We moved to the ‘burbs. Well, Queens. Each of the Manhattan neighborhoods we’ve lived in (UWS, UES, and East Harlem) had their own personalities. Astoria is no different. In fact, it’s been refreshing. I’m so happy to be done with the 4-5-6 on a daily basis. While we miss walking through Central Park to HomeGoods and being able to walk home from work, our new neighborhood has a lot to offer.
Moving with a baby is hard. But moving out all the crap you accumulated over the last decade together is harder. When we woke up bright and early to the sound of our son playing on New Year’s Day, we turned on Netflix and watched…Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. By now it seems that everyone has watched. I don’t think you need to watch more than two or three episodes because it’s the same format over and over. However, it got us in the mood to tidy up. It was perfect timing because we were about to move.
However, it wasn’t until after we moved that we really started to find joy in our belongings. Our storage and closet space in our new place is a little different. We have to be a little more creative and it forced us to purge. I wouldn’t say we’re hoarders; we just don’t like to get rid of something int he event you need it someday. Ok, maybe that’s a hoarder. But using Kondo’s method of finding the joy in our things helped us clear out four boxes of crap. It was a start.
Don’t skip out on saying good-bye to your belongings.
Throwing our clothes on the bed was the first step. As we unpacked the kitchen, bathroom, living room, and desk, it got easier to part with things. Saying goodbye and thanking our belongings was a more important step than I thought. I found closure with these items. Now, our apartment is filled with love and all the things that give us joy.
When you’re in the middle of a move and you clear off the refrigerator door–whether you started packing or not–it looks like you already moved out. That was the first thing I did in our last apartment. It felt so weird, but when I moved a few things over to our new place, I put our magnets back on the fridge and it felt like we were moved in. The same goes for frames and wall art. Try to hang these as soon as you can because it makes your new, unfamiliar space feel like home.
And one of the first things I did was baby-proof with outlet covers and plug-in all the nightlights. Once we settled in and redecorated, we realized that there are some household items we didn’t know we needed. They’re time-savers, life-savers, and help reduce some of the daily stress we have to deal with.
In light of moving, this month’s Five Favorite Things is dedicated to our favorite household items.
Five Favorite Things
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1. Frame Hanger
I saw this As Seen on TV item a while ago. Whenever we hang our gallery wall after a move, it takes me forever. I position, measure, hammer, hang, level, and redo when needed. We’ve tried cutting our paper and hanging them on the wall, but that seemed like it took longer. We hung our latest gallery wall in about an hour and a half. That time accounts for planning out the wall on the floor. This tool made it so much easier to create the gallery wall we wanted.
2. Sink Grid
I did not have a sink grid until our last apartment. Game changer. It fixes all the things that bug me about a sink full of dishes, like keeping utensils and dishes clear of the drain. I learned to love it at the last apartment and bought one for our new place. Worth every penny.
3. Night Lights
This was on the top of Fatima’s list of things she loved during her pregnancy. Again, it’s not mind-blowing to have night lights, however, we didn’t realize how much we love them. These night lights, in particular, are fantastic!
4. Boon Lawn
I grappled with the idea of including this. When Fatima and I (but I admit, mostly Fatima) clean bottles, pumping attachments, and other baby items, we pile them on a drying mat and set it to the side. However, they don’t fully dry because the water doesn’t quite escape the bottle. So at nine months into nursing, I bought a Boon Lawn with a twig. We love it! It gets me to clean these more often because I can just set everything on the lawn and move it. Not only do we use it to dry all of our son’s stuff, but it’s also great for drying glasses and water bottles.
5. Zip ties (cable ties)
What an invention. I used zip ties in our last apartment to wrangle the power cords and cables around our TV stand. What a difference they make! So clean and no nasty cords hanging around.
