Saturday, December 6, 2014

Let the Packing Begin! 26 Days and Counting...

Ugh! This stinks!

Remember the last time you moved to a new home? Fun, right? Try organizing six hormonal daughters and getting them to pack.

I scored two car loads of boxes from the hospital in the last two days so that's a plus.

We have acquired a few cars (5) in the past year so I have to figure out how to get them and the Orange Jeep Dad trailer up to Idaho. We have the family van and the reliable daily commuter Jeep. Then there's the old pickup truck I bought to help move stuff around. An older Volvo was given to us after the house fire and it became Sister's first car. Then there's the Suburban that we kept from the fire. The insurance company totaled it but I bought it back from them for $400. It only need some rear light covers to be street legal again. Soon I'll need to take it to the DMV to get it inspected and re-registered for the road.

We move in less than 30 days so I have begun cleaning out the vehicles to make room for boxes. The more we can store in the cars, the less I'll get charged for in the moving truck. The OJD trailer alone is going to hold a ton of stuff.

Wifey and Old Blue
I also began driving the vehicles around town as a test of their road-readiness. Today, the trusty 1981 Chevy pickup (Old Blue) died on me. There is a problem getting gas to the carburetor. I verified gas in the tank by siphoning gasoline out of the gas line by mouth (yum!). I used carburetor starter and was able to start the truck only to watch it stop running once the starter wore off so the engine runs. It actually purrs once I get it going...I just can't keep it going. I also testing the fuel filter and it flows just fine. So, it is sitting in the mechanic's parking lot as we speak. Hopefully it won't take too much dinero to get her running smoothly. I'd like to use Old Blue to pull another vehicle up to Idaho.

As luck would have it, the heater is out in the family van. There's no way THAT is going over well in Idaho so it will need to visit the mechanic next week too. The Suburban is still due to go BACK to the mechanic for the rear door handle. It was melted off from the heat of the house fire but was taking so long to be delivered that I took the Burb home for a good cleaning until it's arrival. So, the Suburban will also be returning to the mechanic this week.

The Jeep has a tail light out that I can't figure out. I replaced the bulb and the doohicky that the bulb goes into but it still won't work. I've been pulled over once already for lack of a tail light (got a warning.) So, the Jeep will probably ALSO be going to the mechanic next week.

On top of the cars and the packing, there's still the chickens. To keep or not to keep, that is the question. I really don't want to start all over again but what a huge stress off my shoulders if I don't have to haul their butts 12 hours north in the back of Old Blue. Not to mention that there is no coop or pen established at our new homestead. They'd have to stay cooped up in the back of Old Blue until I threw something together.

We are moving via U-Pack pod this time. The "pod" will be dropped off in our front yard on December 23rd. We'll have until December 30th to pack it up. That should be plenty of time but the logistics are going to be a nightmare. Once picked up, they (the moving company) have six BUSINESS DAYS to deliver it. We will potentially be without our "stuff" for up to nine days. We'll pack necessities in our vehicles and probably end up camping in our new home for a week. Worst of all will be sleeping on the floor until our beds arrive.

Perhaps now would be a good time to ask my good Doctor for a muscle relaxing prescription...or two...or five...

~OJD

9 comments:

  1. I wouldn't take the chickens.You shouldn't! Have a problem replacing them in Idaho.Also Idaho doesn't have the inspections,so Mabye you can get a towbar for the vehicle that needs inspection and tags.You'Ll have to re register all your vehicles when you get to Idaho anyways so why do it twice.

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  2. If you need to license any vehicles, do so in Idaho on one of your trips up here. You will have to do it here, anyway, so it will save you dollars to just do it once. We moved here from Wyoming (well, we are still moving….) and the cost savings was huge. Plus, it makes you a local to other drivers.
    I stuffed our hens into a large dog kennel and moved them here. We put them in a garden shed and used the dog kennel as their coop, letting them out every day, shutting them in every night. We pounded in some fence posts and put up fencing in short order. The "girls" have suffered through another round trip to Wyoming and back and have finally begun to lay eggs again. A heat lamp is advised.
    Good luck on your move. I do it frequently, I think just to thin out possessions, lol!
    sidetracksusie

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  3. God Bless you, OJD. I just finished moving from a house into a mobile home (this I own) and the move almost killed me. It did make something painfully obvious: I need to downsize! The charities love me because I have donated things that don't fit but still work. I know that it will get better, but right now I feel as if I am in a whirlwind and things are multiplying like rabbits. My advice-start that moving items list NOW! Do you really want to move that 12 yro refrig that still works, or can you replace it rather cheaply? Especially since you are moving around the after Christmas sales. I have a friend who moved from California to Missouri. They spent $10,000 moving stuff. She now wishes that she had simply replaced things when she got to Missouri. Moving will also make you less sentimental. Unless it is truly an antique-packing, hauling out & in to the Pod, then into the new house, unpacking and finding a place for that blue glass lamp in the shape of a turtle that Aunt Minerva really loved usually isn't worth it. Fair warning-my back and legs are in spasm, my knees are shot, and I still have stuff in the shed.
    Idaho is a wonderful state with friendly people who respect your privacy. How lucky for you! I am sure that your girls will be happy. -Sandra T.

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    1. Thanks Sandra. We're very excited about moving to Idaho and meeting our neighbors. We are three days from the pod being dropped in the front yard.

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  4. Moving sucks, trust me moving my mom and her critters about 10 miles has been exhausting but it all works out in the end. SW Idaho has warm now if just a bit damp, so get what you can done in the next week or so. Mom bought a STOR-MOR shed built on site with a steel foundation. A 6 foot x 8 foot shed cost a $1000.00 but even a good solid shed in that price range you build yourself is $600.00 and up.
    Usually after the first of January it gets bloody cold in the -20 degree range and around Twin Falls you got wind so your chickens will need a warm place out of the wind and some heat. You can get chicks locally no problem in the spring but you will have to feed them awhile before they produce eggs.
    There are trade offs in any move but you need to know the average type weather so you can adapt your plans.

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    1. Understood. Considering options. Who do I contact for a STOR-MOR?

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  5. I don't know if you have ever packed a pod, but remember, largest heaviest items first. Use bedding and clothing to stuff around items so they don't shift. You will get less breakage that way. If the pod is tall enough stand your couch, love seat, etc up on end to save space. More work but put dressers in with drawers empty then pack them full once it is in place. Small light boxes can be put in all the nooks and crannies up high. If there are any moving companies close by see if they will let you dumpster dive. They usually have to throw boxes away , can't reuse them. Good luck with the move you are going to a beautiful place.

    Frank

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    1. Never done the pod thing. They did say I won't be charged for space that I don't use so I have to watch how I load the thing. Thanks for the advice.

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