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I did not have a melt down when I did a huge cross country move 8 years ago. I had entered in to a contract to buy this house on Oct 30 and had 90 days to close. First I had to get my old house (which I had been in for 16 years) in shape to put on the market and had to do it before the Christmas lull so really I had just over a month to get it marketable.
Although single I had a huge amount of stuff to sort and pack - eleven book book cases with thousands of books to cull through and decide which to keep, which to re-home, too much furniture for the size of the house I was in (but not for the place I was going to). I did have to rent a big storage unit to temporarily move stuff into so that all the work could be done on the house.
I had a great real estate agent and she knew who to hire to paint the entire inside and out of the house, to refinish the 80 year old hardwood floors and to replace the tile in the kitchen, bath and laundry room. I lived in the unheated attached garage over the Thanksgiving weekend as the floors were being re-done and a neighbor gave me a key to her place so that I could use her bathroom since my house had just one and I could not be in the house while the floors were a work in progress.
Just to make matters worse some fool on a cell phone rear ended my Suburban and hit it so hard it badly bent the frame on it so that left me without a vehicle to get across the country in January with myself, four big dogs and a cat. I wound up renting an RV from Cruise America.
How did I do it all? Every night I would sit down with a glass of wine and my notebook and look over the list of things that had been planned/scheduled to accomplish that day, carry forward anything that did not get done and figure out WHAT'S NEXT. I did this every night, without fail, no matter how tired I was. Knowing just what was on the schedule for the next day made it possible to sleep without my mind going over and over all that had to be accomplished. I just had to focus on the next day. Many days were 12 to 15 hours long but I knew that it would be worth it in the end.
I did get lucky in that I hired an energetic young man with good skills and he helped keep things on track when they threatened to overwhelm me. I had eleven small 7 x 7 POD type units filled to capacity in the end.
Had one open house on the first Sunday and December, 2005 and had 5 offers that were at least 10% over asking by Tuesday. The next 6 weeks that I was still in the house were a bit of a challenge to keep things pristine with 4 dogs and to live with a minimum of furniture, clothing and cooking supplies. for those weeks most of my days were spent at the storage unit continuing to sort through and organize everything that had been relocated there.
After getting here I manged to unpack most of what was urgently needed to function but after two weeks or so I found I was "running on Floyd time" and it was probably a year before the last of the low priority stuff got unpacked and sorted in to its new space. It might not have taken so long if I hadn't joined the Humane Society just two weeks after I got here and was putting in 30 to 40 hours a week with them. So much for being retired.
I was only a tad crazier after this grand process than I had been before.
When I move out of this place it's going to have to be on a gurney with a sheet over my face 'cause I ain't packing all this up again.
Yes, last year we were moving from SoCal to Hawaii and it didn't go very smoothly. We had our 5 day old baby, 3 german shepherds, and 22 boxes (all checking onto airplane). We sold everything else. We arrived at the airport and checked all our boxes. Then went home to get the dogs since we couldn't fit everything in our borrowed truck. On the way back to the airport there was an accident and traffic and we missed the flight. All of our boxes were on the flight though and we had nowhere to stay with the 3 dogs and baby. Luckily we got a flight for the next morning so we slept in the truck.
The day of our new flight, we checked 2 dogs into cargo and brought one on the plane. Well that dog got all nervous in the airport and had diarrhea in the middle of the crowded terminal. So I was in a wheelchair since had a c-section 6 days prior, my husband had the baby in a carrier and was carrying the dog's leash as well and trying to clean up diarrhea. It was quite a scene and totally embarrassing. The dog also freaked out numerous times on the plane anytime one of us got up to use the bathroom.
When we finally arrived in Hawaii, our house that we were building was unfinished so it had no flooring or furniture. We brought a pack-in-play for baby but didn't have anything for us. Ended up at Walmart at 11:30 p.m. and bought a big rug to sleep on for us and one for the dogs. It really wasn't planned out very well at all and caused many meltdowns during moving as well as after for several weeks. We even thought about moving back to SoCal since we were so stressed in Hawaii. It was completely due to our poor planning. Now, 15 months later, we are just starting to settle in.
Arranged for a U-Haul weeks before my move from MS to TX. The night before the move, I called U-Haul to confirm and they did not have any trucks available! I was frantic trying to locate one, and finally did, but it wouldn't be available until the following day (the morning of the move).
