This client recently began working from a home office and although the design of the room and built in desk are beautiful there were some issues with the functionality. The clients punch list included one part design and remodel and one part organization and efficiency. At our first meeting I took an assessment that included the following: [Read more…]
Organizing a Painting Studio
It’s always a dream job to get to help with Organizing a Painting Studio. I was excited to begin working with this artist and be able to help get this beautiful new home studio space set up!
The artist was not yet using the studio space so the project began by sorting items into categories for use and designating spaces and systems for organizing and using the space and materials. I also helped with furniture placement, to make the space both comfortable and functional when in use and for relaxing and finding Inspiration. After all, when an artist isn’t working in their studio, they should still LOVE to be in their space, so creating a relaxing and inviting environment is very important to the process!
Moving Monday::New Routines
We’ve been here for about 3 weeks now and it’s funny how some new routines have already been established and some old one’s have maintained. One routine I’m having a hard time re-establishing here is blogging so bear with me in my absence please!
We are now officially residents of South Carolina having made multiple trips to the DMV, courthouse and Social Security administration. You wouldn’t believe all the documentation required to prove you are who you say you are here! Anyways, that’s behind us and I’m looking to plant my feet as firmly in the sand as I can now. Hum, sand shifts around a lot and that’s a perfect analogy for how I’m feeling about settling in here. I’m not quite there yet!
I miss my three times a week yoga class, my monthly meetings for volunteering and organizing, my regular client appointments and visits with friends and my local food/farm sources. I’m loving my new routine of going to the beach in the morning to watch the sunrise, write in my journal and walk. I’m not doing this daily but a few times a week so far. I also love going to watch the sunset on the Waccamaw river.
I’ve scouted out a few sources for locally grown food, one road side stand is just a few minutes from our house. I’ve already got my local library card and checked out a stack of books. I’ve made contact with the local NAPO Charleston chapter and plan to attend my first meeting next week. I’m also currently working on getting involved with the local Master Gardener program.
I think it’s funny how easy it is for some routines to follow you wherever you go and other routines are more difficult to re-establish. I’m looking forward to both establishing new routines and carrying on with the best of the old ones.
Moving Monday::Landed and Nesting
So here we are in South Carolina!! It’s been 2 weeks since I posted last on Moving Monday because last Monday we were right in the midst of the move and well, I just didn’t have the time to write something up before hand! Things got a little crazy as would be expected the weekend of the move. Leave it to me to make it even crazier by having a Moving PARTY on 11:11:11 the night before we got and loaded the truck. We did it though and it was worth it to say goodbye to friends and family who made it over to our box filled home. And at 11:11 we did make a toast of farewell to our friends and a wish for happy new beginnings.
Saturday started out quite well with the expected friends showing up to help us all through the day. About mid-day though we began to realize there was a strong possibility, not everything would fit on the truck! AHHH My husband had spent some time the previous week taking measurements of boxes and furniture and drawing up a rough schematic but despite all that it seemed clear it wasn’t going to work! The BIG problem was that the truck was about 1′ shorter than expected. That might not seem like much but over a 26′ truck length it adds up and most packing boxes are made to fit in certain size trucks a specific way. If we had that extra space we could have packed the truck a bit more efficiently but trust me, they packed the truck without an inch to spare. FYI, this truck said it would hold a 5 BR capacity which is nonsense! Our house was approximately 1600 sq. feet and three BR’s but only one BR worth of BR furniture (office, tools, art studio and other normal household furniture).
In the midst of my almost moving meltdown I had to run out to a eye Dr. apt and thank god for my friends and mom who stayed behind diligently packing and cleaning at the house.
It was actually very good for me to step away for a bit to put things in perspective. My mom gave me some great advice that day and as simple as it is it’s worth remembering. Everything takes time! So I just tried to remember that for the remainder of the time it took to load what we could. Sunday AM we had planned to leave around 9 but because not everything fit we had to make some last minute trips to drop stuff off to be donated and stored. We threw out and gave things away that we hadn’t originally planned to but nothing that we can’t live without after all, it’s just stuff!
With the house empty and cleaned we finally hit the road for our 8+ hour drive at 4:30PM. The drive was slow with my husband driving the big truck and me in my car. It ended up taking us 11 hours but we made it safely and boy was I happy to see palm tree’s and Spanish moss! Somehow after only 4 hours of sleep we got up and unloaded the truck into our storage bin with the help of my husband’s parents and one kind neighbor friend. It took 5 hours to pack with 10 people helping and only 1.5 hours to unpack with 5 people.
What a relief to have it all unloaded and in storage now. The next phase of our life involves living in a furnished home for about 3 months with a minimum of our belongings. We can run down to our storage unit and get things as we need them but when we packed we selected the items we would need for about 6 months and made them mostly accessible from the time we arrived. We are on our own now and are nesting in our new, temporary home. I’ve spent the last several days cleaning because, despite the fact that this is a clean house, I guess I just need to put my own mark on it. I’m also feeling a little lost since we are not in our final destination so this is my way of making it feel like our home. We re-arranged furniture and have cleaned, unpacked and even done some cooking here. As you can see by this post, I’m also starting to get back into the swing of my old routines…integrating the old with the new.
One new routine I’m loving so far is walks on the beach every day!
How do you get settled into a new place? What is nesting like for you?
Related articles
- Moving Monday::1 Week to Go! (hkpowerstudio.wordpress.com)
- How to Pack a Moving Truck (thenattyurbanite.wordpress.com)
Moving Monday::Where to Begin with Packing
Okay, it’s time for my weekly check in on our moving progress. I’m excited to share that the house is on the market and has shown a few times. It’s got to be kept spic and span which is a challenge in this state of affairs but it’s kind of nice! I’m enjoying having things looking neat and clean for our last amount of time here.
A few more items have made their way onto Craigslist and the flea market is behind us now. It was a wash out but we made a little money before it started pouring and the remaining non valuables went directly to donation. So, what’s the next step? Packing of course! When it comes to packing I wanted to share a little of my strategy. I have a list week by week of what I will be packing by category. I’m sure there will be a little overlap but it’s a plan and it creates weekly goals for our packing which will help keep us on track and feeling less overwhelmed.
- Pictures and artwork, especially personal photo’s (those came down before we started to show the house). Next, all the small artwork come off the walls. I pack smaller photo’s and artwork in medium size boxes with newsprint wrapped around each and bubble wrap or cardboard between them.
- Small decorative non function items. Otherwise known as Nicknacks:)
- Formal china, stemware, crystal and serving pieces. I’m not planning to do any formal entertaining before we leave so these things won’t be needed. We don’t have a lot of it but what there is will go in boxes this week.
- Any books I know I won’t be referring to.
By next week it will begin looking a bit more bare around here. This is the part I don’t like very much but I’m hoping to embrace the empty space and enjoy the simplicity of living with less.
Related articles
- Moving Monday::6 Week Countdown (hkpowerstudio.wordpress.com)
- Moving Monday::House Tour (hkpowerstudio.wordpress.com)