Well, the professional movers - and I use that term VERY loosely - came with a verbal quote which in the end they did not honor.  I specifically asked the owner if the workers would label the boxes - what the general contents were or at least from what room - and he assured me that yes, they always did that and that his guys were great about keeping order.  NOT!!

I will grant that they came into quite the house FULL of stuff and had to make inroads however they could to get started.  Sort of a battle plan!  Somewhere along the line, I realized that they were indeed packing the boxes diligently, triple-wrapping most of the items (which makes for more bulk and thus more boxes needed...).  Okay, I thought, we're on our way!

Further down the line, I noticed (since I couldn't be in all places with all four of them at once) that they were  not marking a single box.  Nothing.  No labels, signs, cave drawings, nothing.  I sat down with one of the more intelligent of them while he packed a box, asking him to list the particular items (can't recall now why that exact box was so important).  "Sure thing" he said and very nicely wrote all the information on a flap.  Then he promptly folded that flap in so his notes were not visible, taped up the box, and continued on!!

So we have no clue what is in any of the hundred or so boxes they packed!!  Nor what area they were left in - main house, basement, separate garage, or the rented storerooms.  YIKES!!

By now we have gone through a lot of boxes in the house, many of which I packed and numbered myself.  And we are clearing out the storerooms in earnest, and so the game is on!!  Who can find what in which box that we need the most??  Which box contains our winter clothes, for example - oh - that's the one I had him mark - winter coats!!

So I am posting or blogging about our journey through the boxes.  I hope others find it interesting or can learn from it.  I hope it's therapeutic for me!!

More to come.  Box 55 comes up first!