Another note about Packing.

(With a capital P.)

Originally we planned to send 3 boxes of 36in of depth; they came in a 3 pack from Office Depot for 12.99. The reason we bought boxes at all was that our previous move required us to ship 2 of our suitcases at an expense of $100.00 (!!!), so to save having to deal with moving our stuff aboard a plane, we bought giant, corporate cardboard contraptions.

In the end, we bought still more boxes, though they were much smaller and the reason was thus: The Post Office, despite it's insanely benevolent rates, does not ship packages priority mail that are more than 70 lbs. Our giant boxes are largely useless; they are good for shipping long/tall/awkwardly shaped objects, but not heavy ones. They fill up slowly and because packing well--ensuring everything you own isn't smashed to bits--requires you fill the ENTIRE box up with something (we used newspaper, magazines, sheets, blankets, and lastly plastic bags from the grocery store...dozens of them) every nook and cranny has to be packed. That's a difficult task when you are trying not to go over 70 lbs.

So, bottom line with packing for distance through the mail:

1) Priority mail is cheaper. 70 lbs though man...70 lbs.

2) Start saving up packing materials--smaller cardboard boxes, plastic wraps of all kinds, newspaper--way ahead of time.

3) Tape! Don't be stingy with the tape. If the box falls apart, it has to do the dirty work.

4) Label clearly; we splurged on fancy labels. But our stuff--each box insured for a 100 bucks--was nearly all sentimental and virtually priceless. Also, if you're recycling boxes (and we did this too), you'll have to cover up whatever writing was there before. Just mark that stuff out with a Sharpie, and stick the new label on top.

5) Have a reliable scale available at home, so you don't lug stuff to the P.O. just to lug it home again, rip it open, and remove a sweatshirt so it's below the limit.

6) Pack the box tight, pack it to the rim, fill every nook and cranny. Movers joke about people who pack their own boxes, because they don't fill them, and then open them up post-transport to find everything smashed.

The other amazing help is getting rid of nearly everything you own. But that has to wait for another post, acuz I'm huuuungry.