Moving: Planning, Packing, Organizing, & More

If you follow me on social media, or you’ve read my recent update post, you’ll know I’ve been in the process of moving. I officially moved in with my partner at the beginning of November. Before that, I lived with my family. This arrangement made sense for me because I live in an area with no public transit, so I always need transportation support.

Now, I live inside the city limits where there is restaurant delivery through apps like Grub Hub, Waiter, Uber Eats, etc. We recently got grocery delivery from Wal-Mart, and that was incredibly exciting to me. I don’t think I’ve shared on this site, but my partner is in the military and will occasionally go on trips for training or deployment, so I now have fewer things to worry about when he’s gone in the future.

For more on this topic, also check out my video about my recent move!

Packing for the Move

I didn’t have a ton of things to pack. Mostly, my items included clothes, collectibles, and my PC and other electronics. I don’t own a lot of furniture. My largest piece to move was an electric piano that I inherited when my grandmother passed.

Packing was a challenge, because I was mostly using what I had on hand plus a few plastic bins to put everything in. Needless to say, I ran out of room to pack things, but we managed. I labeled my bins pretty well, and the rest of my items would need a new home anyway, so they could go wherever there was room.

Though the labels helped, I wish I had been my usual self and made a thorough list of things I would need. I must’ve gone without my coat hangers for a solid week before remembering to grab them from my house! Something was bound to be forgotten. Overall, I was pretty lax with packing because I knew my stuff would be just fine at my family’s house.

Now, if we ever move from this place, I will absolutely be more thorough, have boxes, make lists, and so much more, because that is such a huge task.

Finding a New Home for Everything

Finding a new home for our things has been a task. It feels like I’ve made a million tiny decisions over the past couple weeks, and I’m beginning to feel some decision fatigue. I’m just not used to having this kind of control and choice in making these types of decisions, and it is both wonderful and stressful. Even positive things can be stressful.

Now that most of our things are moved in, we are in the phase where we are starting to use things and decide where the most practical place to put each thing is. That part has been satisfying. Now, when I go to find something and don’t have to hunt for it, I feel so accomplished. Hopefully most of the items will have a home soon.

Designing with my Vision in Mind

When it comes to designing and choosing a layout that works for my vision, things get tricky. I can make do in a lot of settings, but this is my home, so I want it to be a comfortable space. I plan to write a post and create a video about this particular topic in the future, but these are some of the things I’ve learned.

• Good window coverings are key.
• Lamps are a must for comfortable lighting with light sensitivity.
• Smart home tools make life easier in almost every way.
• Contrast in the kitchen is very important. This one can’t be overstated.
• So much more to come!

Despite my visual impairment, I still want a beautiful, cohesive space to live in. A space that feels like it was meant to be feels less chaotic, and less chaos means less stress for me. I feel most comfortable in a space with little clutter where everything feels like it belongs.

I think it is a misconception that people who are blind or visually impaired don’t care what their space looks like, but we do. I am planning an entire post on this topic, so keep an eye or ear out for that.

Projects Finished & Planned

We have a few things that we have completed already and more that we plan to do around the house. I’ve been enjoying the idea of learning some home remodel skills. We have pulled out some chair moldings (the waist high moldings that is usually seen in formal dining rooms), patched the holes and torn paper with drywall mud, and painted the living room. We still have a small entryway to paint, but that should be an easier weekend project.

I have a metal building that is already set up with power, ethernet, and air conditioning that will become my studio. That building needs some cleaning up, flooring, paint, and a few other odds and ends before it can become the studio I’m imagining.

Otherwise, we’re finishing some around the house clean up both indoors and outdoors until I have spent some time in almost every nook of this house. I want it to feel accessible, meaning that I want to know how to find things, reach things, and just do the day to day home things that everyone generally has access too. My visual impairment often makes spaces feel smaller and limited. For example, if I can’t see into a corner, I don’t know if a spider has made his home there. To remedy this, I have dusted all the ceiling corners and floor corners, closets, and wherever else I could find. We still have the outside of the house to finish cleaning, but that will come later.

For a more visual look at all of these tasks, you can see before and after of the living room paint, the yard work, and some fun clips of me doing some of these tasks in my YouTube video. If you enjoy this kind of content on this site and on my channel, please feel free to let me know.

Moving Stress & Finding a Routine

I’m sure there have been a million little things we’ve done in the meantime that I didn’t list here, but you get the idea. Moving is a lot, as most people know very well. Add a visual impairment and limited transportation into that, and there are even more challenges and stress involved.

If I can find a new normal routine for the mornings and add in some ways to manage stress, I think I’ll start feeling more like myself, but for now I’m certainly struggling. My patience is short, my frustration tolerance is so low right now, and I feel so overwhelmed almost all the time.

With time, that will change, and I’m staying hopeful. I’m thankful I have some good friends to talk to, and I’m thankful for all of you who read this. It is truly encouraging when readers reach out and share their own struggles or that they have been through such similar experiences. Knowing I’m not alone is what makes putting myself out there worth it, and I hope that by doing so, it also helps someone reading this. You aren’t alone either.

Cheers to a better tomorrow.

Stay curious.