A week before the move

11/13, 9:36, scooped Sam’s litter and replenished it. Felt good to get that out of the way first thing as I didn’t want it lingering on my mind while doing other chores or risk Sam getting upset and choosing a different spot. Did the laundry before deep cleaning the kitchen. Washing clothes first allowed me to make better use of my time, as I could clean the kitchen while the washer was running. In the kitchen, I started with the fridge, then the microwave, stove, hood and countertops.

Between cleaning, I kept the laundry going and brushed Dozer’s fur – he sheds heavily in the fall. At 2:01 pm, had “Bánh bao” for lunch. It’s a soft, fluffy, steamed bun filled with seasoned ground pork, boiled egg, and sausage. At 4:09 pm, did the third load of laundry, walked Dozer, fed D&S, made a quick trip to Dollar General for tape and dish soap.

11/14, didn’t sleep enough. Breakfast was “Bánh bao” and a small bowl of ground pork and bamboo shoot congee. Took prenatal vitamins, vit D and baby aspirin. At 8:41 , started the first load of laundry with the mats. At 9:26, did the second load with Dozer’s bed covers and blanket, cleaned the trash cans, vacuumed carpets, and packed pantry items.

Saturday, 11/15, S came home. Every Friday, he drove over 10 hours straight after work, spent Saturday at home, and left early Sunday morning for the same long drive back to work. In NC, where we were going to move to, we had finished buying the house. S moved out of the Airbnb he had been staying for over a month, cleaned it before leaving, and moved all his belongings into the new house. He also hired a cleaning company for a move-in service, which cost $125/person/hr, much more expensive than a standard cleaning. Then, he transfered all the utility accounts to ensure gas, electricity, water and trash pickup were ready to use. At the same time, he contacted insurance providers to get quotes for our house in AL. Since we are going to rent it, the rental insurance rate is much higher than that of the primary residence policy. He moved between places, and took care all of these tasks while keeping up with his professional work. His ability to multitask and manage his time so efficiently is something I deeply admire—it’s a kind of organization I struggle with.

That day, our kind neighbor walked over with some satsumas and a pack of fresh bass he’d caught. I really like him and his wife – they are so caring and generous and they keep their house and vehicles spotless. Their house is in pristine condition and it’s no exaggeration to say that you’d be hard-pressed to find a single leaf in their yard. What’s especial is that they are both in their 70s, yet their energy, dedication and discipline are truly inspiring. In the afternoon, we went to Carrabba’s , our favorite Italian restaurant, for lunch. I enjoy everytime we are there. I had a grilled scallop salad, chicken soup, garlic and lemon butter mussels (Cozze Bianco), and a classic platter with calamari, Mozzarella Marinara and grilled bread topped with ricotta and tomatoes. I especially loved Cozze Bianco. The flavor was pleasantly tangy, creamy without being heavy. Though this time the sauce was thicker but it’s still one of the best dishes on the menu.

Anyway, it was late, 10:36 pm. I took a shower, relaxed for a bit before getting ready for bed. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

11/16, the last cleaning day. Did the laundry and cleaned the bathrooms. S told me not to clean until after we finished all packing. However, I didn’t want to leave for the last minute. Moving day always makes me nervous and distracted, so I’d rather get the deep cleaning done beforehand.

That day was also my last cooking day. I didn’t feel like it, but I didn’t want to bring raw food on the road. Cooked food, especially meat, is much easier and less messy to store. I hadn’t bought many groceries since we were ready to leave, but we ate out a lot that week. In total, there were about 10 to 12 small packages of food. Thankfully, the cool and crisp weather made storing and transporting them much more convenient. I don’t usually store food in plastic bags because it feels wasteful to use them just once. But storing food in containers would take up a lot of room, so I just transfered all the food into plastic bags to save space. Then, I ran the last load of dishes so that I could pack up the rest.

11/17, the day before the move. We actually had done most of the work, but when we looked around, it seemed there were a lot left to do, especially in the kitchen and bathroom. I did two loads of laundry, and packed all the remaining clothes and towels. I also packed the rest of the dishes. Previously, I used Amazon small boxes with notes on top. But then, I placed those small boxes into larger ones to reduce the number of boxes to carry. Then I cleaned the bathroom and packed up everything in there, leaving just a few things for use the next morning.

I put my personal things in a backpack and used a bag to store the clothes that I might need for a week. We were informed that the delivery might take anywhere from 2 to 21 business days. The long waiting window was frustrating, but there was nothing we could do about it. Hopefully, it would come sooner, though I got enough clothes for seven days just in case.

Then, I cleaned the toilet cleaning tools, and let them dry before putting them into a trash can so we wouldn’t need a box for them. Honestly, there wasn’t much left to do, but it took us the whole day to finish all the tasks. Finding a right place for things, reorganizing, and deciding what to keep or throw away are time-consuming, just like looking for things.

Searching for items took time too. Sometimes, I forgot what I was looking for and where it was, so I ended up walking up and down, back and forth, trying to remember and find things. It got repetitive and wasted a lot of time. We were very careful about how many boxes we used because we didn’t want to exceed the number we’d told the moving company.

In the afternoon, we had lunch at a Chinese buffet, then went back home to keep packing and cleaning. I wiped down the shelves in the kitchen, pantry, and master closet.