Help me keep my sanity (advice/rant)

Button5807

My boyfriend and I weren't planning on moving until next year but an opportunity presented itself last week and we couldn't pass it up. So now, we're moving the 1st weekend of October. The furniture is being moved on Oct. 3rd, but we will be in the apartment on the 1st and 2nd painting. So that leaves us with (not counting today) 8 days to completely pack everything up and be ready to get out of there.On top of that we've spent the last 2 years basically living in other peoples houses, so we're in need of a lot of things, mostly in the kitchen. I'm suddenly finding myself dealing with a ton of things that are out of my element, carpeting, renters insurance, paint, appliances, etc. To say that I feel overwhelmed would be the understatement of the century. Too top it off I'm unfortunately the kind of person who is not very pleasant to be around when stressed. Does anyone have any advice on how to not end up killing everyone in sight? Or perhaps a joke or funny story to distract me? lol

jeanacorina

My very first night in my first very own apartment, I tried to make a frozen pizza to thank my brother and his friend for helping me move.I had no plates (we ate on paper towels), only plastic utensils, one pan (big enough to make a can of soup), one large metal spoon, one plastic spatula, a cereal bowl with Tucan Sam on it, and nothing to cut the pizza with (we ended up tearing it with our bare hands).I had a futon in the living room (no bed), a coffee table from Holliday Inn (they were remodeling, so it was trash and my mom took it), and a TV sitting on the coffee table. No cable, and only 1 DVD-- Strong Bad Emails Vol. 1 from homestarrunner.com.We watched the DVD (100 3-minute cartoons), ate torn-apart cheese pizza that tasted like salty cardboard, and I set of the smoke detector while preheating the oven. My brother thought that was HILARIOUS.So........ you'll be fine. I survived this already, and it makes for great stories to tell your future children, and people on the internet.

traciecook

Ok first of all, do you have to paint the apartment? And does it have to be done before you move in?Renters insurance is really easy. Just call your car insurance person and tell them you need to add on a policy. You will have to answer some questions on the amount of coverage, but unless you have really pricy items, you should be able to stick to the normal renters coverage. This should cost $15 - $30/ month (in my area - Midwest).What needs to be done to the carpet? If it is in decent shape you should be able to hire someone to clean it or just rent a rug doctor thing.For appliances (I'm assuming smaller items) you should check out garage sales or goodwill. Hope this helps! GL with the move.

notquiteblushing

Smoking?  No just kidding, sort of. Just think of how great it will be to have your own place.  Moving sucks no matter if it's done in one day or spread over several weeks (I have done both in the past year and a half). And anytime you get overwhelmed, allow yourself to take a little break and go for a walk.  And bonus, exercise is good. As for distraction.  Did you watch House last night?

jeanacorina

PS-- I watched the HELL outta that DVD until I finally broke down and bought Stargate SG-1 season 2 (they didn't have season 1) a month later. I now own all 10 seasons of Stargate SG-1 (FI bought me season 1 for my birthday a few years later..... he's very thoughtful).

Button5807

LOOONG BULK REPLY lolJeana - thank you so much for that story, not only was it amusing it put a lot of things into perspective. For some reason I think martha stewart invaded my brain and I was under the impression the place need to be perfect when we moved in. I'm usually more rational than that...NQB - I've been saying I was going to quit smoking for a few weeks, that was my mantra, "as soon as this pack is done, I'll quit" it has since changed to "once this move is over with" I won't even pretend to be interested in quitting right now.I didn't watch house last night, I used to be obsessed with that show and I'm not sure what happend I just stopped watching, I have two season on DVD still in the wrapper, I'd love to get back into it but Monday nights are crazy for watching TV in our house I'm not sure House would fit. Tracie- We do have to paint it but we decided to only do three room before we move in, the rooms with the biggest pieces of furniture which also happen to be the ones we'll use the most so we don't have to deal with the hassel of living there and painting them. We're saving the kitchen, bathrooms and hallways for after we're settled in.As far as insurance goes the car insurance that I pay for is actually on my mothers policy and will be until I get a new car, BF is also in the same boat. So we can't really go to our insurance companys since you're supposed to be living where the car insurance comes from and we most certainly are not. So I guess we're just going to need to find someone else to cover us.There is no carpeting in the house and it's older so we've decided to put down large area rugs. The hassle there is that we dont want the rugs down when we're painting incase someone spills but they have to be down before the furniture comes in. The plan now is to pick the rugs out sometime next week and then thursday morning go pick them up and just leave them in the kitchen then start painting the place. We need as much time possible to paint on Thursday and Friday so most of the rug stuff needs to get figured out before then.As far as appliances (yes small) go it's mostly just figuring out what we need along with other kitchen type things we know we're forgetting about.

