Our move from NYC to Boston (with a few stops between) was smoother than expected. With hand sanitizer, masks, and gloves in tow -- plus the exceptional help of movers and parents -- we made it out alive. Two qualities that helped us most: my resourcefulness and Kyle’s decisiveness.
Packaging up in NYC, Kyle was worried. Somehow we had managed to accumulate a lot into a studio. It must’ve been the unusual feature of four closets. I looked up how to pack a U-haul like a game of tetris, but my “it’ll be fine” became less confident with his increasing worry. This prompted a swift process of throwing out, recycling and donating. Then the apartment search. I’m famous for making lists, but Kyle can do the mental math of comparing places and quickly come up with an answer true to our needs. I leaned on him to navigate this with confidence when my mind got distracted by possibilities. We prioritized his commute, access to transit, and most importantly these days, separate working spaces. We managed to find a place with more than we had in NYC for less, partly due to a decline in city living. But with just one closet, we did another round of filling bags to donate. Hand-me-down furniture was our most resourceful choice. We were lucky to have old furniture from my parents, my grammy, and a family friend. Thanks to a few stops for pick up, a dark furniture marker, new knobs, and fun times mixing and matching, the old became our new. The move was not from point A to point B, and I was the designated driver. From the Bronx to Harlem to NJ to Mass, I wore my truck driver badge proudly. Even accidents brought joy. We covered stained surfaces with decorative placemats. Our old coffee pot spilling often required us to find a new spot for easier clean-ups. Turned out we liked it better there. I dropped a piece of pottery from Kyle’s grandma while packing, but turned it into a beautiful piece of art by @hamsamade There’s a little Marie Kondo in this. Losing track of what we packed away made us more willing to give it away. We rediscovered what we had and reprioritized what we needed. And we’re starting off our time in Boston more agile, a little lighter, yet full.
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