Random Thoughts That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Friend's daughter sends me a fundraiser for her marching band. I gave last year, so I was going to again this year as well. Open up the link, and first suggested amount: $100. That to me is a big amount. I thought $20 was going to generous. Went to put that amount in, will not accept less than $25.


I'm shocked. Heck, we used to be happy if people bought $20 dollars worth of oranges for my daughter's band fund-raisers. I'm trying to give you $20 for nothing in return, and they are like "no thanks, cheapskate."

You ever get tired of funding bands and want to fund beer and sports cards I can send you my cashapp “fundraiser” link.

[Ksyrup]

One of my least favorite jobs as a parent of sports/band kids. We'd make them go out and solicit, but I'd always take stuff into work, too. Eventually it got to be like exchanging XMas gifts - just a trade-off of money between parents that evened out our accounts to support each other's kids.

[PilotMan]

I used to sell Fruitcake for band fundraiser. I think they were like $4-6 each, but that was long time ago. Today that money is now $10-15. I can't imagine going door to door to try and convince people to spend 15 bucks on a fruit cake. Besides, you if could only charge 15 now, you'd never get any money off the fundraiser, because they would want you to sell it for $25.

I didn't care going door to door back in the day. I did it for scouts, did it for band, but my mom was never a part of it. I did it all myself. Today, it's the parents doing nearly all of it. I pretty much refused and just wrote the check. No patience for that anymore.

[Lathum]

We do some minor fundraising for softball, superbowl pools, stuff like that. My son is in marching band and they also do some minor stuff. 50/50s at the games etc...My son is a freshman and they are putting the full court press on my wife to take over the band boosters but so far she is resisting.

Hands down the worst was girl scout cookies. I am glad we are done with that. It was like a full time job for 2 months with me doing literally all the work.

[albionmoonlight]

I love that browsers now have the feature of "Hey, we created a unique and unbreakable password just for you! Would you like to use it for this website you are signing up for?" And we always say "Nope! I'm just gonna use [My Dog's Name]12345! again."

Be ungovernable (but easily hackable)

[GrantDawg]

You see, you would think this fundraiser that is just a direct donation would be simpler. Just give whatever. Even if it was $5, if you send it out to a big enough group it would be great, but no. The company running the website must be taking a big chunk out, and making small donations useless. Fundraising companies are a scuzzy bunch.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I used to sell Fruitcake for band fundraiser. I think they were like $4-6 each, but that was long time ago. Today that money is now $10-15. I can't imagine going door to door to try and convince people to spend 15 bucks on a fruit cake. Besides, you if could only charge 15 now, you'd never get any money off the fundraiser, because they would want you to sell it for $25.

The best fundraiser (that didn't feel like a complete ripoff) was the one my daughter had the year she was drum-major. It was Little Caesars at home pizza kits. You might think "ew, Little Caesars", but I'm telling you they were so good. Everybody that got them came back to me wanting more, which unfortunately they didn't give us an option to do. Most kits were 5 personal pan sized pizzas, and I believe they were around $20. They also had some cookie cake options. Just thinking about them makes me hungry.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

One of my least favorite jobs as a parent of sports/band kids. We'd make them go out and solicit, but I'd always take stuff into work, too. Eventually it got to be like exchanging XMas gifts - just a trade-off of money between parents that evened out our accounts to support each other's kids.

Was president for my daughter's HS softball booster club for 3 years. We sold mums in the spring and poinsettias around Christmas. Had many parents who wanted to just solicit donations instead. I told them I want to give people something for their money.

The year after I leave, they make 5 times as much from straight donations than we did the whole 3 years I was there selling f-ing flowers.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I love that browsers now have the feature of "Hey, we created a unique and unbreakable password just for you! Would you like to use it for this website you are signing up for?" And we always say "Nope! I'm just gonna use [My Dog's Name]12345! again."

Be ungovernable (but easily hackable)

The person who would have the most trouble entering my account on a website with those absurd passwords is me.

And locking myself out kind of defeats the purpose of having an account at all.

[Kodos]

Password managers. You only need to remember your master password.

[Ghost Econ]

How does it take my wife an hour to shop for groceries when she comes back with less items and more bags? I want today, got about $80 worth of stuff and shoved them into 3 bags. It took me 25 minutes including the drive. It takes my wife about 2-3x as long. I can't go with her because it's like a soccer match

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

How does it take my wife an hour to shop for groceries when she comes back with less items and more bags? I want today, got about $80 worth of stuff and shoved them into 3 bags. It took me 25 minutes including the drive. It takes my wife about 2-3x as long. I can't go with her because it's like a soccer match

My guess is you went in with plan, and went after what was on your list, and got out. Your wife on the other hand may have a list, but peruses the whole store just to make sure their isn't a deal she missed or might have an inspiration for something different she sees in the store. This like literally the difference between hunter/gather. That is not universal of all men and women (I can enjoy doing a slow walk in a store really taking in what is there, and my wife generally hates shopping which is why we do pick up or delivery now), but it is pretty text book.

