Hello friends!
Packing.
The very word conjures up images of stress, chaos and exhaustion.
I have moved a few times in my lifetime, and hopefully learned some tricks along the way.
{ Some more random inspiration photos…just to make you ( and me) happy 🙂 }
Lesson one:
Start early!
Unlike my mother, God rest her soul, I learned to not wait until the last minute. She disliked change to the point of, when we moved to Montana as a teenager, my father said “the truck is here….you better pack!”
Lesson two:
Label!
I don’t just mean label the box.
I have a key.
I number the box, and on a 3×5 card (wired together as a pad) I write everything that is in the box.
Sometimes I will include where it came from (upper cupboard, left of the stove) and pack as much as I can together. This comes in very handy when you are wondering….where is that bowl that was, you know, next to the stove over there in that cupboard. It is extremely important when everything you own is in storage.
And it is.
I had a date. I had a timeline. I had one storage unit for household and another for French Grey. I had boxes staged to go in last, You know….last in, first out. I had shelving units at the front for things I knew I would need, which leads me to…
Lesson three:
Throw out lessons 1&2 when, due to a technical error, I had to move out one week early!!
How does it go? Pride goes before a fall! Yes I had planned, packed and labeled, and sure enough the last day was..
chaos.
chaos.
chaos.
Does that word even look right?
I know there is at least one boxed packed with no identity. Within that box there are things I need, I just know it! I need them even more because I’m not sure what they are! Lets see……hmmm…I know it was on the kitchen table.
Which brings me to…
Lesson four:
Be ready for an adventure!
Because that is what I am in for!!
Did I mention that we had the hair brained idea to live in a RV while we built our house??
I didn’t??
We are not, I am sad to say, super camping people. Yes we went a few times as a family, and weathered the well, weather. We have tents and coleman stoves and all the usual paraphernalia that goes along with camping. But when it comes right down to it, I like my bed. And showers. So here we are cramming 30 years of camping into one summer!
And I must admit, we couldn’t have picked a prettier camp site than our own property! (Which the above picture in NOT my fire pit!!)
You really get a sense of the lay of the land. Views you want to highlight, and some you want to hide.
Also, when I am not needed I am….
Daydreaming.
Uh, planning.
So, for all of you planning to go camping this 4th of July holiday, I will be there right along with you!
Happy camping!
Cindy
Ps. I have grain sack pillows in my camper:)
French Grey 
Enjoy! I am posting this from my camper as well! We still have a house but are almost finished gutting a house down to the studs and reinventing the house. Those darn “property brothers” sure are inspiring! Anyway, enjoy the peacefulness of camping. Just daydream of all the wonderful inspirational spaces you will be creating in the near future! Looking forward to seeing your new “haven.”
Thank you Gindy! Good luck on your project as well!!
Cindy
Moving is something I hate to do! Been there, done that, don’t really want to do it again…but who knows? So, good luck with it all, like you said, it is an adventure!
Nancy
We’re moving in 3 weeks to the coast of kent and although I can’t wait to be there, the loading up iseems monumentally huge. But I have one big tip … yard sale everything you know you shouldn’t be taking with you. We’ve been strict this time and it’s amaxing what stuff you really don’t need to take with you. I’ve halved our wardrobes. Halved our basement and attic and with the knowledge that we don’t take anything that doesn’t fit or go with the new house means it’s a whole new start. Good luck with your new adventure.
What an adventure to live in an RV while you build. I admire you. We just moved and I’ve just finished unpacking. My system of labeling is similar to yours and it’s worked for numerous moves through the years. But there’s always something that you desperately want to lay your hands on that you can’t find, regardless of the planning. Good luck. Can’t wait to see your new house.
Sam
Good luck. I have recently found your beautiful blog and enjoy it so much. I look forward to following along with you-all the pics make my heart miss a beat they are so beautiful!
Hi Cindy.
Came across your beautiful site whilst taking a quick break from my own packing to move from a suburban home to the peaceful Yarra Valley in Victoria, Australia.
It is 27 years since we moved here and now I am moving on to the next season of my life.
Blessings to you and I look forward to further inspiration as I follow your musings.
Pat