Tips for Moving Out of State

We are moving! We are sad to leave the beautiful city of San Diego and the community we have been blessed with, but we are so excited to be back in Arizona to be closer to our friends and family. As I try to wrap my head around moving July 25th (37 days from now), I thought I'd share some experiences we've had moving to and from San Diego and the tips we learned along the way.

Moving to San Diego

Nick was living here before me, but we still had to find a place to live once I got here because he was living in the barracks at that time. It was November 2019 and we got married, then three days later we drove to San Diego with an air fryer, instapot, and two suitcases of clothes. We stayed in an Airbnb for 6 days and on the 5th day, we found an apartment and signed our lease. If we had not found this place I would have had to return to Az and we'd have to look for a place another time.

You could say we had a loose plan (which is not my style AT ALL)! I look back and I don't view that week as super stressful (it probably was though), but it is definitely glossed over with newlywed rosy glasses.

A few months later my brother brought the rest of my stuff to San Diego, but until then we were sleeping on an air mattress and sitting on the floor in the living room to watch Netflix.

Planning the move back to Arizona

Thank God, we got through our first move! We can truly give all credit to Him for guiding us through that adventure. We are hoping to walk into this next move a little more prepared and a little more organized. This time we have a place to stay beforehand so I think we are already doing better!

My moving checklist

1. Purge the stuff you don't need or use. We are selling and donating the majority of the stuff we have gotten here in San Diego, we really only want to take our personal belongings back with us to Arizona.

2. Packing non-essentials. I started with packing decor, and appliances we don't use very often.

3. Cosmetic fixes. I plan to scrub the many scuff marks on the floors and walls, as well as filling in the gazillion (yes gazillion!) nail holes in the walls.

4. Pack the essentials. I plan to leave enough stuff out to fit into an extra suitcase for the week are actually moving.

5. Load the car and leave! This honestly one of the things I'm worried about. I know we are getting rid of the majority of our stuff, but I'm still not sure if the rest will all fit in our car. It will be a real-life version of Tetris I am sure!

This feels like a lot to do in 37 days, but I know as soon as we start getting rid of our stuff it'll feel less overwhelming. I hope you enjoyed catching up on what we've been up to! Have you moved around a lot? What are your tips and tricks when preparing a smooth move?