A Moving Friday Five

This is a subject that I will not say is near and dear to my heart...but it's one I recently lived into. So here goes:


A big move is looming, name one thing that you could not possibly part with, it must be packed ?
I think one of the odder items that made it to my "must save" list this time around was a very old Hartz Mountain song food can dating back to my paternal grandmother's canary. My dad used to store his fishing sinkers in it. It's now on top of our pie safe in the mud room. My hen-on-nest collection, including my mother's Westmoreland milk glass chicken, was also spared the humiliation of the garage-sale table; selected hens will be showcased on our kitchen pantry.

2. Name one thing that you would gladly leave behind...
I did leave behind all my antiquated and energy-inefficient large appliances. Good riddance. And a lot of stuff went to our amateur movers -- actually our lawn guys, making some extra cash during their seasonal layoff -- as a bonus.

3. How do you prepare for a move

a. practically?
Being a fairly impractical person suddenly pressed into moving within a three-week time frame, I wasn't very organized; I collected cardboard boxes from work and did some preliminary sort-and-toss as I could before my time ran out. During the packing, I tried to pack thematically; then according to where the items were originally ("Kitchen Drawer"); toward the end we just threw stuff in boxes.

b. spiritually/ emotionally?
By thanking God that this opportunity to get out of Cold Comfort Cottage and its many drawbacks as a living space dropped into my lap, while simultaneously fretting and stewing about the logistics of the process until my more left-brained partner came to the rescue with A Plan.

4. What is the first thing you look for in a new place?
After my experience at Cold Comfort Cottage, my requirements include space -- the ability to stand with arms outstretched and not hit something -- light and adequate indoor plumbing.

5. Do you settle in easily, or does it take time for you to find your feet in a new location?
In my past moving experiences I've not had a problem; odd for someone who never moved until she was 18. Even in a challenging atmosphere like Manhattan...I remember walking past a row of apartments on the edge of the Village this fall and thinking, "There's no nature...but if I had to, I could live here."