The Fun of Moving

Moving is kind of fun. I mean, it's really stressful and chaotic and all consuming. But it also means the start of a new home, new routine, new adventure, and overall new chapter. I had a lot of anxiousness around the move. Sometimes change feels unsafe because it is unknown. And there is safely in knowing your current demons. It could be worse. But it could be BETTER! And there is so much fun in newness. So we are embracing the newness and excitement around this move. So far, so fun. But here we are, another week and another blog post that's not my finest. But you know what I'm really good at? Taking a lot of pictures. So this week's blog post is a tribute to all the shenanigans we went through to move a household of stuff.

Best decision of our life? Hiring movers. Specific these guys:

Nation Capital Movers

Back in September when we thought we'd move and live through a renovation, we rented a Uhaul truck and asked some fit friends to come over. But as we started assessing the stuff we had, we realized we might not have any friends left if we did that. So this time around we knew we wanted professional help. Our initial thought was we would pack everything ourselves and then rely on a moving company to transport and unload our boxes. But we were curious about someone doing it ALL for us. I mean packing and moving with a toddler seemed like extra chaos. The larger national moving companies told us that if they were to pack for us, including packing materials, trucks and additional helpers, it would double the price. So no thank you national companies.

The best way to find great help, tap into your network! Ask friends and family and coworkers and random friends of friends at parties. Post on Facebook. Check Yelp. Ask your community. I ALWAYS do this for EVERYTHING. So we had a list of 4 local moving companies that came highly recommended. And every single one of them came over and quoted me prices. So yeah, it took some extra time.... but it was SO worth it.

When Nation Capital Movers quoted us, it seemed too good to be true. They were SUPER reasonable, quoting us only 1/3 extra for the work. Now normally I'd question when someone is so much cheaper. Cheaper sometimes means lower quality, but this company was recommended by someone who wouldn't stand for that. That's the beauty of tapping into your friends/network to give advice! This company was definitely not lesser quality and they were worth every single penny. We will never box and move ourselves again. The owner Peter Jacob was detailed and professional. He gave us a quote for the project, no extras, no surprises later on. Just what the entire thing will cost no matter if it took the 6 hours they assumed it would take, or the 10 hours it actually took. We were sold by Peter immediately.

This made moving WAY less stressful. And it was still stressful. But not having to ask friends to take off work, work all damn day, buy and pack boxes, hope we have the proper equipment to move big ticket items, and while with a small child.... is life saving. Nation Capital Movers had everything already implemented in their business model and insurance if stuff was damaged.

So moving day at 9am, they came in like a hurricane! So get out of the way! Well first get them coffee and donuts. Kindness goes a long way. So now we had 5 guys, fueled by Dunkin and ready to work.... I best get out of the way! They didnt need me, or Reece. So my husband stayed to help and be available for questions, and me and the babe adventured! Within the first 2 hours our house went from fully livable to mostly packed.

From this:

To this:

From this:

To this:

From this:

To:

So what to do? Well food shop for the next house right? We went on an adventure to Wegmans, MOMs Organic Market and then brunch with a great friend.

By the time we got back around 2:30pm they were packed and ready to go!

Both trucks were FULLY packed! And the house was EMPTY! I guess we didn't realize how much stuff we had!

Onward to the new house!

Two extra pro tips. Because my husband demanded it, and he wasnt wrong: buy the movers lunch, and tip them for great work. These guys were only scheduled for 6 hours and like I mentioned, it took nearly 10!

So while they guys unloaded at the new house, we tackled that next project! Chipotle for lunch and cash!

Did I mention it rained ALL damn day too? What a job. These guys seemed to laugh a lot and work together well!

What a crazy day. I was ready to crash immediately and I did NO physical lifting. Minus picking up a small and wiggly 25lb plate, constantly.

Once again, no idea how we could have done this with the help of friends and family, AND professional help.

We will NEVER pack and move ourselves again. Investing in a professional moving company IS the way to keep some sanity. Some. Because moving is nuts regardless!

Next up in life: unpack boxes, make our new house a home, renovate our old place to sell, and share with you all the renovation pictures I promised to post!

Next Monday, promise! Once we are out of box hell:

(and a little sneak peak into the new kitchen!)