T-Minus 410 days: Practice Move

Today we did a practice move. My mother has been participating in an antique co-op for thirteen years. Due to COVID-19, she has decided not to return when they re-open. She needed everything wrapped and boxed, and all the furniture moved out.

Her area within the co-op wasn't very large, perhaps the size of a very small bedroom. Even though it was small, it was a lot of work. Four people wrapped everything and boxed it.  I carried the boxes to the cars. Some of the boxes weren't very heavy but some, such as boxes filled with books, were a back breaker. Luckily, I didn't have to go up or down any stairs. It was probably 100 feet from her booth to the cars. The entire process took several hours, maybe three hours all together.

I was continually walking between the cars and the booth. By the time I returned the next box was ready to be carried out. I filled a minivan and a car. I was careful on how I packed the vehicles in attempt to use every available inch of space. When the boxes were done, we carried out the furniture and filled a pickup truck.

It felt great to sit in the car for the drive home after all that walking and lifting. Hydrating with a ton of water helped a lot too. Once we were home, myself and another unloaded unloaded everything into my garage.

When finally done, I was exhausted. I discovered that I am not physically prepared to move an entire house to another state. When I imagine days and days of packing and loading all day, not just for several hours, I can understand why people hire movers to do this work! But I have two adult sons and a family - I have to believe we can do this ourselves and save the money. One thing is for certain.... we all need to get in better shape if we are going to be successful.