My son and I were packing the truck all day and didn't get it loaded until the afternoon. He was going to drive the moving truck and I was going to take the pets in my minivan. I had given my four dogs and two cats tranquilizers before the move and when loading them in my van, they took off chasing some animal they had spotted. I was worried sick when they didn't come back, knowing they were tranquilized. Finally they returned, but it put us further behind for travelling time. Everything was already packed and buried in the moving truck, so there was no way we could have put the move off another day.
It was a ten hour drive from hell. I fell asleep on the highway and only woke up when my van ran over some bumpy area near the grassy median. Very scary, and very lucky and blessed not to have caused an accident. My son was driving behind me and he said it looked as though my van had been just picked up and placed back on the road after veering off. I believe it was my guardian angel keeping us safe.
We arrived in TX in the wee hours of the morning, found the key the landlord had hidden for us, and entered a freezing cold house. It was probably one of the coldest nights TX had in years. The gas company had not turned on the gas for heat due to some mix-up. We slept on the floor, shivering and huddled with the animals until morning.
That was by far the worst move I have ever experienced, and I have moved plenty of times, but never anything as horrendous as this one.
I didn't melt down, but my husband did, when we moved from NJ to FL. We had been to dinner with friends, and it hit our youngest that we were actually leaving, and he threw a major tantrum. That, in turn, caused my husband to think he was having a heart attack. He ended up spending the night in the hospital, while I was left to deal with the movers and packers on my own. I told them to pack it all, we were flying down, and I had suitcases of clothes for me and the kids. DH was discharged, and came back to the house to find out he didn't even have clean underwear. It was already on the truck.
He was sure I had told them to take his clothes in retaliation for leaving me alone to deal with it all, but it was an honest mistake...I think.
We hired movers and I gave them VERY specific instructions regarding the process. We had 3 cats who were very scared. They were shut in the bedroom. The specific instructions were as follows:
Move the bedroom stuff last. Under NO circumstances are you to open the bedroom door until the rest of the stuff is packed and the bedroom stuff is next. At that time I would be the one to go in, get the cats in carriers, and take them out. At the new place, unload bedroom stuff first. I put cats in the new bedroom with the door shut. Easy. Cats are out of the way and safe. We had done it on all previous moves and it worked perfectly.
Not too hard, right?
I explained this very carefully and was told it was understood. Less than 10 minutes later, I am in the basement packing things up, and I hear a mover yell "There goes the cat!" I ran upstairs to find the bedroom door OPEN and the cats running out. The front door was wide open and one cat was nowhere to be found. I flipped. How hard were my instructions? The rest of the house was NOT even close to being packed. One mover listened to my instructions, then decided to pack up the bedroom FIRST.
I frantically searched for the cat outside first, fearing she ran straight into a nearby busy street. Finally found her wedged in under the stairs. I told the movers to please stop for a moment so I could get her; strangers footfalls were really freaking her out. Went to pull her out, and just as I got her, a mover started stomping around and yelled out something to his boss.
ARGH!
Cat freaked, launched herself off of me using her back claws, ripping my wrist open in two places. So, she was missing again, I was bleeding and angry.
In the end, found the cat and I still have those scars on my wrist 8 years later.
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I am loving all these stories, what a treat at the end of a zombie-walk day. Not feeling any saner, but I am glad to hear that I'm not the only one kinda out of my element and prone to mistakes.
hunterseat, that's what I am really dreading. Hearing my cry baby cat wailing during the 15 hr car trip (he'll get a break about half way, so he can really "throw down" on the second leg of the trip I'm sure LOL.)
zugor, I loved your idea of writing the to-do list for the following day. I've done this past several days, however, I've misplaced almost every one of them and have to write new ones each morning.
scgali and aquietpath, you made me wanna curl up in a ball and cry LOL
ElleTea, if that was me there could have been violence. Honestly I would have really lost it on those movers. Then when I finally calmed down, I would tip them a penny each.
I appreciate all the posts, you don't know how much....
Did the move a week ago-- finally had my meltdown about 2 hours away from our destination.
The rental office at our apartment complex was due to close at 5:00 pm and it was 3 pm. I knew the movers would be waiting (and on the clock of course) so I was getting really nervous. Plus my husband, who was driving the rental truck with his car in tow, was a distance behind me.
So I start panicking, thinking, "What if we don't get there in time to sign the lease?" "What if we have to find a hotel with the cats, vehicles, etc?" "What if they raise the rent on us for changing the lease-signing date?" "What if my husband, who is more tired than I am, gets mad?" (At me, at himself, who knows, we were both quite irritable before the move.) As my anxious thoughts got going, one of the movers called me to tell me he was lost. I begin giving directions but his cell phone is cutting out. Upon hearing my voice, the car-averse cat starts to yowl.
