Pretending To Go On Extended European Trip

FlyLady Ultimate TimerDear FlyLady,

A family emergency necessitated that my sister and her family move in with us — on two hours notice! The only way to fit them and all their stuff into our house was to give them our large master suite. DH and I moved into the den, which is smaller and was already full of our stuff. Because DH was gone for the day, I had had to do the packing, organizing, and unpacking alone.

Fortunately a family friend was available to help with the heavy lifting. I kept a positive attitude and celebrated the fact that I got a good aerobic workout by hauling stuff down the stairs a bazillion times and climbing back up for yet another load! No time for stinkin’ thinkin’! I made the moving fun by pretending we were going on an extended trip to Europe and had to make room for renters. I also decluttered my wardrobe and my toiletries by mentally packing for the imaginary trip.

By the time my sister’s family’s stuff had all been dumped in our living room, the master suite was move-in ready, and I was able to start rearranging the den to accommodate its new purpose. By the time DH got home, my sister’s family had all their stuff moved into the master suite and half of DH’s and my stuff had been put away. Over the next few days DH and I rearranged things and decluttered in the den so that everything we truly love and need will fit into our “new place”. We bought a few storage accessories to make things work, and we also had a wonderful opportunity to bless other families with stuff we no longer use and love.

My FlyLady timer has gotten a lot of use as I sorted our stuff fifteen minutes at a time these last few days. I have also helped my sister learn what a great tool this is. She was feeling soooooo overwhelmed when she first moved in, but the timer helped break up her sorting and decluttering into manageable chunks. I am going to order another timer from the FlyShop so she won’t have to keep borrowing mine!

FlyLady, I couldn’t have done this without you. Although I have never seen this particular situation addressed in your e-mails or on your web site, I was already FLYing and I knew I had the skills and tools to handle it. There just wasn’t time to use your moving methods, but I avoided stress and kept a good attitude because of what I have learned from you. And pretending to go to Europe has inspired me to look into ways to make that a reality. We may just do that instead of moving back into our master suite when my sister and her family get their own place again. Renting out our home would go a long way toward financing the trip. Looks like our “adventure”, as my wonderful DH calls our unexpected move, might lead to a daydream becoming a reality.

Thank you, FlyLady.

FLYing high in Oregon

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