[flere-imsaho]

My wife does the Trader Joe's shop and I do the "regular grocery store" shop and I suspect 50% of her time is finding parking.

[B & B]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

How does it take my wife an hour to shop for groceries when she comes back with less items and more bags? I want today, got about $80 worth of stuff and shoved them into 3 bags. It took me 25 minutes including the drive. It takes my wife about 2-3x as long. I can't go with her because it's like a soccer match

Guy in front of me checking out had the 'man basket' its what I use to get thru the week. Just shopping for myself, dont need a wagon/buggy. When I cant carry anymore thats when Im done shopping.

So, thinking this would be quick transaction at cashier like mine Im like ......thats my line.

Home slice had spent almost 130 in the basket...... one basket. 2 bags out the door 130. No alcohol. SMH, has to be a record.

The cashier makes it a pt to tell you how much u 'saved' with the reciept. 7 bucks.

[Edward64]

Was at Costco and noticed they were selling OTC birth control pills. Looked it up, FDA approved OTC in Jul 2023 and first started selling in Mar 2024. And there is no age restriction.

I'm good with OTC but not sure how I feel about 12-13-14 year old girls (or horny boys) able to buy birth control without parental notice or some sort of evidence girl has consulted with health provider.

You have to be 18 to have a Costco membership, so there's that. But from what I've read, this is available elsewhere.

Oh well, societal norms evolves & moves on.

[Ghost Econ]

Teens are having less sex per studies and having safer sex per available contraceptives. How are these 2 facts a bad thing?

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

Teens are having less sex per studies and having safer sex per available contraceptives. How are these 2 facts a bad thing?

Overall, it's a good thing.

But my concern was a specific scenario ... do you think its a good thing for 12-13-14 year old girls (and randy boys) to be able to buy OTC birth control without parental or healthcare provider guidance?

[Ghost Econ]

Is it good that 12 year old boys and girls can buy condoms? Kids can buy acetaminophen and has shown to be far more dangerous than birth control.

[cuervo72]

Probably a good thing for all those girls being raped by their youth pastors, stepdads, local cops, etc., yes.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

Is it good that 12 year old boys and girls can buy condoms?

Possible allergic stuff but no hormonal changes, so would not consider it the same.

Kids can buy acetaminophen and has shown to be far more dangerous than birth control.

I'll contend that hormonal changes (good or bad) have more of an impact than acetaminophen.

I'll ask again and appreciate a direct answer vs answering-with-a-question

do you think its a good thing for 12-13-14 year old girls (and randy boys) to be able to buy OTC birth control without parental or healthcare provider guidance?

[GrantDawg]

OTC in geb3ral is interesting. Just as you mentioned, oral birth control often has hormonal side effects that probably should be monitored by a doctor. But children absolutely should be able to get birth control without parental consent. It is important in preventing unwanted pregnancies and the spread of disease.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

OTC in geb3ral is interesting. Just as you mentioned, oral birth control often has hormonal side effects that probably should be monitored by a doctor. But children absolutely should be able to get birth control without parental consent. It is important in preventing unwanted pregnancies and the spread of disease.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

So to be clear, you are okay below? Note I said parent or healthcare provider, I'd be happy with either, but I hesitate on neither. You seem to say you're okay with no parental or healthcare provider guidance?

do you think its a good thing for 12-13-14 year old girls (and randy boys) to be able to buy OTC birth control without parental or healthcare provider guidance?

[Ghost Econ]

I mean, the literal experts are OK with it, so should it instead be regulated by men whose only stated goals are to keep women as only subservient baby machines?

So my answer is yes. What is your answer to my question... And no wishy washy statements, a simple yes or no answer is all that's required, because of you say no, that also means you would have to agree with the experts and not the lawmakers.

[GrantDawg]

I pretty clearly said yes. I do wonder about oral birth control and the side effects, but medical professionals have cleared it, and they know more than I do.

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[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

I mean, the literal experts are OK with it, so should it instead be regulated by men whose only stated goals are to keep women as only subservient baby machines?

So my answer is yes. What is your answer to my question... And no wishy washy statements, a simple yes or no answer is all that's required, because of you say no, that also means you would have to agree with the experts and not the lawmakers.

Not saying you specifically, but often times self-righteous extremists here just attack and toss out jabs but don't answer counter questions themselves. So, thanks for your answer. BTW can you also get to answering my questions on the other thread ...

Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Trump's Immigration Reform

But to answer your question to me specifically, I have stated I don't have an answer on agree/disagree yet, see above quote below ...

I'm good with OTC but not sure how I feel about 12-13-14 year old girls (or horny boys) able to buy birth control without parental notice or some sort of evidence girl has consulted with health provider.

So yes, I would like to get differing opinions and then make my own decision. Waiting to hear back from GD on his followup thoughts ...

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I pretty clearly said yes. I do wonder about oral birth control and the side effects, but medical professionals have cleared it, and they know more than I do.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

Okay, thanks.

[JonInMiddleGA]

screw it, this thread is an apt as any

Today was the largest single day exodus of furniture, items, etc that my house has had in three years.

The hope is that this breaks the logjam that has had my own exit progress stymied for months. It opens up space, finally, for me to be able to box things that will go with me and to have some coherent spot(s) to stage those boxes in the interim.

At the moment though I'm mostly just ... shellshocked? Not even an emotional thing (I don't believe) just more mindblown/boggled.

[Ghost Econ]

We've decided we're moving and I'm doing everything I can to avoid having to pack, and there's really not that much. I just don't want to have to put stuff in a box just to take it right back out.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

screw it, this thread is an apt as any

Today was the largest single day exodus of furniture, items, etc that my house has had in three years.

The hope is that this breaks the logjam that has had my own exit progress stymied for months. It opens up space, finally, for me to be able to box things that will go with me and to have some coherent spot(s) to stage those boxes in the interim.

At the moment though I'm mostly just ... shellshocked? Not even an emotional thing (I don't believe) just more mindblown/boggled.

It is such a daunting task. When we were young and moving every two or three years, it was always tough but we also stayed packed up in a lot of ways. We were always in "some else's" house as renters, knowing we would eventually move on. Now that we have been in this house for 22 years, I just wouldn't even know where to start. I would actually like to move, but I have serious doubt I could ever get my wife to agree.

[Ghost Econ]

We decided to drop private school, rent in the "zone" for the school my daughter wants to go to (all her friends and best swim program). We don't really want to live there, but plan to rent until she graduates in 3 years and just figure it out after.

[GrantDawg]

Now that the kids are grown, I'm wanting to move somewhere that would be better for our lifestyle (well, somewhere that could give us a lifestyle). I want to move in town somewhere that has walk able options for dining, shopping, activities. Get us out of the house more.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

I have attended literally thousands of high school sporting events, so the sheer fact that I can make the claim I'm about to make with such definitiveness oughta tell you something. This week, I witnessed what was--by a GIANT margin--the most insane mismatch in any sporting event I've personally attended.

Caldwell Academy defeated Cristo Rey Research Triangle 103-11 on Tuesday night. It was 42-2 at the end of the first quarter. Caldwell's coach pulled all five starters with over 2 minutes to go in said quarter. There were probably over a dozen dunks in that short span the starters were in, including five by Senior and UNC Charlotte commit Jaylen Cross. Barring significant injury, six players on the Caldwell roster are shoo-ins to play at the college level, and at least two others have a solid shot. At least three will go D1, including the consensus #1 member of the class of 2026 in the state of NC. (He was UNC Chapel Hill's first scholarship offer for that class.) Those 42 points came with NO pressing, either. They were picking them up well past the half-court line. If they had chosen, Caldwell could have easily put up 200+ and quite possibly have kept them from scoring at all.

Cristo Rey is only in its third year of playing varsity basketball as far as I can tell, and they're based in Durham...a metro area roughly double the size of ours, so it's not like they don't have anyone nearby that they can play. And it's not like they got a bunch of money for coming over here. Caldwell's gym is absurdly tiny--bleachers on just one side of the gym, only like 10-12 rows, and they only span around 2/3 the length of the court. Any "percentage of gate" deal might not even be enough to pay for the gas for the vans to bring two squads to Greensboro to get slaughtered. (Their girls lost 71-11 to Caldwell as well.) Why travel an hour and a half for this? Further, they're also playing another potentially even MORE ridiculous non-conference mismatch: The Burlington School has won three of the last four state titles. Cristo Rey also has several other schools on the schedule whose names I recognize as teams that were at/near Caldwell's level last year.

I can't wrap my head around why they're doing this. Their schedule for last year looks nothing like this one, either. Just looking at the names of some of the schools they've played the last couple of years (Carolina School Of The Arts, Raleigh Home School, etc.) and the fact that they finished 8-9 and their biggest loss was by 25, this insane ramp-up this year certainly appears to be someone's intentional decision. I don't see how this is beneficial for their kids or their opponents.

