Moving 101

Bryan and I should teach a class on moving…in 10 easy steps.  We knocked it out of the park this Sunday.  I’m still shocked at how quickly we moved with just the two of us, no friends to help (too busy) required, and having to move out of two different places.  Let’s take a look at the replay:

Step #1:  Walk through with the landlord at our new house!

We started an hour later than we had planned.  I had actually forgot that we told our new landlord that we would meet him at the house at 9am to hand over the keys and do a walk through.  Just a minor detail.  So when I got his text at 9:40 asking where we were we booked it over there and called the Uhaul place to say we were picking up the truck at 11am instead of 10am.  The walk through went great and as I told Bryan as we were leaving the house, “It’s a great feeling when you haven’t seen your new place in a while but that it looks even better than you remembered it!”.

Step #2:  Pick up the Uhaul.

We ordered the 17′ van and a utility dolly and after about 15 minutes in the store we were set and on our way to go move our stuff, Bryan at the wheel and me just along for the ride.  At this point in the day we had a nice cool breeze coming off the Sound that actually made it quite pleasant.

Step #3:  Load up at the Lee house.

I had asked my old landlord to unlock the basement so that I could collect all of my things.  I gave him plenty of notice and told him we would have the Uhaul in his driveway.  The door was unlocked and we started loading up my things.  It took us exactly one hour of constant moving to load up my entire belongings.  We got to the last item, the patio table and chairs set, only to realize that my landlord had decided to sell it.  Um…okay, so that was a bit of a hiccup and more on that issue later.

Step #4:  Unpack my things at the new house.

After a 15 minute drive we arrived back at our new house and I helped Bryan back the Uhaul into OUR driveway.  We were in partial shade and I turned on my portable speakers to have some tunes while we worked.  We made great time again, unloading everything into the downstairs/garage in another hour.  At this point it was 1:50pm and the Blue Angels were flying overhead.  This was great until I was waiting for Bryan to open doors or help me lift things when one would go by overhead and he would race out to the street to get a better look at them, leaving me hanging out to dry.  It at least made his day.

Step #5:  Refuel.

As the Blue Angels were still going by we went directly back to Bryan’s house, climbed up on his roof and had lunch and watched the end of the show.  At one point they flew right overhead.

Step #6:  Pack up Bryan’s things at the Eastlake house.

At some point in our relaxing lunch Bryan decided we needed to go into overdrive because it was nearing 3pm and we were to get out new mattress delivered between 3-5pm and needed to be at the house.  Oh boy.  I should also say that at Bryan’s house we were in full sun and in the full heat of the day, at a balmy 87 degrees.  So we somehow got his entire house (meaning anything large) into the truck in about 30 minutes.  This was his rower and weight bench, coffee table, entertainment center, two end tables, bed and mattress, footlocker, another mini table, a garbage bag of clothes, a garbage bag of shoes, his TV boxed, a box of other electronics, the smoker, several boxes of books and a bookcase that was the heaviest item yet.  30 MINUTES!

Step #7:  Unload at the new house.

So we made it back to the new house at 3:30 pm and again backed up into the driveway and proceeded to unpack.  We had everything out of the Uhaul in 30 minutes and as Bryan was getting the last item out of the truck the mattress delivery showed up.  I quickly put together Bryan’s cheap metal frame upstairs and the two friendly deliverers unwrapped the new mattress and box frame in our room and took Bryan’s old mattress and box spring with them.  Voila!

Step #8:  Return the Uhaul.

Being that the Uhaul center closes at 5:30 and it was now 4:45 we thought we better not dilly dally and return the truck.  We filled er’ up with gas, bought Powerades, and returned the Uhaul with an easy return process.  In the end, including gas, insurance, and the dolly it cost us just over $100 to move…saving us at least $300 if we had got a moving service to help us.  And we also got a killer workout.

Step #9:  Relax.

We headed back to Eastlake just for a bit to sit and check emails (we haven’t transferred service to our new house yet).  We then packed up towels and sheets, refrigerator items and pantry items, finished laundry, and cleaned up a bit.  That all filled up the Jeep.  We then needed dinner and we decided to try Barbirusa in Eastlake, a destination we wanted to hit before leaving Eastlake.  We had a fantastic dinner!  We went to their fancier sister restaurant for Bryan’s birthday but this was even better, and less expensive.  I got their burger and Bryan selected the chicken and waffle.  My burger was probably the best burger I have had in Seattle, and maybe ever.  They used Painted Hills beef and then do simply caramelized onions, a salsa verde, and a roasted eggplant aioli on a fresh baked soft ciabatta style roll.  Holy cow!  To top it off the burger comes with fried potatoes that were pillows of heaven served with a garlic aioli.  Bryan’s fried chicken and waffles were amazing too and served with a killer gravy.  I don’t get the meal but Bryan digs it and he claims the fried chicken was the second best he has had in Seattle.

Step #10:  Make the new house liveable.

Once back in our new house I could not even find a path to walk through the downstairs.  That would not do, so we proceeded to continue working and unpack and situate a bit.  Bryan got busy with the TV (of course).  I unloaded the cooler, made the couches (as those pillows were taking up the most floor space), brought up my clothes and shoes, and made the bed and unpacked our toiletries.  By the time I came back downstairs Bryan had the living room laid out perfectly!  We raised the TV above the fireplace and it was the perfect size.  He had the couches, a chair, the entertainment unit, and the bookcase exaclty where I would want them.  We showered, made bowls of ice cream and watched local TV in our pjs in our new living room.  And the new bed topped the night off.

I should note that we are not at all unpacked.  It took me 30 minutes this morning to find an outfit to wear.  I’m planning on unpacking the kitchen stuff tonight and a lot more of our personal things.  Bryan is going to visit the Eastlake house on his way home to pack up some more things.  We still have my grill at his house, a lot of the mountaineering stuff, and a lot more clothes.  Most of the rest are moved.  We need to hook up our internet.  I want to paint some of Bryan’s furniture and already have ideas on a few other items I want to get for the house.  And we are both screaming sore.  But it already has that “home” feeling that we both wanted so badly.  And this morning Bryan dropped me off nearer to work and I had a very nice walk in.

So far so amazing!

Chelsea