Da Curious

i'm on vacation this week and the only purpose to my taking five days off was to pack. i move to san francisco this weekend and why i need an entire week to pack i'm not quite sure but it worked out actually since i ended up having to work the past two days. but this is not just any ordinary packing that i'm doing. instead of just throwing things into boxes i have been organizing. it's a slow and meticulous process but luckily bren's been helping me to where we've become a well oiled machine. he even taught me a nifty little trick in putting garbage bags over clothes so they never have to be taken off the hangers. my room has been organized into neat little piles. a pile to bring with me, a pile to give to my cousins and another pile to donate to goodwill. i've even got a goodwill truck coming to me this week to pick up some chairs i had inherited from chris but really have no use for. now if that's not good moving i don't know what is. even after giving away ten pairs of shoes and two large trash bags full of clothes to my cousins, i still feel as if i have too much clutter. i'm very against clutter these days. i've decided i am no longer allowed to buy any sort of trinkets unless it can be hung up on the wall. or maybe i should just put shelves up in my room. that could work too.

my biggest problem is i have a real hard time parting away with sentimental things. for example, i've accumulated three sweatshirts in my years from ex-boyfriends and not once have i worn them since we've broken up but yet i refuse to throw them away. same goes for the blue extra large kansas city t-shirt i bought with chris. i've only worn it once or twice and it's much too big but i'm taking it with me anyways. along with that are a dozen notes and cards that i don't think i'll ever part with. not a good trait to have when your biggest worry about moving to the city is closet space. ridiculous i know. i'll have another blog coming up on that so keep your opinions to yourself please.

i've heard the rule to cleaning out your closet is to throw away anything you haven't worn in the past year. sounds easy enough but actually much tougher than one would imagine. i really made a concerted effort today to throw away all the clothes i've been keeping for the day i lose some weight and i think i did a pretty good job. i even found dresses with tags still attached that i bought from love boat back in 1997. i finally came to my senses and gave them away but it was after much deliberation. i even found two or three pairs of shoes that i completely forgot about so i was pretty excited about that.

it's been two and a half years since my last move so i'm a bit nervous and probably a bit paranoid in over-estimating the amount of manpower i'll be needing. i've assembled a small army of friends to help me move. i've got four people meeting me in san jose and then along with those four, another three or four that will be meeting up in san francisco. a bit too much? probably but i figure it's much better to have too many people than not enough. although everyone keeps telling me i don't have that much stuff i feel like i have too much stuff. i almost filled up an entire recycle bin today with just shoeboxes alone. scary.

a couple of things to keep in mind for those who plan on moving in the near future. because you know i am an expert now considering i've been packing for nearly the entire day. lesson number one...always reserve your truck as soon as possible. ahem curtis. the hours allotted to you can be quite a bitch sometimes. lesson number two...always remember to fill out your change of address form with the us postal service. now for this, there are two options. one is to do it online but there is a one dollar charge or you can pick up a change of address packet yourself at the post office and mail it in. now i highly recommend the do it yourself approach. i've tried it both ways and well let's just say that my mail never got forwarded to me when i did it online. lesson number three...always buy mattress bags. i learned of these things on my last move and they're great! be sure to buy one for the mattress and one for the boxspring. it's well worth it i tell you. and finally, lesson number four is to try to borrow boxes as much as possible. medium sized boxes at uhaul are $2.50 a pop. blasphemy i say. and with that said let's hope my move this weekend goes off without a hitch and really it's in these times of needs that you are glad your friends hit the gym on a regular basis and are willing to lend you a helping hand.