As we prepare for our fourth move in five years, I decided to look at moving tips online. One part curiosity (is there anything new out there), one part desperation. (I am hopelessly spoiled by always having to military move me which includes packing for us. )

I found a few new tricks, like this one for moving clothes in closets.  But most of the stuff I saw, was pretty routine.  At least for me after countless moves.  My pointers for moving your own stuff (movers pack however they want, in whatever order they want):

1. Pack the way you want to unpack.  For example, I have a eight drawer rolling cart.  I could just dump all eight drawers into a box or bag and call it a day.  But then I'll get to the other end and hate life.  So, instead, I dump them into ziploc bags or grocery bags and then unpack them separately on the other end.  Sounds tedious but after you've moved and unpacked all day, little things like this make you feel much better.  

2. We always, ALWAYS made the beds first thing.  Why?  Because when you decide that you've had enough for the day, that is not the time to start wondering where the sheets are, is the bed put together, etc?  

3. Try to unpack the kids' rooms first (or at least put them to work starting the job).  Even if this is just making their beds and unpacking toys.  It keeps them busy, out of the way, and makes them feel like they are part of the process.  It doesn't have to be right the first time.  

4. If you don't have frozen meals, make sure you budget for take out or delivery.  Trust me, you won't feel like cooking after a day of moving.  

5. Our movers always packed stuff we don't want them to pack, so we started locking things in the car that we didn't want them to touch.  I call it the "Car Box" because it usually was in the car with us while we travel.  It includes things like:  box cutters/scissors (needed to open boxes on the other end); a first aid kit; plastic utensils and cups/plates; napkins; toilet paper, toiletries; maps or directions; etc  You get the point.  Even if you are packing yourself, it helps to have this box in an easy to find location. 

(This includes all the hardware for your beds, desks, etc that can be taken apart.  As any military family will tell you, this stuff gets lost frequently.  One of my friends recently found out that ALL of the hardware was put into the same box.  Guess which box came up missing?) 

6. I saw several suggestions to keep everything as you had it in your old house.  Honestly, I think that's next to impossible.  For example, our last house had a "craft room", as I called it.  It held my sewing machine table, and two shelves.  Okay, It was actually a closet.  But our new house didn't have anything close to that.  We also had less closets and shelves.  So we had to reorganize where to keep linens, pots and pans, even spices.  My entire system had to be changed.  Our current house, has a Harry Potter closet (that's what we are sticking with because I have kids and we all love Harry Potter).  So we're currently deciding what to put in there. Be flexible.  


7. Color coding is awesome!  Not only does it work for the kids to recognize their boxes, but it eliminates confusion if you can't see or read what was on the side of the box.  *A side note:  I thought it was a given, but just in case: write on the SIDE of the box, not the top.  Once you stack boxes, you can't see what you wrote. (The downside of this is that not everyone follows the color coding rule, so we ended up with boxes for the kitchen in bedrooms.)


8. Because we move frequently ALL THE TIME, I have a moving binder.  It's separated into tabs like "travel" (directions, hotels), movers/shipping (contact info for the movers, contracts for rental trucks, etc), and contacts.  This is the big one for me.  I created a sheet that has the name and account number of companies, how to change addresses (some are very specific).  Then I have a checkbox to make sure it was done.  So how do I compile the list without missing someone?  I go through my email inbox for the last month, my bank accounts (who did I send a payment to recently), and my postal mail for the last month.  I still forward my mail, but honestly, stuff always slips through so I would rather make sure I directly change what I can.  


9. Most people know to forward their mail. But here's a BTDT tip (been there done that). Do not, EVER forward your mail to begin the day you are actually leaving/turning in the key, etc. Out of our last five moves, three times, in three separate states, our mail didn't start forwarding the day it was supposed to start. If I had not been still living there I would not have gotten my mail and realized it wasn't forwarding. Our most recent move, I had to make two different after the fact WTH inquiries.... one a full week after the start date. Yes, you can call over the phone, but it's much better to go in and deal with someone face to face. Which brings me to my next point...

10. Only use the USPS to forward the mail. I had never heard of anything else until I went to check out what was going on with my mail. The clerk dismissed it as useless because she said it was through some mail forwarding service. She said that people use that because it’s free (the USPS charges $1 online), but that it’s “really no good at making sure the mail was forwarded”.  Once I corrected her and showed her that my confirmation email was from the USPS and was a week earlier, she immediately straightened the issue out. That was so worth the $1 to do it online.

***I'm sure I will add to this as I unpack.  

Simmering Pot Recipe

I did this a few days ago and pulled it out of the fridge today to see how it turned out...

It smelled GREAT!  So this was definitely a PASS!!  Here is the link to the original recipe.  But here are my tweaks:

Somewhere on the page, she was asked what size jar and she guessed pint size.  Um, no.  There was NO way that stuff would fit in a pint jar at those measurements.  So I did 1/4 of each one to fit into a pint size jar (I had a lot of those laying around so I used that size first).  But I think I may make more in larger jars.  

I also only let my stay in the refrigerator for maybe two days before trying it.  In the pint size jar, there wasn't a lot of water and I was afraid the oranges and apples would start to burn.  Not the smell we are looking for here.  So I added one more pint of water.  

Halloween Jars

These are only halfway done.  Yesterday was a crazy cake that had more crazy as the icing.  So long story short, I ended up finishing these with half of what they were supposed to have on them.

The picture is not the best because it was late and as I said earlier...CRAZY day.  But I made these for my husband's office:

  

They are really, really simple.  (More simple than I intended them to be).  BUT...they are soldiers and it's candy so I don't think they were really into the "frilly" visual appeal.  So mission basically accomplished!

Pizza Hut Style Pizza!

Last night I made homemade pizza from scratch (it mimics Pizza Hut style).  I would include a picture but it was eaten...FAST.  Yay for me!!!

Here's the original recipe:  

and here is my version with minor tweaking here and there:  

Pizza Hut Style Pan Pizza Recipe

1 1/3 cup warm water (105 degrees F)

1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 package dry yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil (for dough)
enough olive oil to coat the sides and bottom of pan(s)

***Sauce***
1 can (8 ounce size) tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dry basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

DIRECTIONS

Put yeast, sugar, salt, and milk in a large (2 qt.) bowl. Add water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for two minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed. 

Turn out on to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Divide dough into three balls. In three 9" cake pans (or whatever size you want to use...we sometimes use two bigger pans), enough olive oil in each making sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball to about a 9" circle. Place in cake pans. 

Cover with a plate or plastic wrap. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

Sauce: 

Combine ingredients and let sit for 1 hour. 

For Each Nine Inch Pizza: Preheat oven to 450 - 475 degrees F Spoon 1/3 cup sauce on dough and spread to within 1" of edge. Place toppings of your choice in this order: Pepperoni or Ham Vegetables Meats (cooked ground sausage or beef) Top with 3 Oz. mozzarella cheese Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown.

As you can see, I tweaked the recipe a bit.  For one, I don't use dry milk.  I use 1/4 cup of regular milk.  I also don't use that much olive oil in the pan.  I do just enough to coat the sides and bottom.

If you have any other tweaks or suggestions feel free to share!

Enjoy!