When moving DAY turns into moving WEEK...

Sometimes it felt like this

I recently traveled to California 
to assist my daughter who was moving into a new apartment. This is the first apartment since she started college in which she will live without a roommate. Her own place. It's a big step for sure. And not an easy thing to afford in a pricey place like Los Angeles.

I don't know if any of you have ever helped one of your grown children move, but I have to say it's definitely quite an experience. As we older adults plan a move, we prepare months in advance. Make lists, collect boxes, reserve trucks, find friends to help. Or best case scenario - hire someone to do everything or just stay in the same house for 30 years to avoid having to move.

How people over 35 move

How people under 35 move

In the case of twenty-somethings, I have discovered that moving preparation is highly over-rated to them. In fact, just winging it seems to be the modus- operandi of this particular age group, which in turn, causes my age group to grow more grey hair.

Sorry George. Maybe next time.

We started on a Wednesday and finished on the following Tuesday. Yes, it took that long. Trust me, it's not like we were taking time off to head to Malibu Beach or watch the movie stars and paparazzi on the red carpet at the Oscars, which by the way was walking distance to her place. With her working during the day, me trying to do as much as possible on my own during the day, and both of us working on the move late into the night, we were just too exhausted to even think about fighting the crowds at the Dolby Theater. George Clooney himself couldn't entice me to drag my tired butt down Hollywood Blvd when I was surrounded by chaos in a studio apartment.

When I first walked into the empty, lifeless apartment, I thought to myself - it's old (I mean REALLY old, circa early 1900's), it smells, and it's SMALL (I mean REALLY small). But being the ever optimist I said to my daughter, "I think we can make this work. It will be fabulous." 

Surrounded by a mountain (think Mt. Everest) of clothes and shoes and armed with only a couch, dresser, bookcase, a few mismatched chairs, plus a can of Febreeze, I believe we worked some magic. 

BEFORE

This is her bedroom which is, in reality, a large closet.
She's lucky to have this space in a studio apartment.

Definitely a one-person kitchen

DURING

I'd like to hurt the person who is responsible for IKEA

AFTER

She may be 25 and living independently, but her childhood
stuffed animal is still ever-present.

Curtains and wall art still have to be hung, but thanks to garage sale finds and several torturous trips to IKEA we did it! It's cute, it's clean, and it's functional. 
Daughter is happy. 

And so is Mom.