I randomly thought about these guys again today and decided to check up on them. and learned that their season has been pretty much as brutal as expected, other than the fact that somehow they WON a game. Good for them! Overall, they've been outscored by over 700 points in 15 games, for an average margin of -48.6. (and that includes a 2-0 forfeit loss, so the avg margin is really over 50.) The Burlington School beat them 102-4, Burlington Christian Academy 101-8, and the most points they scored in any game other than the win was 32. Their PPG average with the forfeit excluded has been 21.6. Just....why????



As for Caldwell, now four of the five starters (one senior, two juniors, one sophomore) have D1 offers, and the fifth (junior) has a D2 offer. Because of the unusual (at least to me) way schools are grouped/classified here, it looks like Caldwell will be a fairly heavy favorite to win a state championship...even though there's a solid possibility that we'll finish no higher than third in our conference. Other setups I've known group schools in regions/conferences based on both school size AND geography, but as best as I can tell, they do it here only by geography. Caldwell is AA, and the two schools that have a shot at finishing above us in the conference are AAA and AAAA. Caldwell is ranked #1 in the state in AA and this season has beaten #4, #6, and #8, all by double digits. The AAAA school in our conference is ranked #3 at their level, and the AAA school--led by Cooper Flagg's twin brother--is ranked #1 in theirs. (We lost by 2 to the AAA school in December and play them again tomorrow. We only play the AAAA school once--and that's tonight.)

[JonInMiddleGA]

fwiw, there's a new proposal (and thus far, looks like that may be all it is) for Georgia to cut down to 4 classes ... but crown 8 champions.

A similar geographic regional model (which is what TN does now) but then reclass for playoffs into 8 sub-classes.

It ends up being pretty screwy, with elite 8 football teams that were outclassed until the playoffs, making runs with a 3-7 regular season record (due to punching several notches above their weight class)

Hopefully whatever model is adopted for the upcoming cycle, it won't be this lunacy.

[Ghost Econ]

In SC, part of the school voucher law passed last year got struck down in court, but the part that remained would allow unlimited transfers for kids with scholarships. And since it applies to those kids, it would have to apply to all kids. So at this point, any kid in SC can transfer as often as they like without having to sit out, per the league rules.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

fwiw, there's a new proposal (and thus far, looks like that may be all it is) for Georgia to cut down to 4 classes ... but crown 8 champions.

A similar geographic regional model (which is what TN does now) but then reclass for playoffs into 8 sub-classes.

It ends up being pretty screwy, with elite 8 football teams that were outclassed until the playoffs, making runs with a 3-7 regular season record (due to punching several notches above their weight class)

Hopefully whatever model is adopted for the upcoming cycle, it won't be this lunacy.

Yikes. At least Caldwell will be no worse than a 21-10 #1 seed and clear favorite (though I’m thinking we pull off one minor upset tonight or tomorrow and head into the postseason at 22-9.) That sounds even crazier.

If I didn’t mention it upthread, this overall foolishness with regard to talent-hoarding at private schools is heavily NIL driven. Up until 24-25, *only* private school players in NC could get NIL money. Given your affinity for urnge, you may be aware of the lawsuit that the QB at my eldest’s high school filed against the NC Board of Education. He won, and so, starting this fall, public school kids will also be eligible for the cash, so at least SOME of the mass migration of most of NC’s top players to private schools should slow. Of course, private schools will still have the advantages of higher concentrations of big money boosters and lack of those pesky rules about at least pretending to live in the district…

[Ghost Econ]

Does this happen on as large a scale for other sports as it does for football? Obviously that's the biggest sport, but I feel like it's also the only one without any competing year round interest, so recruiting becomes more important for high school football.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

In SC, part of the school voucher law passed last year got struck down in court, but the part that remained would allow unlimited transfers for kids with scholarships. And since it applies to those kids, it would have to apply to all kids. So at this point, any kid in SC can transfer as often as they like without having to sit out, per the league rules.

yeah, there’s no sitting out in North Carolina. Our starting point guard came here from Ohio after the school year had already started. He was quoted in an interview in his local newspaper from up there as saying NIL was a factor but not the MAIN factor. When word got out that he was coming, the kid who would’ve been 2nd or 3rd off the bench at Caldwell transferred elsewhere and is also playing this season.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

screw it, this thread is an apt as any

Today was the largest single day exodus of furniture, items, etc that my house has had in three years.

The hope is that this breaks the logjam that has had my own exit progress stymied for months. It opens up space, finally, for me to be able to box things that will go with me and to have some coherent spot(s) to stage those boxes in the interim.

At the moment though I'm mostly just ... shellshocked? Not even an emotional thing (I don't believe) just more mindblown/boggled.

About 7-8 years ago, we did spring cleaning with old boxes that followed us for the past 20+ years. It wasn't furniture but a bunch of really old receipts (remember keeping them in shoe boxes?), bank statements, old misc paperwork, old manuals & books which I spent a couple days burning in our fire pit. Old clothes & shoes were collected and given to Goodwill down the street.