Mover hangs up and calls me back with a SLIGHTLY better connection. I am so worked up I am speaking VERY loudly.
Me: It's Eagle Point.
Mover: Got it. Chico Point.
Me: No! Eagle Point!
Mover: Right. Chico Point.
Me:*shrieking* NOT CHICO! EAGLE! LIKE THE BIRD?!
Angry Cat: Meowwww!!! YOWWWW!!!!
Mover: I'm on Gutierrez.
Me: *crying* I DON'T KNOW GUTIERREZ!!! I DON'T LIVE THERE YET!
Mover: *totally cool and patient* Oh. Okay.
Me: *freaked* I'M GETTING ANOTHER CALL!
Mover: Okay.
Apartment Office Lady: Hello? Your mover is here. When will you be arriving?
Me: I'm an hour and half away. My husband might be far behind me. What will happen if he can't sign the lease?
Apartment Office Lady: Oh... Umm...I don't know.
Me: WHAT?!
Apartment Office Lady: Umm....I have to check. Just a minute.
Apartment Office Lady 2: How can I help you?
Me: *talking fast, short of breath* My husband is probably two hours behind me. What's going to happen if he doesn't get there in time?
Apartment Office Lady 2: Is he on the lease?
Me: *impatient* YES!
Apartment Office Lady 2: You both have to sign the lease.
Me: *suddenly angry at all corporations bureaucracies and the like* I know that! Look how does this work? CAN I MOVE IN TONIGHT OR NOT?!
Apartment Office Lady 2: We'll only issue one key. To you.
Angry Cat: MEOOWWWWW!!!!! YEOWWWWWWWW!!!!!! OWWWWWW!!!!!!
Me: IS HE ALLOWED ON THE PREMISES???!!! CAN WE MOVE IN TONIGHT?!
Apartment Office Lady 2: There will only be one key.
Me: *frantic* MY HUSBAND IS CALLING ME!!!
Apartment Office Lady 2: *bored* Okay.
Husband: *calm* Hi Honey. Where are you?
Me: I'M AN HOUR AND HALF AWAY!!!
Husband: What's the matter?
Me: I'M FREAKING OUT BECAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE FARTHER BEHIND ME AND YOU WON'T GET THERE IN TIME! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I WAS--
Husband: Yes I will. I'm practically right behind you.
Me: BUT--
Husband: *relaxed* What's wrong with you?
Me: I'M HAVING A MELTDOWN BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE FAR BEHIND ME AND THAT WE'LL HAVE TO FIND A PLACE TO STAY TONIGHT AND THE CAT WON'T SHUT UP AND THE MOVERS ARE THERE ALREADY! AND I WAS SO SCARED YOU'D HAVE A MELTDOWN THE WAY YOU'VE BEEN ACTING LATELY SO I'M HAVING A MELTDOWN WORRYING ABOUT YOU HAVING A MELTDOWN!!!
Husband: *bursts out laughing* Calm down. I'm right behind you.
So yeah, all those weeks of planning and packing, getting the house ready to sell, worrying about the cats, etc....Something had to give!
We moved 1 1/2 years ago. Our old house was 20 miles away from our new house. Because of red tape holding up the construction of our new house, it wasn't ready until March. March is not reliable for decent weather and of course we got snow, sleet and rain for the whole week before our move.
Our old house was at the end of a long driveway and the house was up on a hill. In the early morning on moving day, we took my car, two pick-up trucks and a big cube trailer full of stuff to the new house. We loaded everything out of the trucks and trailer into the garage. I stayed behind to carry stuff and direct which stuff goes where in the house.
Hubby and two helpers drive back to the old house with the truck and van to get the rest. By this point, it is mid-day and the driveway has turned to mush. He couldn't make it up to the house. The truck and trailer were mired in muck and snow. Thankfully, we had a bulldozer so he hooked it up to the truck and trailer, and pulled both of them up the hill.
Once he got back to our new house, he got stuck in the driveway here too but thankfully, with a crew of men (friends and relatives) pushing and shoving, we got it unstuck.
I don't think there's anything that feels better, than finally flopping into bed the first night in your new home.
Did the move a week ago-- finally had my meltdown about 2 hours away from our destination.
The rental office at our apartment complex was due to close at 5:00 pm and it was 3 pm. I knew the movers would be waiting (and on the clock of course) so I was getting really nervous. Plus my husband, who was driving the rental truck with his car in tow, was a distance behind me.
