What I Have Been Dreading: Moving in Your 70s

In early spring, I decided I had enough of living in a house. It had been several years since I was able to look after my garden. The landscaper is not going to pour his heart and soul into my garden. I could no longer sand and stain my deck. Shoveling snow was challenging. And we rarely entertained anymore. What finally convinced me was how difficult it had become to climb up and down stairs. I’ve had enough of stairs!

Our house was listed on April 10 and seven weeks 66 showings later, we sold. Foolishly we agreed to a four-week closing. Maybe the correct description was recklessly. The last time we moved, I was 21 years younger. It was still manageable. Not anymore. We had four weeks to purge, pack, hold an online auction, and move. Fortunately, we had lots of help. We hired Now & Zen Home Organizers who assisted at every step of the move including packing, unpacking, purging and organizing our new condo.

The packers were very efficient. Maybe too efficient. One day I walked into my office looking for my knee brace and found it packed in a box. Fortunately, the boxes were well labelled. As things began disappearing from the kitchen, it became necessary to eat out or take out. Three weeks of eating out was actually tiresome and expensive.

We had dropped over boxes of things we no longer needed or had space for to charities. Now & Zen catalogued and photographed items for the online auction which ran for one week. There were over 200 lots. When the auction ended there were only 14 unsold items.

Move Day - 3

Not only did we downsize homes but we decided to downsize to one car. We sold Mary Anne’s car to Clutch, an online car dealer. They came that afternoon to pick up the car, and the payment was e-transferred in minutes.

Move Day - 2

This was the auction pick up day. Over 100 people coming and going carry out what was once your things. Some people were very appreciative and promised to take good care of their new possessions. Others were rather difficult. People were instructed to bring adequate help to carry things including packing material. One woman showed up with her son to carry a dresser down from the second floor. They struggled mightily and gouged our walls. Another woman came with no packing material for glasses. She dropped her back sending broke glass across the kitchen.

There was the two men who tried to take apart a table that couldn’t be disassembled they broken and just left it (yes, they had paid for it in advance). A woman who had purchased our dining room table discovered that someone had outbid her for the chairs which were sold separately. She tried to buy them from the person who had purchased the chairs with no success. Her husband didn’t allow her to take the table without the chairs so they just left. A few other people failed to show up for their purchases.

By evening the house was almost empty of furnishings other than packed boxes. Not a single chair in the house so we celebrated over a glass of wine standing up.

Move Day - 1

Happy Father’s Day! It was a day spent doing what I called panic packing. We had to pack up what remained and began to bring to the condo portable personal items. Our biggest problem was what to do with the items that remained from the sale that was either not bid on or wasn’t picked up. I began putting items on the curb and within an hour they were gone.

The furniture that remained including the dining room table was taken by an agency supporting Ukrainian immigrants. But they could not find someone to take our large china cabinet. Looking at the boxes spread around the house, I began to wonder whether we could fit everything in the condo when we had no storage locker. Some items ended up in my daughter’s basement.

Move Day

I got up early to buy some coffee and bagels for breakfast since even the coffee maker was now packed. I sat on the steps outside the house eating breakfast and waiting for the mover to appear. I thought it would take that long since we were moving little furniture and mostly boxes - lots and lots of boxes. It took about nine hours. There was a bit of drama when the condo security told us we only had the service elevator for two hours. I told everyone to ignore the ridiculous directive. It took almost four hours to unload the truck.

When you take almost 150 boxes spread around a house into a 1600 sq. ft. condo, it becomes overwhelming. Multiple stacks of boxes with small passageways to move around. It was disorientating. We ordered pizza and crashed for the night.

Move Day +1

Zen & Now showed up to assist with the unpacking. I set up our WiFi and connected all the electronics. Then I went back to the house to clear out the fridge and remove the remaining garbage. The movers had moved the china cabinet to the garage but we still had no home for it We were closing in two days.

I left a note, keys and remotes for the new owner. Finally, I removed the mezzuahs and said goodbye to our home for 21 years. Would I miss the house. Not really. It was now a reminder of what I was no longer capable of doing. I looked forward to an easier lifestyle.

Move Day +2

Early in the morning, I received a call from my lawyer because he had yet to receive documents from my broker needed for the closing. This began 24 hours of calls and texts trying to get the material sent to him. That afternoon, we went to his office to sign the legal documents he had prepared.

We also received a call from the mover who had located a party willing to take our china cabinet. It was the last item to be removed from our house.

Back in the condo, at least half of the boxes had yet to be unpacked. We were forced to live out of boxes. Searching for coffee mugs, bath towels, cereal. Soon partially unpacked boxes were sprouting up everywhere but we would now see over the shrinking stacks of boxes.

Moving around the boxes was not without hazard. I soon had abrasions and bruise from the boxes that would jump out at me in the dark.

Move Day + 3

Today was closing day. We were looking after Jordan and Zachary who had now finished school. We were shopping for snacks in Walmart when my lawyer called to tell me the broker had still not sent us the needed documentation. I called up the brokerage administrator and blasted her. My grandsons were in shock. They had never seen me angry. Jordan later told his father than Walmart shook like it was hit by thunder.

It turns out they were sending the documents to the buyer’s lawyer. Several minute later the documents were delivered and we successfully closed that afternoon.

Move Day + 6

The number of boxes were down to about 30. But I wasn’t doing to well. I could feel a flare up of my autoimmune condition coming on. I was exhausted and achy. I slept for much of the day, feeling guilty that I had left the unpacking to Mary Anne. I got up a dinner time and made dinner. It was our first home cooked meal. This place was finally feeling like home.