I found some handwritten aerogramme letters my mother had written to me. It was great to find them.

Good luck in working through all of those memories.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

Does this happen on as large a scale for other sports as it does for football? Obviously that's the biggest sport, but I feel like it's also the only one without any competing year round interest, so recruiting becomes more important for high school football.

I mean, this is North Carolina, so, you know, basketball. I don't know for sure, but so far I haven't seen any indication that there are any meaningful rules or timelines around recruiting kids from other schools here. It feels like from the time the state playoffs end in late Feb/early March until a few weeks into the school year, there's a steady stream of announcements that this high school kid or that one is taking their talent to some other school. Last season I personally witnessed a kid being recruited on the floor, less than 10 minutes after a game had ended, by an official representative of the school that he'd just played against. This was right out in the open, not whispered, people from both schools milling around, his current coaches nearby, etc. If it was against some rule, then it's the least-enforced rule I've ever seen. Also, many of the high school coaches have side gigs coaching travel teams and/or doing one-on-one training, so of course a metric buttload of recruiting goes on there, I'm certain.

All that said, of course if I call a high school basketball team "deep," it might mean they have as few as 7 quality players. A football team just needs more people, so ultimately, yeah, that's gotta be scaled up.

[Ksyrup]

After watching the Swedish Death Cleaning series, I want to dump a ton of shit but the wife won't let me. It's a mixture of the kids' old stuff for nostalgia purposes, kids' stuff my wife is convinced we will "pass down" to our kids' kids, a bunch of old clothes and other accumulated shit, etc. We have the room for it all since we're still in a comfortably large house and it's just us and the animals at this point for 8 months a year.

[JonInMiddleGA]

If there's a better thread for this question/subject someone is welcome to point me to it. I just don't recall one existing so I'll try this here.

The process of me getting out of this house has taken a major step (leap?) forward in the past week with the largest single-day exodus of large items. Which means my attention is able to start pivoting toward small(er) items ... and that's where I'm feeling a little overwhelmed/undereducated.

I have no real experience at all with anything like long term storage or even long distance moves specifically about "best practices" on some stuff

I'm a bit flummoxed right now wondering
-- best size/shape boxes for clothing. Even with professional movers involved, I feel like I need to be able to keep the weight/bulk manageable so I can shove them into a corner while awaiting departure. Clothes are heavy.
So is "medium box" kind of the sweet spot?

-- is the "right" answer different for stuff I'll unpack (like my own clothes) versus longer term stored stuff (like a lot of Will clothes that he doesn't want to let go of but isn't likely to go into his active wardrobe soon)

-- "Miscellaneous" ... or junk boxes? This is going to be a MAJOR category. All the bits and bobs that will go into long term storage for sentimental / historical / etc reasons. There are Godonly knows how many boxes, bins, clothes basket (at least two dozen ), etc currently filled with ... "stuff"

As that's sorted to cull anything that can go into the trash, what about the rest? Do I punt it into "junk box 37" to save time? Do I try to categorize it on the fly, to at least say "sports memorabilia" vs "academic stuff" vs "Jon" vs "wife" etc? I mean, some of that makes sense but how far is it worth going? And again, best practice for box size(s)?

-- fragile stuff that'll go in medium term storage -- probably comes out in 6-12 months after the inital move --. A couple of friends in the antique business have cautioned me about the danger of poor stacking in storage leading to collapsed/crushed boxes and damaged items. But I REALLY hate the notion of double-walled boxes that run $8 each. We're not talking about a few boxes here folks. Marking boxes as "fragile" is useful but when you're looking at maybe 40 boxes all marked that way? Feels to me like that eventually becomes "just another box" to movers, etc.

I've done a few smart things IMO. There's a spreadsheet that tallies up every box that's currently packed to go to Miami, has every detail I've recorded. Every box is numbered (on all sides), every box has a written description of contents on top, the numbering system even has meaning (100s are short term/immediate use, 200s are mid-term storage, 300s are long term storage)
Fragile boxes aren't just marked, the "Fragile" notation is on a hot pink label on top of the box.

Still, I'm almost paralyzed by the unknown right now. Any insight, tips, advice, strategies about dealing with large scale moving, long term storage, and specifics for certain types of items would be appreciated.

[Edward64]

Congrats.

Last time we moved, it was pretty much the 2 of us back in 2001. So FWIW, I'll just offer up ... simplify your life, cut down on "stuff"

1) For the real important stuff ...

There's bound to be some real important documents, photo albums, mementos etc. And for those, set them aside for personal transportation.

