get rid of the clutter! What you choose to do with the clothes you don’t need anymore and the unused exercise equipment is up to you! Sell it for some extra cash. Donate it and get a receipt for a tax deduction. Give it to someone you know who could use it!
Also go through all the paper that’s accumulated in your home – old files, receipts, coupons. Bust out your shredder and shred the sensitive stuff, and then recycle it all.
Lastly, check everything in your house with an expiration date. You’d be surprised what expires! (Ah hem, toothpaste.) There is no reason to pay someone to move expired stuff. Take an inventory and toss what needs tossing.
3. Do A Little Every Day.
No matter the size of your home or how many belongings you own, doing a little bit of packing/purging every day goes a long way.
4. Pick A System & Stick With It.
Some people like to pack up everything in one room in the same boxes. Others prefer to pack similar things with each other no matter what part of the house they come from. As you get to the end of the packing process, your system is going to probably have to give a little bit. However, if you’ll stick with one system the majority of the time, it tends to help you stay focused and not get sidetracked or overwhelmed.
5. Label.
Labeling serves to benefit you while you’re unpacking, but it has to be done while you’re packing. I use bright colored sticky notes and a permanent marker. On the sticky note I write the room I want the movers to place the box in and its contents in as much as detail as I can fit on the sticky note. Then, I tape it very well to the box, so it won’t fall off. When I welcome my movers into my new home on move-in day, I show them the sticky notes and which rooms are which. This saves me lots of time and stress because they don’t have to ask me where each box needs to go, and once I start unpacking, I’m not hunting through my entire new home trying to find the box with the frying pan in it.
6. Receive Help.
There are a lot of us frequent-movers out there, and we have major empathy for others who are moving. That being said, if someone offers to help you with your move, take them up on it! Often those of us who dislike packing our own things love packing other people’s! It’s crazy but true! Whether someone offers to gather boxes for you from their workplace, to bring you dinner, or for you to use their vehicle during your move, receive it!
Are there any other frequent-movers out there? What tips do you follow when packing up your home?
It’s time to tidy up our physical & spiritual house!
Warning: What you see and read may evoke strong emotions in you – good! Channel those emotions into prayer and let God be glorified in the actions and results. Just an additional reminder, this book, “The Life-changing Magic of Tidying UP,” is not written by a Christian. She has many wonderful concepts and while going through it, we were easily able to apply Biblical principles to her tidying ideas.
1st Spiritual Principle to Keep in Mind: When you remove something from your physical or spiritual house, you need to put something in it’s place. This something doesn’t necessarily have to be physical but it does have to be at least a change of heart & habit. If not, all your efforts will be in vain. (Biblical concept found in Luke 11:24-28.)
Before we get started on the 1st category, we have to discuss the KonMari Method Basics.
How to conquer the clothes demon!
We told you we are going to do a spiritual twist to the KonMari Method. We believe this will only enhance the method and not take from it. Why? Because anytime we let God into the process and ask Him to be the guiding force, amazing things happen!
In order to dinstinguish between our Creating a Great Day additions and the KonMari Method we will put (CaGD) or (KM) at the end of each idea so you know the difference.
Before you get started pray. (CaGD)
Collect All YOUR Clothes. (KM)
Throw ALL your clothes onto the FLOOR! Yes, the floor. There is a reason, which will be understood shortly. (KM)
Now, sort the clothes: (KM)
Shirts from every season go into one pile on the floor
Pants
Skirts/Dresses
Coats & Jackets
Sleepwear
Sports gear
Lingerie
Socks
Underwear
Purses
Shoes
Whew!! You can do it!!
If you’re like me, you may have just gotten overwhelmed. If so, say another prayer, reach out to a friend and/or contact us. Believe me, I had an initial “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to let go even though I really want to” moment.