hisgoldeneyes

Button:  I totally understand how you feel in regards to feeling like you have nothing and suddenly need to come up with everything.  I totally felt like that at first.  We've been living in our own apartment for a little over a year now and we're still buying essentials.  My advise is wait until you start packing up stuff and putting it away.  To me that was helpful because I got to see all the stuff I didn't have, stuff that I needed to get new because it was old, and stuff I needed to organize all my crap.  You don't need to get it all at once.  Just get it little by little.  Walmart has really cheap bulk sets of kitchen utensils for cooking, cheap glasses and a cheap set of plates.  All cheapy cheapy but will get the job done for now.  I also just saw a box set of toaster, coffee maker, and iron for under 20.  So just relax and it will all get sorted out!BTW Congrats on your new place!!

Button5807

HGE- Thanks so much! You're right, it probably is smarter to wait to see what holes need to be filled in after everything is unpacked. I think I just completely fried all of my circuits when I realized that I had just over a week until this was actually happening.

notquiteblushing

I never really watched House but I watched the premiere last night and now I'm into it and can see myself watching this season despite all the other Monday night offerings. As for smoking....I quit last May then gained a bunch of weight and now I smoke again but a lot less than before.  It's totally gross and I hate it now but I'm on a good workout program so I'll be nipping it in the bud soon (again) too.

karenttrouble

Take your time!  None of those things have to be done right away. 

ericswifey

warning: longsmoking?!... well I will stay off my soap box for now...moving. yuck! I hate moving. I have moved three times in as many years (fortunately two moves were just down the block and all were move-in-ready homes).But, it feels so good to go through all my junk and know that only stuff I need and/or want is getting into my new house.funny story time: It was my first night in my new apartment as a college freshman. The owners of the place had some sort of odd fear that the place would be broken into and had installed a brinks alarm system. (aside: that fear is totally founded in this area, but no break-ins yet *knock on wood). I had tolerated the long 5 and a half hour drive following my grandparents through the "back roads" from their home to my new college town. (the drive takes 4 hours normally). My new roommate met my grandparents and I at the apartment to give me the keys and a paper listing important numbers and info like the code to the alarm and the secret word to tell the security guys if they call. Then my grandparents headed on their way back home.I unpacked my belongings, somewhat. My roommate went on her way for a company training session out of town and I settled down in the LR and stared at the wall (no TV). I was tired, and it was pretty late at this point. Then, I realized I was hungry and decided to cook dinner.This is where it gets exciting.I opened a box of some sort of noodle type rice-a-roni thing and got to work. Then I realized you need milk to finish the recipe. shoot. I didn't have milk. Being new to town and not knowing where any of the local stores were located, I decided I would drive to the gas station to buy a small container of milk until I could do some proper grocery shopping the next day.Well, earlier that day after everyone had left me all by myself in this brand new town in this brand new house, I worked myself all up into a frenzy and... set. the. alarm. I grew up in a town of population 5,000 give or take. We didn't have brinks. So... I opened the door. And, the alarm sounded. I punched in the code I was given. It kept sounding. I punched in the code, again. Nada. I tried this about three more times before I decided to go get the paper my roomate had given me earlier. Right about that time, my 90 seconds expired. The ALARM sounded. For those who don't know, home alarm systems first beep for about 90 seconds while you supposedly shut the door, kick off your shoes, and head over to turn it off. Then, they freakin' WAIL. I am talking about the loudest sound I have ever heard.Meanwhile, Brinks calls my land line. I answer, obviously in distress and give them the password. I then tell the kind gentleman that the code I was given is not working and I need for them to tell me the master code or do an override from the station, or something, because it is freaking loud and I'm freaking hungry and I can't leave the stupid house!Then the dude argued with me for another 15 minutes because I was a new renter and he didn't have me on file as a resident of the house so he wasn't going to give me the code to shut the stupid thing off. HELLOOOO this thing is freaking loud! Well, finally he put me on hold and called my landlords to sort everything out. Turns out, the code was written down by a dyslexic who had switched the two middle numbers. grr.It was traumatic. :(so... sending good vibes that nothing like this happens to you, button. Hopefully I didn't stress you out more.

my2geldings

Try to sit down and make a list. Make the most important things in their own section so it gives you a chance to mark things off and see things moving forward. Congrats on the new place by the way! Think of how exciting it's going to be to be moving earlier!