Other important stuff like your primary computer, clothes that you know you'll be wearing (vs we all have a closet full of clothes that were worn in the last 3+ years ago), breakable China, your weapons and like, also do personal transportation.

In other words, plan to personally transport anything you cannot live without. Think of movers losing your stuff, water damage, or screwing you around.

2) For all other, not so important stuff ...

You probably have a bunch of stuff you don't need. So, simplify and donate them at the local Goodwill store (or have a yard sale). Books, furniture, electronics etc. I've donated old but still functional laptops/computers to neighborhood HS kids. I've donated a bunch of olds clothes, an old 65" 720p to Goodwill. You get the idea.

For the big, not so important stuff ...

Get a dumpster for a week. Do you have an old treadmill? Do you have a stained sofa set that you'll prefer replacing? Do you have old lawn mower & equipment, mattress set, gardening stuff, paint cans etc.? I don't remember how much it cost but it was worth it for us when we did our once-in-a-decade spring cleaning.

3) For everything else in-between ...

I wouldn't overthink it. Just get the cheapest boxes, number them, and tape them up. They'll work for your clothes and anything else not fragile. For the fragile stuff, get some packing peanuts or roll up some newspaper. Get the boxes from Home Depot or Amazon, whatever is cheapest.

For stuff you aren't sure about (e.g. how to prepare a grill for transport,, or nice bedframe), google on it. I think how we did our bedframe was we broke it down ourselves. For our dresser drawers, we emptied it and then taped the drawers shut.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Congrats. ...

Thanks, most of that I've kind of ... dealt with? It's the "next level" stuff that has me struggling. A few points of it I'll address just to clarity for those that follow in the thread

re: dumpster -- that'd be awesome ... but "a week" or two weeks, or even a month ain't gonna cut it. Simply put, I'm not in the physical condition that allows me to do 8 -12 hours a day of up/down stairs with even just trash bag weights. It'd be a slow steady process, and unlike some areas, there's really no one within 30 miles of here that's set up that way. (some areas have places that charge to drop off & again to haul away, not worried about whether that's a week or six weeks .... we don't have those )

So it turns it into a cost issue around here, plus the only two places a dumpster would fit either blocks the front circular drive (which is a main load/takeway point for non-trash things) OR blocks my garage in/out ... and I don't really want to put my vehicle outside with spring thunderstorms coming

re: personal transport -- that'll be somewhat limited to the obvious. Laptop, xbox, monitor, 7-10 days of clothes, etc.

re: packing fragiles -- to a point, I'm okay there. I've packed & sent away over 6 full sets of china already without any breakage. And 80+ percent of the glassware/tableware I'm keeping is already boxed & ready to go. This is more like vases, decorative bowls & pitchers & plates, heavy crystal, but specifically "things that are odd shapes" / "things you can't stack". Since my post, a notion has emerged that maybe instead of stressing myself to death on that, maybe just bite the bullet and pay for professionals with specific antique experience to come in and box those things for shipment. Good news: I know at least one couple like that, used them for a project about 4 years ago -- bad news: I haven't a clue their names or even location, my wife found them, so can I necro their contact info or find someone similar?

re: donations -- yeah, toward the end, that'll be a thing. I've already got that specced, the best local rate is about $700 per "donation truckload" and I'm figuring paying to have donation furniture taken away will cost between $2k-$3k alone. THAT is why I'm so thrilled about recent events that have cleared out a lot of heavy sizable stuff, giving it away to 2 degree of separation people has saved us considerable $.

We know that what we're keeping -- between me & Will, from briefly stored to infinite storage -- is probably going to be roughly 3 to 5 standard (10x10?) storage units beyond what we use immediately.

I'm basically in a 5,000 sq ft house that had roughly 7,500 sq ft worth of "stuff" (nearly half my in-laws 5,000 sq ft house ended up in my unfinished basement) ... and downsizing that for me to eventually land in a 1k-1.5k sq ft condo, plus a little bit that Will could make use of short term when he upgrades to similar.

We've made an enormous dent in that. But I've had multiple "pros" kind of put the fear of God in me about the hazards of long term storage ... and so I'm shackled by fear right now, feeling woefully undereducated.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I'm a bit flummoxed right now wondering
-- best size/shape boxes for clothing. Even with professional movers involved, I feel like I need to be able to keep the weight/bulk manageable so I can shove them into a corner while awaiting departure. Clothes are heavy.
So is "medium box" kind of the sweet spot?

-- is the "right" answer different for stuff I'll unpack (like my own clothes) versus longer term stored stuff (like a lot of Will clothes that he doesn't want to let go of but isn't likely to go into his active wardrobe soon)

Professional movers aren't really going to care about the weight, in my experience. It's more about how much you'll move the box when you get to your destination. I'd say the typical "medium" would be about the heaviest box for clothes I'd want to move around myself, but you could go as big as possible for stuff that's going to get thrown in an attic (maybe throw some moth balls in there while you're at it) and not looked at for a while.

