HAH! Betcha thought I'd fallen off the planet. And I did...sort of. Fell into that chaotic bottomless pit called "moving."
Can you believe it? We moved again. A lot of upheaval with my Sweeties' work resulted in change of job, venue and home. And of course, the studio. Which is, once again, in complete disarray and pieces parts as I currently do not have a good, dedicated space for my artwork.
So scrap all the thoughts, blogs and progress on setting up art studios. I had JUST gotten them where I liked them by moving inside to get away from bugs, frogs, spiders, lizards, etc. But none of that matters now.
If you are moving or have to move or considering a move to create an art studio, let me share with you some of my VAST experience and knowledge on this process!
1. Pack like items with like items. That way, if you decide to work on one specific thing, you'll be able to find the materials and tools more easily.
2. MARK YOUR BOXES--even if you have to write lots on the outside--I lost two ETSY sales this month because I had NO IDEA where my items were in storage and couldn't possibly go through the 100 boxes marked "art" to find the items.
3. Don't put all your art books in one box. This is similar to putting all your eggs in one basket. Rather than breaking the books though, you can bet you'll pretty much tear up your own or someone else's back when they try to pick up that box of bricks. I ended up putting two or three books in each art box I had so that none of them would be so heavy as to be unliftable.
4. DO wrap fragile items well. It may seem obvious, but sometimes in the midst of moving you just get overwhelmed, or time becomes a factor and you tend to throw a bunch of stuff into a box. Here is a good rule of thumb: if it is dear to you, costs more than you can easily replace out of what cash you carry in your wallet or it can make you money by being kept whole--bubble wrap, tissue wrap, paper wrap--wrap it up with care and be sure not to put heavy items on top of it. Save yourself some money, heart ache and frustration.
5. Save your boxes when you finish unpacking and re-sell them on Craigslist. People are always moving. Don't throw those boxes away. Carefully tear them down and list them as gently used. I sold a lot of 75 empty boxes for $70--no, not nearly what we paid for them, but better than nothing.
6. Pick some supplies that work together and pack them so you can immediately get back to creating. Be sure to include any tools or materials that are required for any specific projects. This time when we moved, I kept most of my jewelry making materials in the first load of boxes we unpacked and have been able to continue to be creative and artistic--which, given the insanity of moving has probably saved me some level of stress and being locked in a loony bin.
7. Enlist help. Whether it is with packing up boxes, moving boxes into a moving truck, moving boxes from a moving truck into storage, moving boxes into a house or unpacking, select some dear and valued friends to help out--or opt to pay friends or friend's children to help out. Let's just say that me and my Sweetie are not as young as we once were (shocking! I know). This time around, we paid two teenage boys who are the sons of friends of ours to help move the heaviest items into the truck and into storage. We also had several dear friends who helped move those items out to Sweetie's shop and saved his and my back by sharing the load.
8. Paper or plastic. Trust me--as much as you might like to keep things feeling normal in the moving process, buy paper or plastic cutlery, plates and cups and use them at least the few days before moving and the few days after moving. You have to pack up your dishes sooner or later and you're too busy and too tired to have to bother with cleaning up dishes. Yes, I realize it is wasteful, but in the scheme of things keep in mind this is a temporary solution and will help to save you a little energy. Apologize later to the environment if you must by creating a compost or planting some trees...but during the move--do yourself a favor and choose paper and plastic.
9. Check your tires. Thankfully this move we did not have any tire disasters. But in our previous move we had not one, not two, but three different vehicular challenges during our move that added a ton of stress and anxiety to an already stressful and anxious experience. Not to mention cost. This time, we bought new tires for the trailer before hand, checked the cars out ahead of time and thought ahead to any contingency that might occur and derail the smooth transition from one location to another. It was worth it to buy the tires given the peace of mind it allowed.
