September 21, 2006 Issue

Any way you look at it, moving is a hassle. As a veteran of many moves, I have the science of preparation down to a blueprint. First I pack up the books, going through them for the umpteenth time and deciding which I can donate to the library and which ones are must keeps. There was a time in my life when all my books were must keeps, but that was hundreds of books and 20 years ago. Boxes of books are heavy and these days only the most precious make the cut.

Right now I sit surrounded by boxes and I’m not even moving for several more weeks. Packing up those kitchen items I rarely use will be next. I am armed with terrific packing boxes I purchased and I hope to be able to save them this time. Not only to save the planet, but because good packing and moving boxes are not inexpensive to purchase and they can’t be recycled around here either, which is mystifying.

Clothing can now be moved in these wonderful wardrobe boxes where you simply transfer your clothes from hangers in the closet to the box and reverse the process on the other end. This is much simpler than having to try to cart them in the car on hangers. Again, clothes are heavy and even though I always hire professionals to do the actual moving, the moved items will often have to be moved again once inside the new dwelling.

I almost long for the days when I could move everything I owned in my car, but then those were the days before I had a washer and dryer. I most certainly don’t long for a return to the coin laundry, so I guess I’m a grownup.

In more than 50 years of living, things are acquired and moving affords one the opportunity to look at each item they own and decide whether to keep it. I’ve been brutal this round. Photo albums containing photos of folks I used to know and my high school yearbooks are now in a landfill somewhere. Many of my kitchen items will go to Goodwill, along with clothes I discovered in the back of the closet that have gone unworn for some time.

Finding a place in this market may prove to be my biggest challenge. That’s right, I’m packing with no place to go as I write this. The inflated appraisals and soaring insurance costs have made affordable rentals something of an oxymoron. The one bright spot on the horizon is the flat real estate market making more places available, but the owners of these properties still pretend their properties are worth the appraisals, putting the would-be renter into a Catch-22 position. Still, I have hope the right property will surface, as has always been the case in the past.

Having a dog means not being able to even consider many properties, but I maintain a good dog is far less trouble than most children. People don’t think twice about renting to people with kids, who may or may not be house broken, but look askance at an animal.

My dog is a good house citizen, much preferring to pee outside than in the living room. Any destructive tendencies she had as a youngster were geared to my belongings: shoes, wallets, address books, basically anything made of leather. Scolding and swatting with a newspaper didn’t work, but going ballistic and screaming at the top of my lungs, while flailing at her with a rolled-up newspaper did. Clearly, I hurt her feelings, but somehow the message got through. These days my belongings are quite safe anywhere I leave them. Snazzy still likes to pick up a shoe and move it to another room from time to time, but the shoe remains unmolested.

So wish me well in my quest to find a new home. If any reader should happen to have a property that is all on one level, has a washer-dryer connection, allows pets, and does not rent for a king’s ransom, get in touch.

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