-- "Miscellaneous" ... or junk boxes? This is going to be a MAJOR category. All the bits and bobs that will go into long term storage for sentimental / historical / etc reasons. There are Godonly knows how many boxes, bins, clothes basket (at least two dozen ), etc currently filled with ... "stuff"

As that's sorted to cull anything that can go into the trash, what about the rest? Do I punt it into "junk box 37" to save time? Do I try to categorize it on the fly, to at least say "sports memorabilia" vs "academic stuff" vs "Jon" vs "wife" etc? I mean, some of that makes sense but how far is it worth going? And again, best practice for box size(s)?

Here again, I'd probably go more weight. Small/medium boxes for this stuff.

As for organization, it's a pain, but cataloging stuff is absolutely the best way to do this. Sure, if you can make "similar" piles, it helps, but the best thing we ever did in our many moves was just write a list of what's in the box on the side of the box. Or you could label the boxes and put the list on a separate sheet of paper or even into a Word document if you're really thinking ahead.

-- fragile stuff that'll go in medium term storage -- probably comes out in 6-12 months after the inital move --. A couple of friends in the antique business have cautioned me about the danger of poor stacking in storage leading to collapsed/crushed boxes and damaged items. But I REALLY hate the notion of double-walled boxes that run $8 each. We're not talking about a few boxes here folks. Marking boxes as "fragile" is useful but when you're looking at maybe 40 boxes all marked that way? Feels to me like that eventually becomes "just another box" to movers, etc.

Mark as fragile and use the smallest boxes possible so they end up going on the top of whatever pile anyway.

I've done a few smart things IMO. There's a spreadsheet that tallies up every box that's currently packed to go to Miami, has every detail I've recorded. Every box is numbered (on all sides), every box has a written description of contents on top, the numbering system even has meaning (100s are short term/immediate use, 200s are mid-term storage, 300s are long term storage)
Fragile boxes aren't just marked, the "Fragile" notation is on a hot pink label on top of the box.

OK, clearly I should have read this first.

Still, I'm almost paralyzed by the unknown right now. Any insight, tips, advice, strategies about dealing with large scale moving, long term storage, and specifics for certain types of items would be appreciated.

We marked boxes and unpacked things (like furniture) with color-coded post it notes to denote if it was going to the house or to storage and our movers dropped the house stuff off first and then the storage stuff. If you haven't already, mark the name of the room in the new house where a box is going to make it easier, and if you can stand it, put the name of that room on all four sides of the box.

Get a larger storage unit than you think you'll need.

Try to be honest about what's junk or what's realistically never going to get used. Moving is like the best possible opportunity to thin stuff out.


Last but not least, if your budget can stretch to it, I honestly love professional packers (often the movers will offer this as a service). But I hate hate hate hate hate hate packing, so YMMV.

That's all I can think of right now.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

But I've had multiple "pros" kind of put the fear of God in me about the hazards of long term storage ... and so I'm shackled by fear right now, feeling woefully undereducated.

Are there specifics they're mentioning?

IMO, it's mostly common sense. Pick a facility that's reputable and match what you're going to put there with the unit in question. So, for instance, if you're going to put clothes in long-term storage I'd recommend climate controlled.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Are there specifics they're mentioning?

IMO, it's mostly common sense. Pick a facility that's reputable and match what you're going to put there with the unit in question. So, for instance, if you're going to put clothes in long-term storage I'd recommend climate controlled.

This one is easier to cover so I'm gonna reply to it first lol.

The specifics, from one very experienced antiques dealer that's also a decades-long good friend of the family in particular, that have me intimidated/unsettled were:

-- the bigger risk for damage isn't in the moving if you're using pros (we definitely are), it's boxes not surviving long term storage. She explained that she meant weight, boxes crushing other boxes, stacks toppling, etc, and the resultant damage. Sure, you put heavy boxes on bottoms, and reduce weight as you go up ... but what happens when you pack dozens upon dozens of boxes of roughly equal weight?

She heavily advocated using double-walled boxes ... but those fuckers are like $8 each even in bulk (she linked me to her specifics and suppliers, the price was pretty consistent). And ngl, I'm flinching harrrrd at paying that much for a cardboard box. If it was a few, might be one thing to bite the bullet on but we're talking about a couple dozen. It's a ... price point sensitivity thing I guess. I'm looking at probably $25k or more for the move so whinging about a couple hundred bucks more for boxes is probably silly ... but it's an intrinsic wiring thing in me and I struggle to overcome it.