jeanacorina

Button-- glad to be of assistance. I still don't have a microwave, BTW. Four years later. Doing just fine. :)Word of advice-- anything you DO need, buy it cheap. I assume that you're probably gonna get married sometime, since you're around these parts. :)The last thing you want to do is spend a boatload on appliances and fancy vegetable choppers and serving forks and then you are getting married and looking at a registry like "WTF? I just bought everything!"The Dollar Store has things you never dreamed they'd have. Shop there first. I promise, the spatula won't melt unless you leave it in a hot pan and walk away. DO NOT LEAVE DOLLAR STORE UTENSILS IN A HOT PAN AND WALK AWAY!But, that's another story....

KD+BC

Ok, here's my advice for you. Keep reminding yourself that your first place will not be as nice as your parents'. It will not look like it came from a magazine and that is OK!!! I had this weird idea that my apartment had to be super nice and that I had to have every appliance and gadget imaginable (I think especially because it was going to be the first time my bf and I would be living together). I called my cousin in a panic the night before we moved in and she was the one who told me to stop trying to be perfect and just get what was necessary. Over the past year and a half we have bought much more but never more than we could afford. Also, remember to breath. It will all happen.Oh, and renters insurance is super easy. Call up an company or agency and they can probably do it over the phone.Good luck!

Button5807

Jeana sometimes I wish I could shrink you down and carry you around on my shoulder all day.

viola5618

gL with the move, it's never fun. This last move DH was in cali for som mil. training leaving me n iowa to more myself. his mom came down from mich. to help me move. it was crazy. 3 yrs ago when i moved to texas i moved with what i could fit into my car and had people lined up from craigslist to buy a bed from so i didn't have to sleep on the floor. you should try craigs list or garage sales to find the things you need. make a list of what you need. pack an over night bag like you're going on a trip so you don't have to unpack to sleep there the first day.  don't forget to breath!! it'll all be over soon enough.ps the first episode of House was odd, not typical for house, he was committed anr trying to jump ship the whole time. if you want to watch it go to fox.com/house and they have the full episode on there

oceana919

Best advice I can give you is to go through what you each have and make two lists - essential things you need right now, and items you'd like to have, but don't absolutely need at the moment. Hang on to that "wishlist" - you can knock an item off here and there, or use it as a basis for your wedding registry when you reach that point.Things you definitely want to make sure you have:- Basic kitchen tools (can opener, 2-3 spatulas, fruit/veggie peeler, strainer, measuring cups and spoons, salt and pepper shakers)- Place settings for 4-8, depending on how much company you have on a regular basis (plate, bowl, fork, knife, spoon, glass)- Basic set of pots and pans- 3-4 sets of bath towels (big towel, face towel, wash cloth)- Shower curtain and liner (liner will save you from having to replace a moldy curtain, even with vinyl curtains!)- An extra set of bedding (will save you on those days you don't have time to do laundry)- Cleaning essentials (vacuum, broom and dustpan, cleaning supplies, rags, paper towels)- Trash can for kitchen and bathroomThere are obviously plenty of other things you'll need or want, but if you've got those basic items, you can build on them pretty easily. I second the not going out and buying a bunch of fancy or special items...my mom is a HomeGoods addict, and she sends me cute entertaining stuff or dishes in the mail all the time (I love throwing dinner parties/entertaining like Martha Stewart loves cupcakes), and that's on top of the pieces I find and pick up here and there. I was cleaning out the cabinets the other day and saw everything that we'd accumulated over the last two years and was, like, "Shite! What the h*ll are we going to put on a wedding registry?" LOL. Well, at least I own apparently every fish-themed piece of dining wear known to man...

jeanacorina

Our friends/neighbors bought us a can opener because I didn't have one and kept borrowing theirs.And--- SEE! I was right about the registry thing! Oceana said it-- wtf will you put on a registry if you already HAVE everything???Of course, you'll probably want a can opener--- but that's where my Dollar Store suggestion comes in. It only has to last you a couple of years AT MOST, right?

oceana919

Lol...we're going to have to come up with something, or all we'll end up with on the list is a carmelizing torch and a hammock.

rickylee244

Oceana - you dont own EVERY fish themed item ... but you will one day ;-) hehe

oceana919

Oh great...lol...well, at least know I know what you & M will be getting us...lolFive spot on my mom bringing at least two new pieces down with her when she comes down to visit in Nov...

oceana919

ps. I'll be busting out all my non-registry pieces for Thanksgiving potluck...lol