5. Start with the shirt pile and then work through each of the subcategories. (KM)
6. Pick up one shirt at a time and ask, “Does this spark joy?” Ok, so initially, I had a difficult time with this. I was not sure when I started understanding “what sparking joy” felt like, but about 10 shirts in, I came across a shirt that made me smile – aha! Joy Sparker!!! Now knowing the feeling, I reexamined the first 9 pieces and continued the process. I quickly noticed the things that didn’t spark joy, I didn’t wear. (KM)
I talked to my kiddos about only keeping what sparked joy aka made them smile. They only kept a small portion and it was more than enough! My youngest daughter shopped through whatever her older sister didn’t want and all the rest of the items were donated.
7. If it doesn’t spark joy, tell it thank you for serving it’s purpose (whether that was from being well worn for many years or sparking excitement when purchased) and put it straight away into the designated donate or dump trash bag. (KM)
8. A step to consider doing before putting each item into the trash bag (or to do once a trash bag is full) is to say a prayer for the person receiving the items. Pray that these items may be a blessing to them and may the gift somehow draw them nearer to our Savior. You may even ask to whom you can give these pieces. You might be surprised when someone instantly pops into your mind. (CaGD)
9. Once finished with the shirts, repeat the process with all the rest of the subcategories. (KM)
10. Immediately get the bags out of your house, so don’t start trying to reclaim items, change your mind, or get overwhelmed with the massive amounts of bags overcrowding an area. If the bags sit there you will not feel joy but frustration because you just moved items from one area to another. Get them out quickly and save yourself some frustration! (CaGD)
Here are some ideas of how to spread the joy with others:
Contact anyone who came to mind that might be able to use what you have.
Post on Facebook that you are getting rid of “x” size clothes and ask who needs them.
Pick a charity like Cross & Crown, City Rescue Mission, etc. and donate the items.
Pick a charity that will come pick the items up from your driveway.
Trash what is stained or torn.
Sell the items.
Spiritual Lessons:
1. A Look Into My Heart – I knew I had more clothes than I needed, but I just kept purchasing more tubs because I could use some clothes during summer and winter and choose to store them when I wasn’t using them. After looking at the pile of just shirts I had, I was fuming! The parable of the rich man, who built a new store house for all his grain instead of sharing it because he was so selfish, echoed in my heart and convicted me. I truly have no need for this much clothes, especially since I wear the same thing over & over again. So my joy was sparked in getting rid of the majority of what I had. My heart feels lighter knowing that others can be blessed out of the plenty that I have.
I was so upset when I realized how many shirts I had. 33 inches of shirts! I wear the same thing all the time but I had this many shirts.
2. There is a paragraph in the book about socks that made me laugh out loud:
The socks and stockings stored in your drawer are essentially on holiday. They take a brutal beating in their daily work, trapped between your foot and your shoe, enduring pressure and friction to protect your precious feet. The time they spend in your drawer is their only chance to rest. But if they are folded over, balled up, or tied, they are always in a state of tension, their fabric stretched and their elastic pulled…they will be relegated to the garbage. What treatment could be worse than this (81)?
Although it really made me laugh, it also reminded me to be grateful for all the blessings including the socks and shoes on my feet. I’ve never given socks a second thought but now I’m more attuned to the details of life – these are all blessings! This process is making me see the details that go into the life God has given me and to be thankful for every little part of it and not just the big things.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
3. The biggest lesson for me so far stems from the rich young ruler story. Am I putting my love for stuff in front of my love for God? I want a heart that is ready and won’t bat an eyelash if asked to walk away from or share all the things of life at a moments notice. I want to only look to the One who can truly provide me an amazing life. Things are things. They can’t love me. They rust and break and get dusty and torn, but Jesus’ powerful love brings me the most joy of anything I’ve ever known. The KMing process of touching everything is providing me the opportunity to speak this truth into my heart – Jesus reigns in my heart and no object will ever takes His rightful place.
Results of lessons learned:
So to say thank you to God for all he has given me and that He is ruler of my heart, 8 bags of my own personal clothes have found a new home at a local mission. Now, only things that “spark joy” and that I’ll wear are in my closet. I now have all my clothes (summer & winter) in my closet and drawers.
