a photo tour

Here's a photo tour of my current apartment:

You walk into my living room.  Ahead is the sitting area, to the right is the bookcase, "TV" computer, and the kitchen.  To the left is the hallway.





If you go left down my hallway, you will pass by the Master Bedroom (I have one of those now), and the Office en route to the bathroom.





 

It's a nice place.  Bigger than what I've had, but I think it fits everything I own just right.  And I think I've found a way to get away with not having to buy a second dresser.  I'll need to get a second opinion when my second opinion comes up next, but it's a good start.

I've put up 15 pictures so far and my "Meeting Hat."  I'm also finding out where the studs and concrete are.  It's fun times all around.

torontonia: unpacking

I used to live in a 400 square foot one room plus bathroom apartment.  It was small.  I could see my stove from my bed.  I had a slight fear that if I was unable to see my stove from my bed at wherever I ended up, I may have a panic attack and go screaming into the sunset.  This has not happened.  Yet.

But what has happened in the past few days has been a process of unpacking my life from the 400 square foot apartment and trying to find a new space for it in the much larger space I find myself in now.  I don't know exact dimensions, but I would guess it is at least 1.5-2 times larger than what I had.  It has 2 bedrooms (more like 1 and an office), 3 closets, and a nice sized kitchen and living area.

I've already gone out and picked up a larger bookshelf than the puny pathetic thing I carried around for a number of years and after about 2 years my quantity of books had outgrown it.  I have plans to pick up a new dresser when time and money allows.  As I continue to put things just so, I'll contemplate other options for workable storage in my new home.

A few boxes remain to be unpacked, but I realize I don't have to unpack everything.  I actually have space to store things in my new digs.  It's odd.

As mentioned in the episode of Tasty Treats with Tim, I broke my camera.  An attempt to disassemble it has failed miserably as I can't take any more screws out and the lens isn't budging, so I'm calling it quits on this one.  It's had a good life.  I'm most likely getting a smart phone of some sort, so I can take pictures of my new place with that.

But for now, I'm off to sleep in my bed, with a door safely separating me from the chattels of my home.  But don't worry.  If I ever get concerned, I can open the door without having to knock.  It's my home.

torontonia: all moved in

Friday was the big day.  I had originally planned to move on Saturday, but by the time I signed my lease and booked a moving van, it was only available for Friday night.  On Thursday morning around 12:30, I realized I should take Friday off to prepare because it wasn't going to be a pretty move otherwise.  So I took a personal day, packed up the rest of my belongings, took apart some shelves, and then the move happened.

It was a quick, painless move (I think).  8 people helped load up the vehicles on the KW end, and 6 helped unload in Torontonia.  30 minutes to load, 50 minutes to unload, and an hour drive between the two, meaning we started at 6:15 and were done by 9.  It went off better than I could have hoped.  Thanks for the help, and the Twitter trend (#TimsMove #TimsMom #TimsBoob - I have odd friends and family).

I came back to KW on Friday night to sleep in my mostly empty apartment, reminding me of the week I stayed in my last mostly empty apartment.  A quick clean up on Saturday along with a few loads of laundry, load up the car, and back to TO for the night.  It was odd waking up and not being able to see my stove.  I was slightly concerned that it may not be there, but I didn't go to check.  At least not immediately.

I'm back in Kitchener for the day and potentially until tomorrow, but when I go back, I'll be at my new home.  The journey to this point has been an adventure, full of high points and low points, but again I quote Up: "Adventure is Out There!"

But for now, the reason all of you continue to read this blog:  Tim's Moving Tips:  Helpful hints to make your move all the easier

1.  Live in less than 400 square feet.  It means you have to keep to a limited amount of stuff.
2.  Never get married or have kids.  It means you only have to lug around your stuff when moving and not the accumulated junk of 2+ people
3.  If any furniture can be disassembled, do it (and before the van/truck arrives).  Smaller pieces are easier to fit in the moving van.
4.  Seperate the room into large furniture and boxes.  The furniture can go in the truck first and then the boxes can be used to fill the holes
5.  Carts and dollies are your friend when moving boxes and such.  You can lift more with a dolly and fit more on a cart than you ever could with your arms and back.  Dollies are good for totes and such that you can stack.
6.  The more the merrier.  My last move, my friend and I were moving out of an apartment and going to two separate places.  Somehow, it ended up being a total of 4 people helping load the truck, and then one left so it was 3 to unload.  The more people you have, the more breathing room it gives people so they don't get burnt out on the first room.
7.  Label all boxes with content and room.  It'll help at the other end.  You may still have to dig through 5 boxes before finding your ladle, but at least it should be in the Kitchen.
8.  If you don't have time or energy to follow these tips, it's understandable.  Moving is stressful and preparation time is sometimes little to nil.  Keep your movers happy and things should go fine.

Disclaimer:  I am not the definitive source for moving expertise.  Everyone is different and every move is different.