10. Use storage. We were not able to immediately move into our new home this time around and had to stay in a hotel for 4 days. This was plenty of challenge with 3 cats and a dog. But we also had some of our more precious items with us. Rather than keep those items in the car or hotel room with us, we opted to get a small storage unit for one month and placed them there. We chose a place that got great reviews, was clean, had terrific security including locked gates all around the fortress and security cameras all over the place. Our precious items were probably more secure there than they are in our home now. It was, again, worth the peace of mind and certainly worth the cost as we would not have wanted to pay to replace those items had they disappeared from the hotel.
Okay...that's my top 10 wise moving suggestions. I probably should include an 11th, which would read, Do Everything in Your Power to Love Where you Are, Make It Work For You and STAY PUT! That being said, that isn't always possible. Take it from a moving veteran, everything you can do to make it easier on yourself is worth its weight in gold.
(c) 2013, SZing, Bohemian Art Cafe all photos and text. All rights reserved.
Can you believe it? We moved again. A lot of upheaval with my Sweeties' work resulted in change of job, venue and home. And of course, the studio. Which is, once again, in complete disarray and pieces parts as I currently do not have a good, dedicated space for my artwork.
So scrap all the thoughts, blogs and progress on setting up art studios. I had JUST gotten them where I liked them by moving inside to get away from bugs, frogs, spiders, lizards, etc. But none of that matters now.
If you are moving or have to move or considering a move to create an art studio, let me share with you some of my VAST experience and knowledge on this process!
1. Pack like items with like items. That way, if you decide to work on one specific thing, you'll be able to find the materials and tools more easily.
 |
| (c)SZing, 2013. Packing up and emptying shelves |
3. Don't put all your art books in one box. This is similar to putting all your eggs in one basket. Rather than breaking the books though, you can bet you'll pretty much tear up your own or someone else's back when they try to pick up that box of bricks. I ended up putting two or three books in each art box I had so that none of them would be so heavy as to be unliftable.
4. DO wrap fragile items well. It may seem obvious, but sometimes in the midst of moving you just get overwhelmed, or time becomes a factor and you tend to throw a bunch of stuff into a box. Here is a good rule of thumb: if it is dear to you, costs more than you can easily replace out of what cash you carry in your wallet or it can make you money by being kept whole--bubble wrap, tissue wrap, paper wrap--wrap it up with care and be sure not to put heavy items on top of it. Save yourself some money, heart ache and frustration.
5. Save your boxes when you finish unpacking and re-sell them on Craigslist. People are always moving. Don't throw those boxes away. Carefully tear them down and list them as gently used. I sold a lot of 75 empty boxes for $70--no, not nearly what we paid for them, but better than nothing.
 |
| (c) SZing, 2013. Chaos of moving and packing |
7. Enlist help. Whether it is with packing up boxes, moving boxes into a moving truck, moving boxes from a moving truck into storage, moving boxes into a house or unpacking, select some dear and valued friends to help out--or opt to pay friends or friend's children to help out. Let's just say that me and my Sweetie are not as young as we once were (shocking! I know). This time around, we paid two teenage boys who are the sons of friends of ours to help move the heaviest items into the truck and into storage. We also had several dear friends who helped move those items out to Sweetie's shop and saved his and my back by sharing the load.
 |
| (c)Szing 2013, moving and packing |
9. Check your tires. Thankfully this move we did not have any tire disasters. But in our previous move we had not one, not two, but three different vehicular challenges during our move that added a ton of stress and anxiety to an already stressful and anxious experience. Not to mention cost. This time, we bought new tires for the trailer before hand, checked the cars out ahead of time and thought ahead to any contingency that might occur and derail the smooth transition from one location to another. It was worth it to buy the tires given the peace of mind it allowed.
 |
| (c)SZing, 2013, so much for an art studio |
Okay...that's my top 10 wise moving suggestions. I probably should include an 11th, which would read, Do Everything in Your Power to Love Where you Are, Make It Work For You and STAY PUT! That being said, that isn't always possible. Take it from a moving veteran, everything you can do to make it easier on yourself is worth its weight in gold.
(c) 2013, SZing, Bohemian Art Cafe all photos and text. All rights reserved.
