Home Moving and Storage

One of the major things we had to deal with when deciding to take a trip around the world for four months is what to do with all of our stuff.  We have an apartment, but we didn’t really want to stay here any longer than we had to.  The apartment is fine, but we aren’t thrilled with our neighborhood (the street is quite loud and can be like a nightly party during the summer).  So, we decided that taking a trip around the world would also be the perfect timing  for us to quit our jobs and move to a new city.  After lots of research and visits to cities, we decided to move to Louisville, KY.  The reasons are numerous and we are very happy with our decision, but we’ll save telling you about all that for later.  So, once we figured out where we would be going once we got back from our trip, we had to decide what to do with all of our stuff while we were gone.

Sure, my parents have a basement, but I’m certainly not going to burden them with all of our stuff.  That’s just not cool.  So, we had two clear choices:  One—rent a moving truck, load it up, drive to Louisville, unload our stuff into a storage unit and let it hang out there until we get back.  Then, once we found a place in Louisville, we’d unload the storage unit, pack up a new truck, and move into our new home.  Yikes—that sounds like a lot of work.  The other option:  PODS—Portable On Demand Storage (www.pods.com).  For this option, a PODS unit is dropped off at our apartment and we load our stuff into it.  Then, the PODS people drive it to Louisville and store it until we call and request them to deliver it to our new home.  Then, we unload the PODS and they come take it away.  In case it isn’t obvious, this is the option we chose.  Sure, PODS may be a bit more costly, but ultimately we thought loading and unloading just one time was much more convenient and well worth the price difference.  Also, this will save us the hassle of driving a moving van from New York City to Louisville.

Now, less than two weeks away from moving, we are in the throes of packing up our apartment, boxing everything we own, taking apart Ikea shelving and figuring out what to keep and what to pitch.  This process is always humbling and makes you realize all the stuff you have that you don’t really need.  Phil says he’s never buying anything again!  Famous last words.

One of my biggest concerns now is making it all fit.  The PODS is 16′ x 9′ x’9′, or something like that, and a lot of our furniture can be easily disassembled.  Still, I’ll have to use my skills as a Tetris Master to pack it nicely so it is safe and snug until we have it delivered to us in December.  Exacerbating the concern of making it fit is the fact that living in NYC is a distinct disadvantage when it comes to working with PODS.  Normally, they would drop the PODS off and you would pack it at your leisure.  However, since we don’t have a driveway and it has to be parked in the street, we only have a 4 hour window to pack it (plus we have to pay extra so the driver stays with it—blegh).  Four hours is a fine amount of time if you have lots of help—we are packing it up on a Tuesday morning starting at 8:00 AM, however, and help may be limited.  It will get done, but it could be a very hectic morning.  To top it all off, that day will also be our one year wedding anniversary.  What a way to celebrate!

So, for now I’m thinking about what should go in first and imagining how it will all be organized and fit beautifully.  We’ll make sure to take some pictures when it is here and let you know how it goes.  I just can’t wait until it is done—moving sucks!  We are experts by now—after all, we’ve moved 4 times in 6 years.  We must be gluttons for punishment.

-Brooke