I have moved so many times in my life that I have it down to a science. I still hate to do it, but I do have it rather organized. And, if you have been a Communication FUNdamentals reader for any length of time, you will not be surprised when I tell you that it does involve communication skills. So for those of you who might be moving soon or will some day or would just like giggle for those of us who do, I submit to you:
JoJo's 7 Hilarious Steps to Moving
Step 1: Dump the Junk
Go through each room, or in some cases each part of a room, and get rid of anything you don't want to have to put in a moving truck. Throw away any small pieces of unidentified paper, the rock collection under your daughter's bed, the pair of your son's jeans two sizes too small that you were saving for no apparent reason... Then collect anything that would be of value to someone else that no longer fits, your kids have outgrown or you wouldn't be caught dead wearing unless you were at a costume party!
I'm currently on my 7th room. The only rooms left are the garage, my husband's side of our bedroom closet, Kelsey's room, my office and the downstairs closet (otherwise known as the Twilight Zone!).
Step 2: Pack the Non Essentials
Go through each room and pack up things you won't be using in the next two to four weeks. Kitchen serving items you haven't used since 1927, that crock pot you made stew in back when you were first married...
My plan is to be done with the dumping of junk by this weekend and after my son's birthday party on the 14th, we will begin packing.
Step 3: Living out of boxes
This is the time in which you have packed all you dare and have on several occasions found yourself reopening sealed boxes looking for something you haven't used in 12 years because you have wished you had it available about six times this week!
Step 4: Moving Week
This is the time to make arrangements to disconnect things like electricity and gas and forward your mail. Clear communication is essential in this stage or you will have your lights go out three days before you move and still be paying for the gas the new owners use six months after you move!
*Important Safety Tip: Have the person(s) you speak with read back to you what they wrote. Then, when your lights go out three days before you move and are still paying for the gas the new owners use six months after you move, you can honestly say you gave it your best shot!
Step 5: Moving Out Day
This stage is utter chaos when you hire people you don't know because your friends and family were available to help you move every weekend but this one. Make sure you clearly mark each box so you know what's inside because strangers have no idea what goes where. Make it clear to your helpers what is garbage and what is to be packed up last minute or you will end up with a garage full of trash and leave the box of birth certificates in the trash bin cuz the box looked weathered to Elmo!
Step 6: Moving In Day
This day is when you will feel like you want to sleep for 12 hours but you have only 6 1/2 hours before you have to get the UHaul back. The best strategy is to get the stuff off the truck as fast as you can and worry about unpacking, if you can move at all, after that. This is where your handwriting comes into play. If you have not clearly marked your boxes you will wind up with the big heavy box of old 78's in the middle of the kitchen while the pots and pans you need to make dinner in 7 minutes because it's now 9:30pm is in the back of the garage behind the flea infested couch you had told them to leave for the garbage.
Step 7: Vow Never to Move Again in LIFE!
Self explanatory...
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JoJo Tabares holds a degree in Speech Communication, but it is her humorous approach to communication skills which has made her a highly sought-after Christian speaker and writer. Her articles appear in homeschool publications, such as Homeschool Enrichment Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, which also endorses her Say What You Mean curricula. You can also find JoJo on web sites such as Crosswalk.com and Dr.Laura.com. For more information on communication FUNdamentals and Christian-based communication skills for the whole family, please visit http://www.ArtofEloquence.com
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From JoJo's Purple Crayon...
Where's FIMM? Did you find himm this week?
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Posted by
Suzanne 
Jun. 13, 2008 - Untitled Comment