Cubic Footprints

Yesterday the movers came and, four-and-a-half hours later with 1,000+ cubic feet of our possessions, went. One-thousand-plus cubic feet. Who in their right mind owns 1,000+ cubic feet of stuff? We do, apparently, scattered over 157 items, including cardboard boxes, plastic storage bins, a recliner sofa (which counts as four, as the three backs are removable and were wrapped and inventoried individually), a gas grill (sans propane tank (empty), which we have to transport), various shepherd’s hooks (bound together, so I assume they count as one item), and a washer and dryer.

It doesn’t look like 1,000+ cubic feet when it is scattered over five rooms and a back porch. I didn’t measure it, so I have to assume the movers are being honest. All the initial quotes came in around 900-950, hence my trusting of the final tally. The load out was uneventful, with the two movers (from the Chicago area, on their way back from Kentucky) working quickly and efficiently. They took care to handle our boxes and bins carefully, and they wrapped all our furniture far better than we ever would (or could) have. About the only excitement came when Guy, one of the cats, managed to shift the weight of the attic ladder enough for him to come flying out of it and into the hallway. (We had put both cats up there to keep them (a) out of harm’s way, (b) out from underfoot, and (c) from escaping out one of the open doors. Guy enjoys the attic and will go up and down the stairs freely whenever I have them down. Booger, on the other hand, does not like the ladder and dislikes the attic even more. But I digress.)

Now we have an empty house. Empty except for two bag chairs, a small bag table, a 19-inch flat-screen TV, a DVR player (to stream Netflix), our modem, and an air mattress. Oh, and the dog and two cats, who keep wandering around the house wondering what in the hell happened to everything. We do also have the stove and refrigerator, which will stay, and the microwave, which will not. Five more nights of inhabiting the shell of our house, then early Saturday morning we load up our few remaining material items and our menagerie and begin the first leg of our trip, which will take us to my sister’s house in Georgia.