It’s been a busy two weeks since my last status update. We have just nine days to go and our kids won’t be in daycare for the remainder, so it’ll be harder to get stuff done. We have a good bit more to do (mostly more packing and getting rid of things), but I think we’re in good shape. Here’s what we did over the last two weeks:
- Made a partial plan for our health insurance. Basically we’ll wait to do anything until we’re in NC. If something happens before then we can purchase COBRA and it’ll retroactively cover us starting from when our work health insurance ended. And then once we’re in NC we’ll compare COBRA and the HealthCare.gov options and go with whatever is better.
- Picked up my new glasses. They’re great.
- Took our Subaru Outback in for software updates for two minor recalls.
- I requested quotes from a ton of car shipping companies and Emily and I discussed the timing of shipping the Outback and selling the Corolla. Car shipping will take between five and twenty days, with not much predictability, and even the pickup is hard to schedule exactly ahead of time. We decided that it would be easiest to ship the Outback early so that it’s there when we get there (or arrives shortly after we do), and then wait to sell the Corolla until shortly before we move. We picked a transport company, made arrangements, and dropped the car off with them. Price is $1,500 (I requested top placement in the carrier in an attempt to reduce damage from rocks flying up from the road, which was an extra $100). This was on the higher end of the estimates (the lowest was around $1,100 without top placement, and many were around $1,300 without top placement), but the company was reputable and had a local presence where we could drop off the car, which was more convenient for us than having to coordinate with a truck driver to pick it up.
- Booked a rental car for the days between when we sell our Corolla and when we fly away.
- Filled out the owner questionnaire portion of our disclosure packet for selling our home.
- Replaced block and tackle window balances and a broken sash guide on a single hung window.
- Had Home Depot measure the bedrooms in our condo as a preliminary step before replacing the carpet.
- Subsequently went to Home Depot, picked out carpet, purchased, scheduled installation, and got HOA approval.
- Rented a truck and took our mattress to Shoreway Environmental Center in San Carlos for recycling.
- Gave away our two Ikea Malm dressers from 2006. We’ve moved with them four times and I’m not sure they’ll survive much longer. Some Ikea furniture is sturdy… these were not.
- Gave away a super cheap small bookshelf.
- Gave away a rug.
- Took stuff to Goodwill.
- Dropped off old infant car seat at California Highway Patrol for recycling. It had been used for three maybe four babies and was approaching the manufacturer’s expiration date. We didn’t feel comfortable passing it off to someone else. Also Edie threw up an unimaginable amount in it and neither of us wanted to clean it.
- Emily spent a ton of time researching moving and storage companies, calling them, and summarizing the options, and together we spent a ton of time trying to figure out the best option for us. Do we or don’t we want to keep stuff in storage? If we put stuff in storage, should we use transportable storage containers or have movers unload into a storage building, and then later have movers move from the storage building to our final destination? If using storage containers, will it be easier to use a few smaller containers or one big one? Should we use their movers or hire our own? If our couch is too big to fit in the less expensive containers, are we better off getting rid of the couch and buying a new one? We decided on a 28′ moving trailer from U-Pack. A moving company will load it for us, then U-Pack will pick it up and park it at a storage lot until we need it. My takeaway is that the storage container options aren’t great. PODS is expensive, U-Haul’s containers are small. There are a few other options that are some combination of too small, bad reviews, sketchy, etc.
- Got “no parking” signs from the city of San Mateo so we can reserve space on the street for our moving trailer. I’m still a little worried about this.
- Packed Emily and my bikes in boxes. If I could do it again I would pay one hundred whatever dollars per bike for the local bike shop to pack them. Or at least my bike. It sounded expensive, but after having done it myself… it was definitely a pain in the ass. It was hard to pack the bikes in a way where I felt comfortable that they wouldn’t get damaged in the move.
- Packed a ton of boxes.
- Also, of course, continued raising two kids.