Is there anything worse than being so far removed from your routine that you don’t even feel like you anymore?! We think not! When you move, this can be the case for quite some time until you get unpacked and adjusted to your new surroundings. This might also be something, as Sweetness mentioned in our last post to think about BEFORE you move! As people who have moved many times we are very familiar with all that changes and want to impart our wisdom on those who have an upcoming move, hope to move in the future, or to simply commiserate with those of you who have shared in this experience!
With just about every move we’ve made we can recall the mounds of boxes, bubble wrap, tape, and trips to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for more plastic containers and drawer organizers! Moving is chaotic even for the most organized of us. No matter how organized you are, like Sass, the box labeling psychopath (yes, she even color codes her markers by which room the box should go into), at the end of the day all of your stuff that’s in boxes and suitcases has to come out and go into some new “place” in your space that you probably haven’t quite figured out yet. Depending on your situation or how much stuff you have, this process can takes days, weeks, dare we say months?!
Moving can also mean chaos for your physical and mental health. You’ve probably just come off of take-out for a few days since you packed up your kitchen and emptied the fridge and are coming into a few more days of take-out until you’ve unpacked your kitchen and found your new grocery store. We don’t know about you but this is one of the most challenging parts about moving for us…being out of our normal food routine! Ugh. It could also mean that you’ve taken a few days off from the gym because well, packing is exercise, right? But mainly, moving is exhausting!
Basically, the natural chaos and stress of any move combined with a complete diversion from your routine can wreak havoc on your body. One of the first things we do when we move to a new place is look up ahead of time where the nearest grocery store is and where we’ll be exercising whether it’s a new gym or a yoga spot around the corner, just figure it out and book a class…any class! Even if it means dropping the full box of shoes you still need to unpack… your body and your mind will thank you.
It might seem silly but I (Sass here), can recall very specifically the moment after one of our moves in DC when I made a big salad at home, opened a bottle of wine and poured it into a wine glass (rather than a paper cup), and sat down on the couch to enjoy and watch an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. It was blissful. It was routine. It was normal. This is the part about moving that we love…when it’s over!
It might seem obvious but it’s the little things in life that don’t seem so little when suddenly everything is new. New doctors, new delivery options, new workout spot, new drug store, new parking space, and new trash pickup nights (this one gets us every time). And then of course there are the bigger things but usually we are prepared for those, which is ironic, isn’t it? New job, new friends, new commute, new time zone, or a new distance from home. These are the big ones that usually determine how long you will stay in this new place because as adults we get over the little things but sometimes the big ones can make or break our experience in a new place.
So it’s okay to take time to adjust, to try a few nail salons, to ask the “locals” for the best sushi spot, however it will take time to get the hang of this new routine. Being patient is probably the most important part of moving and trying not to stress out about certain things. The more prepared you are and the more research you’ve done the better off you may be, however things will not always go as planned so it’s better to be prepared for the unexpected!
Xo Sass and Sweetness
