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:
- Orders up front and lookin’ pretty
- Moving Calendar
- Checklists
- Pets (I added this one)
- Housing for New Location
- Shipments (including the inventory of her last move and storage inventory)
- Car Storage and Transport
- Travel Arrangements/Itinerary
- Last Things to Do (places, people, and purchases)
- Information on New Location
- Miscellaneous–gotta have one of those!
- 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.
So glad you're here. I help busy women—gals like you— build healthy habits for living well with biblical wisdom and practical steps to deepen your faith, increase your hope, and thrive in your purpose.
This is a good idea. I will keep it in mind. Thanks for the help!
This is such a cute post. You are a great blogger. I always enjoy reading these. Keep up the good work!
One of my “moving goddess” tips is ZIP LOCK BAGS. I pre pack a lot of things in them! Small toys in kids rooms, bathroom things, silverware, other kitchen items.
Anything in a drawer goes in a bag. That way when the packers come, they pick up the bag and wrap it and packit. No little pieces getting lost in packing and thrown away. Everything stays clean. Everything can be seen before packing. When unpacking, just throw the bag in a drawer and unpack it later. You can still see what you have, it’s clean.
I will try the notebook thing. At this point, it can’t hurt!
I always love to meet a new moving goddess! Thanks for sharing that great idea!
As many times as we’ve moved I think we should buy stock in Ziploc! 😀 Same thing here!
and we have a moving binder
Yes, I hear you on the ziplock bag thing. One move I had all the kids toys organized in bins and ziplocks. Wouldn’t you know the packers, emptied everything into a box. Be free, Legos, be free!
I loved this post and, while I’m 10 months before a new move, I will be making my binder ASAP! It would also make a great gift to give to new military wives as they enter the “service” beside their husbands. Inexpensive yet thoughtful and quite possibly the most handy piece of advice they can get: how to PCS with as little stress as possible!
Tracy, I love Zip-lock bags too, but had never thought to use them for the contents of drawers. When I make my binder this tip will be somewhere obvious! 🙂
I signed to your blog RSS. Will you post more on this topic?
Welcome to Ginger’s Corner. This has been a very popular post.
Great idea. This type of notebook can also be used in other applications. I had my “Book of Knowledge” for my mom. As she got older we decided I would take over her bills and such. I organized everything in a binder (wish I’d thought of tabs). I just used sheet protectors. I had everything from healthcare, wills, living will, credit cards, bank boxes, important phone number and stock accounts. Very handy. Also, I copied my Aunt Nancy and made one for my remodeling project. All ideas, plans, budgets, notes from meetings went into the notebook! Hmm, wonder if I can organize my whole job in a notebook…..
I used this for our last three moves! We are preparing for a December move and I find myself here again! Great post and I share it with my friends often!
Thanks for the great feedback, Jennifer! I’m sooo glad this has been helpful for you. It was a game changer for me. I love it that you’ve shared this post with your friends! Thanks so much!!