Moving Lessons

by Alyice Edrich, The Dabbling Mum

Moving states isn’t easy, but having to do it alone with no one to help can be downright exhausting. After moving four states in three years, we’ve concluded:

1. We will never again move ourselves. Someone else can do the loading and unloading of the truck.
    
2. Don’t just double check, triple check the house you left behind because once again we’ve managed to leave a box behind. (We have lids and not bottoms to pans.)
   
3. If you are going to wrap your stuff in blankets and sheets for extra cushion, make sure you unpack every box when you move in to your new place. (Having moved four states in four years, we hadn’t always unpacked all the boxes until now. And guess what we found? Barney, Antz, and Lion King twin comforters, and 10 other blankets that we’ll now be donating to charity.)
   
4. Don’t wait until you move to clean out your attic, so to speak. When in doubt about an item, have a garage sale or donate it. It’s havoc on your back to move more boxes than you need to.
   
5. Don’t store boxes you started packing in January for a move in July in the basement because no matter how much tape you use, the spiders still find a place to nest.
   
6. Make sure you call your mother and mother-in-law every time you stop at a hotel for the evening, or arrive in your new home. If you don’t, you’ll find the local sheriff looking for you.
   
7. No matter how much you’ve planned, things can still go wrong.
   
8. If you’ve budgeted $2000 for the move, you better save $4000.
   

And finally, moving to a new state without any friends or family can be a very lonely place. But it doesn’t have to be. Start locating a church to call home and talk to the people you meet at every church you visit. You just never know when you’ll hit it off with someone and they’ll want to get together whether you call that church home or not.

Alyice Edrich specializes in helping small businesses succeed—on the web. Visit her at http://thedabblingmum.com for free business-related articles and information on how she can help you succeed, today. Don't forget to join her free e-zine and order her work at home e-books!

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