We’re packing up and getting ready for our November 7 move date – although where we’re moving to is still TBD.
The timing of this whole process is a little tricky because we can’t commit to renting somewhere until the contingencies on our house are removed and we’re sure the sale is a done deal. At the same time, the rental market is getting more competitive as we get closer to the end of the month because property managers want to have their new tenants lined up by November 1.
Time to panic? Yes!! I mean not yet. We’re just trying to take it one step at a time.
And the first step, as I talked about last week, is packing up the books. When it comes to all the work involved in moving, packing books is definitely the low-hanging fruit. You don’t have to think about how you’re going to wrap them or what size box to use. Just fill up a book box to the tipping point of “if I put one more book in here, I’ll be permanently injured if I try to lift it.”
The downside of having books these days is that they have become less valuable than the paper they are printed on. Steve estimates he took almost 1,000 pounds of books to Copperfield’s to try and resell them. I thought the quality of the books he was taking was first rate…no rejects from Oprah’s Book Club but really nice art and history books. Copperfield’s bought 75 of them for about $2 each. I’m not dissing Copperfield’s – I’m grateful we got a few bucks for them – it’s just that in today’s market, a case of Staples Multi-Use paper has more value than a case of books.
Once the books are in boxes, we have no choice except to move onto packing the remaining 80% of our stuff that doesn’t fit quite as neatly into a rectangular box. This is a good time for me to work on not being too OC. If I try to pack the small kitchen appliances like I’m playing Tetris, I’ll still be working on emptying out the first cupboard when the new owners arrive ready to move in.
Ever since we moved into this house 17 years ago, I have lamented the skimpy amount of storage space in the kitchen. Now that I have to pack it up, it’s totally working to my advantage. Two cupboards down; three more to go. Then onto the closets.