Lessons in Moving, Pet Stains, Storage Hacks and More

Moving is a b&#^! 

The recent move from a third floor apartment to another third floor place is not recommended, but I thought I’d share some lessons learned, ideas for thought and hacks. 

A couple of great hacks and tips I learned from watching, “The Home Edit” are to use clear storage containers and labels. 

There is nothing worse than grabbing a box or basket off a high shelf because you forgot what was in it to be disappointed because it isn’t what you were looking for and especially so for us vertially challenged people. 

I found bins, under bed storage, hangers, shoe racks and more to make the most of my space and to be blissfully more organized. O.k. blissfully is an exaggeration, but at least I won’t be throwing shoes out of my closet, cursing while looking for that one pair.

Speaking of shoes, I own more than 50 pairs and if you include my boots and tennis shoes, it might me closer to 100. I am a style blogger, so hey, that’s my excuse. 

Storage is always a problem, but I found this 36 pair, over the door shoe rack that takes advantage of that behind the door space.

Moving into a new space offers new challenges. It’s a process to unpack and make decisions about where to put everything.  Do the pots fit in the new cabinets? Where should the artwork be hung? Where should the coffee pot be positioned? Why dear God do I have so many coffee cups?

There should be a medical condition diagnosed caused by exhaustion from moving. Maybe It’s movastion or exhausmova. All I know is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro seems easier in retrospect.

Living in Texas, there isn’t a huge need for heavy, bulky sweaters, but on those rare occasions or when traveling back home to northern latitudes, having a snuggly sweater and being warm is a real comfort.

I’ve learned to utilize the space under my bed for those not often used items. These underwear storage solutions were my choices.  I like the fact that they are soft and so can accommodate some squishing, but also have windows so I can see what’s inside without unzipping the entire bag.

I purchased both the large long bag (two pack) and square sized (three pack). In addition to the windows they come with handles that make it convenient when pulling out from under furniture or from shelves. 

Have you ever pulled out your favorite sweater only to discover moth holes? Most of us don’t own cedar chests or have cedar lined closets, but a nifty little trick is to use cedar blocks. I simply put a couple between the layers of sweaters.

If you are old enough, you remember the stinky smell of moth balls. That smell is not pleasant and nearly impossible to get out of clothing and who wants to walk around smelling like a moth ball no matter how cute the sweater?

My hack is cedar blocks.  They are inexpensive and will save your precious wool, cashmere and angora sweaters from those pesky little, hole making critters.

Most closets have vertical space that can be put to better use. I found these space saving hangers allow you to hang multiple items. These velvet hangers work best with the space savers plus velvet means no slipping and the heads swivel. At 50 in a pack, they are the best price I’ve seen any place.

Joanna and Cleo (The Home Edit Show) swear by clear storage solutions and I’m a fan. I found these dividers which work well for wood shelving. I also used clear storage boxes for organizing my make-up drawers, medicines and other beauty supplies.

Part of the pain of moving was cleaning out the old space. It took several weeks, a butt load of paper towels and cleaning products and professional carpet cleaners all to the detriment of my manicure. Another hack shared by my carpet cleaning guy, Sal, was to use Nature’s Miracle to remove pet urine stains. Did I mention that I have a Yorkie puppy and potty training has been slow?

Moving is Hard!

Allowing time and space to breathe, rest and refuel are neccesary. Because sometimes, life is hard. Extending grace to others is much easier than accepting grace for ourselves.

I’ve been doing loads of self-talk about acceptance, grace and forgiveness. Along the way, I’ve discovered my new favorite author, Glennon Doyle.

Holy, deep dive into all the messiness and beauty of what makes us human.

Untamed is a memoir and examines everything from motherhood, relationships, infidelity, racism, faith, acceptance and love.

So many parts of the book, I reread and then read again out loud.

This book moved me. This book made me think differently, challenged my beliefs and truths.

I’m in love….

With the author’s words

With the book and its lessons

With the human who can write soul wrenching realness and vulnerability. 

I seriously want to buy every friend, person in pain, mother, friend, child, Christian, human on Earth this book, it’s that good. 

In fact, you are probably going to get sick of me quoting her. So much goodness, truth and vulnerability.

I’m already finished another of her books,  Love Warrior and started a third.

“If you are uncomfortable — in deep pain, angry, yearning, confused — you don’t have a problem, you have a life. Being human is not hard because you’re doing it wrong, it’s hard because you’re doing it right. You will never change the fact that being human is hard, so you must change your idea that it was ever supposed to be easy.”                                   Glennon Doyle