Do you have a college kid that needs an apartment but you have no time to pack and set up a new place for them? Today I’m going to talk about 2 different types of moves that were needed for my niece as she moved out of her parent’s home and into a 1-bedroom apt. to achieve her bachelor’s degree and then changed to a studio apartment for graduate school.
I think kids get so excited to get out of our home and move into their own but they have no idea how to make that happen. Setting up a kitchen, bathroom and work space for school was never a top priority to them before and I think they just think they know exactly what to do – Right!!
Most parents are so busy running their own household that they have no time to create a new living space for their college bound children.
When my niece moved out the first time her Father had all new furniture ordered and shipped to the apartment. Her mom bought whatever household items she knew would be needed and left it up to my niece to put everything away. They thought she would love to do this since she wanted her own place and her own way. Of course, what she then discovered was how very difficult it is to know where to put stuff, make it functional and remember where everything is. She also kept every box to everything that was shipped and left them all around the apartment since she really didn’t know what was supposed to be kept or what could be thrown away.
My niece really didn’t want to ask her Mom or Dad for help with organizing her new place since she knew it would be their way and not hers if she asked them. Fortunately she has an Aunt, yes that’s me, who she knew would be the best person to listen to her needs and help her get the apartment set up the way she wanted it and have fun spending time together.
I start out with any client by asking what area bothers them the most so that is the place we start. I also ask if she wanted to be a part of the process, or if she wanted me to just rearrange everything. She wanted to be a part of the process and work together. I then started asking questions before we moved anything out of its spot like how often she uses something – everyday or once a year, to categorize each area of the apt. Drawers especially become catchalls for everything and when they are categorized and have organizers in them items can be found and used very quickly.
The first thing I did was purge all of the garbage as she had boxes from all of the new purchases such as TV, appliances, dishes etc. that did not need to be kept even though this is not her permanent home, no one can keep every box from every purchase. Items that are only used once a year were put back in the box and stored on high shelves. She also kept all of the bags that things came in. I’m so at fault for this as well for I am a ‘bag lady’ thinking we can always use it later. Every house I organize I take one large bag, fill it and then throw the rest out.
She was so surprised to see how quickly her apartment was transformed into a functional and livable space. It took us only 3 hours to have everything in order where she then called it home.
Next her Father wanted to move her into a smaller more sustainable size apartment which was only 2 blocks away from the one she was in but had huge differences in living space. This time they needed help with organizing the packing and unpacking.
The new apartment was not going to have a huge closet for clothes and coats as she had now so I started by categorizing all of her clothes: T-shirts, LS shirts, skirts/dresses, sweaters, warm pjs, jeans, shorts, shoes, boots etc. she then went through all of the piles and purged what was not needed and placed them all in several luggage bags instead of boxes. Very convenient so that clothes did not get mixed up with all other items in this move.
I then categorized all of her school items: papers, printers, computers, books, backpacks, etc. Kitchen items; bathroom items and separated all liquid anything such as laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, and any other items that movers do not move.
I then went through all of her food in the cabinets and refrigerator and purged all expired items then I placed them in bags for her to go through and move herself.
This job took four 5-hour days to complete. Her family and friends were there to help unpack and I helped direct where to place all items in the new studio apartment. She had to purchase new cabinets and containers to store items that needed a new space so I went back one more time to organize those items with her. She was so happy to be in a much smaller place that she now calls home.
So all of the moves I have spoken about this month are all a part of the Downsizing process. Some people take 6 months to a year preparing their home so they can move. Another process is called Rightsizing and I’ll be talking about that next time.
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