8.21.2008

This Side Up

Our household effects were delivered today. All 162 boxes, totaling over 3.5 tons, took up a 40 foot container, 7 crates, 4 trucks and a small army of Indian laborers three hours to unload in our house. As this is our 4th move in 8 years, you would think we'd be used to this chaos. Frankly, it never gets easier. In fact, the more time you spend overseas, the more crap (aka household effects) you acquire.

While Matt was busy with the movers, I was on a mission to custom design a new sectional couch, that would fit into a small nook in our living room. The store is ordering the fabric tomorrow morning, and if all the stars are aligned, we should receive it late Saturday afternoon. Matt says he'll believe it when he sees it.

I returned home only to find that our house was besieged with boxes. Boxes were in every single room, piled chest high. It took us over an hour to find the sheets to put on the girls beds, and after 3 hours, we still haven't found their pillows. This is due in most part by the packers creative labeling. Who would have thought that the Hebrew word for towels and pillows was "rocking chair"?

Our priority tonight was to set up our bed. Our little 50 square foot slice of heaven! We finally stumbled upon a set of flannel sheets to put on the bed, though they may be a tad warm for India.

The movers are returning tomorrow to help unpack and remove the boxes and packing material. Hopefully by the end of the weekend we'll have some semblance of normalcy. With a bit of luck, we may have even managed to locate the girls pillows.


The 1st Truck .... Boxes in the Kitchen

29 comments:

Kat said...

Four moves in 8 years. Wow. You are a stronger woman than I, that's for sure! And here I am stressing over the possibility that we might have to move sometimes soon. HA!

Mom24 said...

I've thought about you all day today. At least you can see a light at the end of the tunnel. I hope you find the girls' pillows soon. I can't wait to see pictures of the new sectional. I hope things go smoothly for you.

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

Oh, no! Mislabeled boxes!! We moved into our house about a year ago. And I swear I never want to move again. And I still have boxes that have not been unpacked. Do we really need to keep those? Somehow I managed to marry myself a pack rat :-)

Laural Out Loud said...

Even though your in the midst of chaos, you must be so happy to have all of your things with you again!

Good luck with your unpacking!

Unknown said...

Yay--you got your stuff! Let the chaos commence! It's a good thing you have help with the unpacking b/c I don't know about you, but left to my own devices, when we move we usually have a few boxes kicking around lonf after they should be!
~Christy

Suzanne said...

I can't even imagine this. We've only moved once in the last 14 years and that was too much!!! Good luck in the unpacking.

- Suzanne, the Farmer's Wife

Donna said...

In the last ten years, we've moved six times, I think. Or seven. And that's if you don't count the temporary moves where you spend a few months in a hotel room. Every time that truck rolls up with the big wooden crates filled with boxes, I'm tempted to pick a few boxes at random and just toss 'em. Of course, the one time we did toss a bunch of boxes (long story), it turned out to be a very expensive disaster.
Have fun unpacking...

Kelly said...

The most amazing thing in this post is that you are planning to have most of it put away by the end of the weekend...You Rock!!
Enjoy sleeping on your bed again!!!

Unknown said...

Jill, I get to leave India today (for good) so hopefully there will be less cynicism in my near future.

When I read your post, the first thing I thought was, did Jill pay for the sofa in advance or upon delivery?

I'm glad you got your delivery and now you can really settle in. Take care, Danie x

Robin said...

Congratulations on finally getting all your stuff! I'm sure that will help make everything seem a lot more familiar and homey.

And, as your token Hebrew-speaking reader, I can definitely vouch for the fact that the Hebrew word for towels and sheets is in fact nothing at all like the word for rocking chair LOL.

Simple Answer said...

I hope you had the most wonderful nights sleep in your own bed! You've been wandering for so long, I bet it feels delicious!

Tenakim said...

I hope you got your bed set up and a good night's sleep- those boxes are overwhelming!

Tena said...

wow, you want to get all that unpacked by the end of the weekend! I would be surprised if I got it all unpacked by the time we moved again! Best of luck finding those pillows, maybe look in the bathroom box??? HA!
Good luck with the unpacking

trash said...

Even in flanneltte sheets in Monsoon season - nothing beats sleeping in your own bed!

Kash said...

Wow, I cannot believe you have to go through that every 2 years or so. I hope you have helpers unpacking. Just think of how wonderful it is going to be once everything is unpacked and you can sigh...home. Good luck this weekend!

Unknown said...

Hi fellow SITSta - oh boy this takes me back to when my 20+ crates arrived here nearly 3 yrs ago from England. It was like Xmas after 2 months but also stressful!

I wish you good luck

Heidi said...

I feel your pain! That looks like a ton of work. We have moved 5 times in 8 years and you are soo right, it doesn't get easier.

Unknown said...

I cannot believe that you have sooo much stuff! Is there anyway to par down a little for the next move?

Vicki said...

Whew! I hope your movers and unpackers are nicer than the ones I've had to deal with. With this last move they just slashed the boxes and dumped everything in the middle of the room. I cried a lot.

I can't wait to have some time to read through your blog. I think 'm going to enjoy your adventures. We love moving around, even with the stresses, because it's all what you make of it.

Glass Family said...

Wow! Good luck getting moved in. We're a military family so we can definately empathize with the moving boxes/mislabeled packages/broken items/etc. Hopefully you can get a semblance of normalcy soon.

Rhea said...

That's a lot of moving and a lot of boxes. I can't even imagine, but you're so right, if you can get the bed unpacked first, that makes all the difference!!

Jen said...

Yeah I am so glad for you that you finally got your stuff. Now did you get your clothes.

Unknown said...

Happy unpacking! It took me over a week to find the silverware last time we moved. I hope you find your things so you can get a good nights rest... so you can continue unpacking :)

mary s. said...

Yay! So glad all your stuff is there. (Especially your bed!) All that unpacking is going to be just like Christmas morning. :)

EmBee said...

Okay, I'm confused... Because I'm just that voyeuristic (I just love to look at the decor in homes and was especially interested how a kitchen in India might differ from a kitchen in the U.S.) I blew up the pic of the boxes in the kitchen and noticed that the large island blocks the cabinet door next to the white box in the corner. What is that white box and just how do you access the cabinet next to it?

Other than that, it looks very similar to our kitchen when we moved in to our house 5 yrs. ago... I was frantic trying to locate the dog leash because the poor thing really NEEDED to go out.

Happy Un-packing!
:-)

anymommy said...

Hooray! And yuck, unpacking. But, it will be fun to have all of your things back, I'd guess. I remember this chaos - my dad was military and we moved every two years my whole childhood.

Mrs4444 said...

Wow! Looks like you'll be busy for a while... Any luggage in there? Where do you shop for the stuff you're missing from that lost luggage?

Claremont First Ward said...

Good luck unpacking. Look at all those perfectly uniform boxes.....brings new meaning to the term "moving".! :)

Michelle said...

Packers use "creative labeling" even when it's English! I've heard some stories about what boxes were labeled and what was actually in them! Hope everything arrived safely!

Blog Designed by: NW Designs