Packing Day

First I have to mention something significant that actually happened yesterday. The “appliance inspector” came. This is a person who has a government contract to come the day before the packers to make sure all the appliances and electronics are functioning. This gentleman took down the make, model and serial numbers of all my appliances and electronic equipment that was to be packed on the truck.

I made his job easier because I kept this information from the previous move on my computer. Once per year I also go through and update this info. All I had to do was to print it out for him.

This gentleman also wanted to put the blocking pins in my front loading washing machine for me. He said most people don’t know how to do that. I was very surprised as that was one of the first things that I learned about my washer when I bought it. (Mostly because I knew that I would have to move it a few months later). Anyway I said it was kind of him to offer but I was capable of doing it and my clothes were filthy and I wanted to do one more load that evening.

Now for today’s real entry….

The packers showed up at 07h30 this morning. They weren’t scheduled until 08h but there was very little traffic on the road because of Quebec’s St. Jean Baptiste holiday this coming Wednesday.

I gave them a tour of our home then they brought in all their supplies; boxes, tape and newsprint (wrapping paper).

They were a few things that I didn’t count on. They don’t use the original boxes for packing electronics (TV, DVD, computers) so I had to do that myself. They were kind enough to put the TVs into the boxes though as I’m just too petite to do that on my own.

Besides the usual stuff they will not take such as aerosol cans (WD-40) and corrosives (bleach), and batteries, they also do not take any liquids whatsoever. No shampoo, no juice boxes, no hand cream, no school glue. I had pulled out most of the liquids but they found some that I had missed. We piled them all in the bathtub.

So here are some of the things I learned from the packers:
One guy had been packing for 14 years. He said that the worst thing is people keep too much stuff they don’t use and will NEVER use. Because people insist on packing their clutter, they spend more money than they need to. If they cleaned out their clutter and only moved what they truly use and what they truly love, they would save time and money.
(okay, I knew that already but it was interesting to hear someone else say it)

The other guy (yes, there were only 2 men packing my stuff) had been working for the moving company for (get this) 45 years!!! He used to drive the trucks and actually owned 3 trucks but he was getting older and the long-hauls were getting to hard so he just does packing now.

So these two guys had my entire house – all 2200 square feet completely packed by 11h30. That is 8 man-hours. There is NO WAY I could have done it myself in 8 hours regardless of how organized I am.

Now I had prepared for the packers to be in my house all day and here it was lunchtime and I was done. So, I went to the mall for lunch, bought 6 pairs of sport socks (I only had 1 pair left with no holes), 2 white T-shirts (sale), a floor length dress (even bigger sale – 75% off!).

I came back to my house and got a phone call from the Military Base. I needed to return the access pass for our car. They sent a driver over to pick it up so that was no problem.

I then returned my cable modem to Videotron. I took my bike because it was still accessible. Then I grabbed my swimsuit and headed over to the Olympic pool for a nice swim of 1000m.

After walking the 1km back to my house, I hung my swimsuit to dry then walked the 2km to the hotel. I COULD have taken the car but I need to leave it parked on the street in front of my building so that the big transport truck can park there tomorrow. My landlord was kind enough to park his cars in front of the building too so the truck will have lots of room to park.

I just ate a great dinner in the hotel topping it off with a double chocolate cake and some chamomile tea.

And as soon as I post this, I’ll fall very soundly to sleep.