Failure without a doubt is an inevitable part of life. Sometimes your dishes are packed in a box, your mason jars are neatly tucked away, and your fridge won’t fit through the doorway.
On days like these, you may need to sit back, relax, and order a pizza. I tried to enjoy every last slice while tuning out the sounds of molding being ripped off the door frame. I didn’t take any pictures, because; I was too busy eating pizza and weeping.
But, we’ve survived. It’s times like these, I’m thankful for running water and electricity.
Unfortunately, we’ve created quite a bit of waste. I feel like it’s an unavoidable hazard of moving. There are things I think we did well, but there are areas we could have done better.
We didn’t buy any boxes. All of the bubble and newsprint were from packages received previously.
We’ve been saving boxes for the move since last year. Actually, we had too many boxes. I think you’d be surprised how many things you already have packed.
We have shoes, sweaters, and Nala’s toys all stored in baskets. Even our book case is made with old wooden milk crates. We just grabbed the handles and took it out to the car.
The last house had lots of built-ins. So, we bought some new pieces that were used.
We got a great deal on some solid wood pieces with dove tailed corners. Dove tailed corners are a sign of good craftsmanship. You’ll know the piece you’re investing in is worth it.
Most all of our wood furniture is over 20 years old and it looks brand new. Buy used wood furniture! It’s better for the environment, it will cost the same as ikea, and it will last a lot longer.
A very blurry picture of the used hutch we bought and a crate with lots of things loaded inside. They painted the bottom of the hutch but left the top unfinished. I'm thinking of painting just the cabinets and shutter above to match. What do you think? Will that look good?
I feel like we really failed in the food section. The nearest bulk store is 30 minutes away and I’ve not been able to go. I went conventional grocery shopping for the first time in months!
It was strange and much more expensive than I remembered. I bought juice, cookies, turkey, bread… pretty much all of the basics for work lunches and of course my Achilles heel - poptarts.
We carried out in paper bags for some extra packing material. We also indulged take-out and delivery. Pizza is my friend. I typically do take-out in my own containers, but I couldn’t with them boxed up.
I always tried to choose the best option even if it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. I really, really wanted fish tacos, but they came in a styrofoam box.
I opted for the burrito which was wrapped in paper, a veggie burger wrapped in paper, and delicious, amazing vegan pizza in a compostable box.
It wasn’t perfect or ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But, we did the best we could and sometimes that’s all you can do.
I have the tendency to beat myself up over failure. (And, I definitely don’t have any pictures of it.) But, for now I will choose to rejoice.
I feel so fortunate to have running water, to be so busy I haven’t realized we don’t have internet, and to be surrounded by helpful family and friends.
I can’t wait to throw a zero waste house warming party!