Some of you might remember today’s guest blogger, Lindsey Mastis.  She was the first person I interviewed for OTR.  Stardate 2009.   Back then, she talked about her daily routine and how she stayed on top of things.  Today, she tells the tale of lessons learned during her recent move.

I’d like to take a few moments to simply sigh. It’s been three weeks since my husband and I moved into our new home. I’m still trying to catch my breath.

As a news reporter, I’ve moved around a lot. From St. Louis to Carbondale to living in a hotel in Dallas to interning in DC and then moving back to Southern Illinois. Two years ago, my husband packed up our three bedroom house. I packed up my two bedroom apartment. We drove to DC, and moved into a two-bedroom (one bath) apartment in the Rockville Town Square. We loved living there, but decided it was time to get our stuff out of storage. So we got a house.

This was supposed to be the “easy” and “cheap” move. Three weeks later, I’m eating my words.

I’m overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we have.

Confused about where some of our stuff is.

And, I’m getting impatient with the time it’s taking to put it all away.

Here’s a list of some of the things we did that worked, didn’t work, and could have done better to stay organized:

1.   Start packing a few weeks in advance. We were able to clean, dust, and gently pack everything into labeled boxes.

2.  Use trash bags. This is my favorite kind of move because it’s quick. It’s best to double-bag a trash bag and use it to pack clothes. Don’t forget to label the bag, otherwise it might become trash.

3. Be nice to U-Haul. We rented our truck for one day, and promised to have it back by 5 pm that night. Around 4 am — yes, AM — we were so tired, we decided to get some rest. We took the truck back almost 24 hours late. But, they were so nice (and probably felt sorry for us) so they didn’t charge us any extra. Thank you U-Haul!

4.  Find friends to help. We moved 4th of July weekend. We felt too guilty to ask anyone to give up their holiday for us. Big mistake. It took us four-times as long to move big items. Having a few friends would have kept us more sane.

5.  Watch what you throw away. My parents loaded up a 20-foot trailer with some items we had in storage and some of my husband’s childhood things. I hadn’t seen some of this stuff for 20 years. Because of all the stress, it’s hard to tell what’s truly sentimental. I threw a lot of it away (trophies, pictures of old boyfriends, notes from school). Now, I’m regretting it. So our new rule is: Don’t throw anything (but trash) away for at least a month.

6. Watch what you give away or sell. When we moved across the country, we sold as much as we could. Two years later, I’m politely asking family members if they’re still using the table/elliptical machine/bar stools/cookware. And we are having to re-purchase some items. It’s getting expensive – fast.

7. Take pictures. Moving can feel like a traumatic experience. Take a few moments to be silly, climb on top of some (stable) boxes, and smile. It will help.

8. Learn how to multi-task. I’m having a hard time doing anything but unpacking. That means I’ve missed out on some very special social events. It also means I’ve missed out on training for my half-marathon in two weeks. It’s hard to ignore the mess, but it would have been better if I kept up my running schedule and other commitments.

9.  Live tweet your move. I didn’t tweet until we took the U-Haul back. That’s when one of my friends offered to bring us his truck. It was too late.

10. Sleep. My husband made a great point at 4 am. Getting the moving truck back in time wasn’t worth the risk. We were tired, and because it was a holiday weekend, who knows how many drunk people were driving. We rested, had a good breakfast, and went back to work the next day. It all turned out for the better.

About the Author

Lindsey Mastis is a Digital Correspondent with WUSA 9 News Now, a local CBS affilate in Washington, DC. She covers Government 2.0 and Social Networking. Lindsey is also an avid runner and participated in the 10-Mile Cherry Blossom Race last April.

Connect With Lindsey: Website | Twitter

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