5 Best Resources for Your First Big Move

  

To view images more successfully on Google Chrome, keep your zoom setting at 90%. Working to resolve the issue! This whole moving thing has been a bit of a challenge. Now,  that might seem obvious but I have to tell you a true and honest confession: the last time I moved was from my parents house to my current house. A mile away. Nine Years Ago. Which, ultimately, means it doesn't count.  I've put together a list of sources from a variety of places to help out other people who may be in a similar situation- or at least that need some help narrowing down the field!

I've turned to friends and family for a lot of help and guidance on what to do to get my house sold as well as have an organized and manageable move to Denver. Here are some of the best tips and tricks I've heard of or found on Pinterest thus far:

1. This blog post from Making Lemonade has been an awesome resource! I literally went out and bought the stickers for each room immediately. It has made a big difference! I luckily work at a high school and have thus far avoided having to buy any boxes. But seriously. Click here to check out all of her great advice.

 2. This website has a great infographic for helping you map out a timeline of your move. That has been a huge help for me! I had no idea where to start and this definitely made a big difference! It helped me keep from getting overwhelmed in these last four weeks before the move. Check out the image below but to read the entire article go to the original source Hire a Helper .

3. Since we had the great timeline for moving we were able to get a jump start on cleaning out the house and getting rid of unwanted items. After having had a series of roommates for the first 6 years of living in the house I had a strange variety of items that I didn't personally ever purchase or need. For example: 3 sets of pots and pans. I like to cook but it was way too much. So my friend and I were able to camp out in her garage for three days and sell some of our stuff. We made a pact that anything that didn't sell went to the thrift shop after. I think we made just over $600 total. There were definitely things we should have done better but this blog post here at Wholefully made it much easier for us to get it all figured out! 

I mean for real, we were eating waffles we were so prepared. 

4. BB and I are definitely downsizing in terms of square footage for this house. It was a trade off, we get a larger private backyard and garage, one less bathroom and bedroom. Downsizing was certainly something we had to look into and be aware of. Here are a couple great references for making the most of it:

• The first great source for going from 2000 to 980 sq ft (my downsize isn't that dramatic but it is great advice regardless!). Check it out and the source to the image below here!

• An additional great source to help with the psychology of going to a smaller space or just getting rid of a lot of extra clutter and stuff is Money Can Buy Me Happiness. The article is really refreshing and inspiring. Click the link above to see the article and the source for the image below! 
  

5. Trendy Millennial Minimalism: For Real Life Millennials. I have a confession- I know minimalism is a trend right now for my generation. But I have personally really started to embrace it. Living with a guy who has packed all his stuff in a duffel bag and moved to Hawaii for 6 months really helps change your perspective. All of the stuff we are packing to move is basically MY STUFF. It's really weird to think about. There are a lot of great sources for starting the minimalism idea (I'm not going full in and only having 33 clothing items) and you can adjust it to meet your own needs for this life. 

Read the full article and it's takeaways here!

I've becoming addicted to YouTube since I've been able to stream it on my TV. Here is a great compilation of YouTubers that are all about that Minimalist Life. Check out the list and full article here!

Hopefully this helps anyone else out there that was a bit overwhelmed after making the final decision to make a big move! If you have any other great resources- drop them in the comments below for others to see! 

I suppose I'll go pack some stuff now. 

Eastward Bound & Down: Relocating a Life

It has been nearly 365 days since my last post, meaning that mostly just my  mom will see this. But hey, that's fine! My mom is pretty awesome!

As of this month I have officially owned my home for 9 years and it has been a remarkable experience. I was able to go to college, learn to install my first dishwasher, remodeled my first kitchen, replaced counters, installed flooring, and repainted the living room and bathroom 3 or more times. It has been totally wild, but it is time to announce that I am officially selling my house in Grand Junction, Colorado and moving my entire life to Denver. Like all the other millennials in the entire United States. However, I would like to claim that I am already from Colorado- so it's less annoying.

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We are so excited to go! Brennan (BB) and I have found a rental and I have found a new teaching job over there. It's a scary big move but we're excited. We have been working really hard to get our house market ready and I will be sure to do a blog post about that soon.  Here's us looking all cute and stuff at the Denver Botanical Gardens:

If you have any tips or advice for making a move to a new city please share it with me! I could use all the help I could get. I've grown up in Grand Junction and have never been anywhere else. It's an exciting change. 

Here are the big things I'm excited about:

• More stuff to do (Red Rocks Amphitheater, Baby!)
• Closer proximity to family
• Better work to life balance.
• New house has a large backyard and a garage! (YAY!)
• Master's Degree opportunity.
• More time to bloggggg!

Any tips from people who have moved and downsized? What did you do to sell your house fast and get settled into a new city?

Making New Choices: Do You FarmShare?

The dude and I have been working to make some serious lifestyle changes around our house. We want to first start with our bodies and the physical. We want to live more naturally and organically, but still be frugal about it. One of the great ways we can do that in our community is by participating in a CSA Farm Share. For $410.00/year (June-October-ish) we get fresh, organic, locally grown produce! When your dude is vegan, that's amazing!

We started by first doing some research and had some basic questions:

1. What is a Farm Share?

    Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season. (According to Local Harvest)

2. How will it benefit our health?

   Eating organically helps protect us from overexposure to GMOs (genetically modified organisms), helps with our allergies, and supports a clean eating lifestyle. It also encourages us to be social and puts some of that back into our experience with food. For centuries of the human experience, food was a community-based social event with sharing and trade taking place. In America especially, that is something we tend to lack. 

3. What benefits will it have for our community?

   Knowing the exact location where your lettuce grew is pretty cool, I won't lie. It feels pretty awesome to be able to drive past the farm each day on my way to work and see what they're up to. Also, shopping local is statistically proven to strengthen the economy in your area. As a local public school teacher. I'm down with that. This great infographic really breaks it down:

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4. Is it worth the price?

  For us, it definitely is. On average we would make 3-4 trips a week to the store for produce. My guy being vegan means that produce and veggies are our main source of nutrients because our diet is plant based. So, it averages to about $15-20 dollars a week. We were spending triple that. It really helps us keep our budget under control. 

   

5. How does it work?

  Each CSA works differently but ours is pretty straightforward. Our CSA, Field to Fork, has several different sized options for families to choose from. The price varies by that size also, which is great. It really works within our budget and amounts we're comfortable with.  You do get a lot of food too! So far we have really enjoyed our experience and highly recommend joining a CSA! 

Here's some images we snapped during last weeks pick up!

I'm not going to lie... we ate almost all the cherries in the car on the way back to the house. They were so delicious!

Need more information on Farm Shares? Here are some great sources!

• Local Harvest
• USDA
• Is CSA for me?

Happy eating, my friends!