Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be established.

Proverbs 16:3

The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage,but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.

Proverbs 21:5

Anything that requires planning and organization on my part is definitely a matter for prayer!  This is why God gave me a husband and some good friends who are good at this kind of thing.

Slowly, but surely, I am learning from their example.  In my last post, I was all about getting organized for my move via THE NOTEBOOK method.  The other day I had the chance to hang out with my friend, Larissa–the instigator of my moving notebook.  Guess what?  She just happened to have her notebook with her.  I could not resist sharing Larissa’s notebook–a shining example.

Larissa’s Moving Notebook

One of the things that I love about this gal is her ability to make the ordinary into something special.  I knew better than to ask her why she would take the time to make such a lovely cover, cause I already know the answer.  “If it looks good, it will motivate me to use it.”  Bingo!  I like that philosophy, even if I don’t have time or the inclination to do such a thing.  Unlike my notebook, her sections are nicely labeled and the sections are well on their way to being full.

Here’s a list of Larissa’s tabs:

1. Orders up front and lookin’ pretty
2. Moving Calendar
3. Checklists
4. Pets (I added this one)
5. Housing for New Location
6. Shipments (including the inventory of her last move and storage inventory)
7. Car Storage and Transport
8. Travel Arrangements/Itinerary
9. Last Things to Do (places, people, and purchases)
10. Information on New Location
11. Miscellaneous–gotta have one of those!
12. Moving Tips

And of course, don’t forget those important documents like passports, power-of-attorney, birth certificates, wills, and shot records.  You might not keep these in your notebook, but it is important to have an organized way to hand carry these with you.  Accordion files are great for this.

As we were chatting about the whole notebook thing, Larissa shared some of her notebook wisdom with me:

1.  You have paperwork all in one place

2.  You can look back to refer to what worked and what didn’t work on the last move.  This is key for those of us who seem to make the same mistakes over and over again.

3.  With each move, build on good information and eventually work your way up to Moving Goddess status–a little-known-but-elite corps of military wives who have moving down to both an art and a science.

4.  Here’s a good one:  Being able to find information and paperwork when you need it saves marital squabbling over misplaced documents.  Ohh…not good. Moving is stressful enough without stressing where the furniture inventory or the hotel reservation numbers are.

5.  You are prepared to share great information with others–another fine trait of the Moving Goddess. If you can’t be one, it sure is handy to know one!

6.  Sanity in a three-ring binder…priceless.

I would love to hear from any Moving Goddesses out there.  Seriously!  Want to see another example? Check out the moving notebook Jennifer Hamrick made after reading this post. She’s got some good informational links on moving as well.   Leave a comment with your good-to-know tips and we can all benefit from your wisdom.