So I start panicking, thinking, "What if we don't get there in time to sign the lease?" "What if we have to find a hotel with the cats, vehicles, etc?" "What if they raise the rent on us for changing the lease-signing date?" "What if my husband, who is more tired than I am, gets mad?" (At me, at himself, who knows, we were both quite irritable before the move.) As my anxious thoughts got going, one of the movers called me to tell me he was lost. I begin giving directions but his cell phone is cutting out. Upon hearing my voice, the car-averse cat starts to yowl.
Mover hangs up and calls me back with a SLIGHTLY better connection. I am so worked up I am speaking VERY loudly.
Me: It's Eagle Point.
Mover: Got it. Chico Point.
Me: No! Eagle Point!
Mover: Right. Chico Point.
Me:*shrieking* NOT CHICO! EAGLE! LIKE THE BIRD?!
Angry Cat: Meowwww!!! YOWWWW!!!!
Mover: I'm on Gutierrez.
Me: *crying* I DON'T KNOW GUTIERREZ!!! I DON'T LIVE THERE YET!
Mover: *totally cool and patient* Oh. Okay.
Me: *freaked* I'M GETTING ANOTHER CALL!
Mover: Okay.
Apartment Office Lady: Hello? Your mover is here. When will you be arriving?
Me: I'm an hour and half away. My husband might be far behind me. What will happen if he can't sign the lease?
Apartment Office Lady: Oh... Umm...I don't know.
Me: WHAT?!
Apartment Office Lady: Umm....I have to check. Just a minute.
Apartment Office Lady 2: How can I help you?
Me: *talking fast, short of breath* My husband is probably two hours behind me. What's going to happen if he doesn't get there in time?
Apartment Office Lady 2: Is he on the lease?
Me: *impatient* YES!
Apartment Office Lady 2: You both have to sign the lease.
Me: *suddenly angry at all corporations bureaucracies and the like* I know that! Look how does this work? CAN I MOVE IN TONIGHT OR NOT?!
Apartment Office Lady 2: We'll only issue one key. To you.
Angry Cat: MEOOWWWWW!!!!! YEOWWWWWWWW!!!!!! OWWWWWW!!!!!!
Me: IS HE ALLOWED ON THE PREMISES???!!! CAN WE MOVE IN TONIGHT?!
Apartment Office Lady 2: There will only be one key.
Me: *frantic* MY HUSBAND IS CALLING ME!!!
Apartment Office Lady 2: *bored* Okay.
Husband: *calm* Hi Honey. Where are you?
Me: I'M AN HOUR AND HALF AWAY!!!
Husband: What's the matter?
Me: I'M FREAKING OUT BECAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE FARTHER BEHIND ME AND YOU WON'T GET THERE IN TIME! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I WAS--
Husband: Yes I will. I'm practically right behind you.
Me: BUT--
Husband: *relaxed* What's wrong with you?
Me: I'M HAVING A MELTDOWN BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE FAR BEHIND ME AND THAT WE'LL HAVE TO FIND A PLACE TO STAY TONIGHT AND THE CAT WON'T SHUT UP AND THE MOVERS ARE THERE ALREADY! AND I WAS SO SCARED YOU'D HAVE A MELTDOWN THE WAY YOU'VE BEEN ACTING LATELY SO I'M HAVING A MELTDOWN WORRYING ABOUT YOU HAVING A MELTDOWN!!!
Husband: *bursts out laughing* Calm down. I'm right behind you.
So yeah, all those weeks of planning and packing, getting the house ready to sell, worrying about the cats, etc....Something had to give!
I had to laugh at this a little because I can see me doing the exact same thing.
I assume all worked out?
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My posts as moderator will be in red.
Oh God. When I moved out of Arizona, I had 4 weeks to move. And, a long holiday w/e that zapped me another day. I had to fly to the place, new state to try and rent a house. By myself, knowing no one, land down and get at it. It was a challenge. I had found a realtor online and talked to him enough to hope he would help me when I got there. He did find us a place to rent, but at the last minute. It was a nightmare! The guy was kinda nutty, too! I had to call him 6-7 times the last day to make sure he'd get the contract for us. I called my husband and told him next time he'd be finding us the frig*gin rental. The realtor in Arizona was dingy, too. I mean diagnosable. I had nutcases on both sides of the country. Whatever, moving is stressful. Meditate, eat right, exercise and pray a lot.
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