---

As for the facility itself, we're feeling okay. He's had a place he's used down there (we actually still have a mostly empty unit) and in Miami due to climate nearly everything is climate controlled, that's the default value if you will. We're just mostly hoping that we get all the units we need in a single facility rather than having stuff end up strewn across multiple facilities. That'll be luck of timing mostly, sometimes they have plenty of units available, sometimes they're 30-45 days from having one (much less 3-4 at the same time).

[flere-imsaho]

IMO, it sounds like she's being overly cautious, but then again it depends what you're putting in these boxes (how much they mean to you) and what your risk tolerance is.

My experience is that boxes stacked 3-high are fine but after that it can get unwieldly. Even if the first few levels are packed tight so there's nowhere really to "tip right" or "tip left", if left long enough cardboard boxes can simply fail. So then you'd have to ask yourself how long stuff is going to be in there and how humid stuff gets.

If it's important enough and will be stored long enough there may actually be a case to buy strong stackable plastic containers (although those could melt in the heat if not climate controlled).

Again, it's hard to know what to do without seeing how much you have and what it is, so this is generalized advice that may or may not be useful.

One last thing I thought of is you could use double-walled boxes just for the bottom row and stack 2-3 on top of that. Less chance of collapse.

We've never really had that much fragile/important stuff to store, so it's not really come up for us.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Now lemme see about replies to the longer one lol.

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Professional movers aren't really going to care about the weight, in my experience. It's more about how much you'll move the box when you get to your destination.

For me, the initial concern about weight/size is "can I lift the fucker to stack it or am I limited to shoving it around with my foot?". Lemme explain a tiny bit. Right now I could go upstairs and pack up 3-5 medium boxes worth of Will clothes that he wants to keep, mostly destined for storage. Fine. BUT those will be sitting here indefinitely until the actual move. I need them stackable (even just two-high) for floor space purposes, cause there's other stuff in his room to address still too. Once I know right sizes, I'll know ... but I'm paralytic from the "i don't know YET"

As for organization, it's a pain, but cataloging stuff is absolutely the best way to do this. Sure, if you can make "similar" piles, it helps, but the best thing we ever did in our many moves was just write a list of what's in the box on the side of the box. Or you could label the boxes and put the list on a separate sheet of paper or even into a Word document if you're really thinking ahead.

That's why I'm so proud of myself for not only my Excel doc -- which has longer descriptions of contents than the short blurb on the box -- but also for
the 100s/200s/300s numbering systems for each. My notion is that, when it gets to storage units, grouping the short term items (100s) in one unit, mid-term (200s) in another, long-term (300s) and being able to tell moves "okay, 300s go in unit 2407 and 2408, 200s go in unit 3763" etc SHOULD make sense. Plus, as long as we have the list, we'd know what boxes contained what we happend to go looking for down the road.

If you haven't already, mark the name of the room in the new house where a box is going to make it easier, and if you can stand it, put the name of that room on all four sides of the box.

To some extent, that's a lot of TBD. I don't know where I'll be living short-term, certainly don't know what I'll be living in long-term ... and you know how variable condo layouts can be. I don't even know where my primary desk, primary TV, etc are gonna be yet, much less ancillary / secondary stuff.

Get a larger storage unit than you think you'll need.

We both have limited experience, me especially, dealing with storage units. His 6 months of storing basically his entire Miami "stuff" (from furniture to dishes, electronics, etc) was our biggest insight. From knowing what we fit into that space (which I think was the 10x10 size I mentioned) and knowing quite well what furniture we're storing, and having at least a kinda sorta guess about the number of boxes to be stored, we sorrrrrta know we're looking at 3-4 more units the size of what he has already. There's nothing magical to us about 10x10, EXCEPT that we know the facility we use and kinda want to stay with (due to central location, neighborhood, perceived safety, etc) is heavily weighted toward units of that size, getting anything bigger is a significant challenge with them. It's sort of the sweet spot for pricing too.

Try to be honest about what's junk or what's realistically never going to get used.

The volume of trash generated already has been staggering ... but so is the volume of stuff that we either both agree should be kept or at least one of us feels strongly about keeping. And we're kind of okay with that I guess. We've both accepted what our monthly storage bill is going to look like indefinitely. We have some emotional limitations (him moreso than me) about what we're willing to part with right now, but we've accepted that reality and the price (literal) consquences of those limitations.

Last but not least, if your budget can stretch to it, I honestly love professional packers (often the movers will offer this as a service). But I hate hate hate hate hate hate packing, so YMMV.

That's a tricky part. Now that he's gone, I'm basically the only person who can make the keep/trash decision. On. Every. Single. Item. Here. Right down to pieces of paper. I'm the only person available that knows why THIS piece of paper that looks similar to 99 other pieces of paper is a keep vs shred. Or why this box of her business cards is a keep (only surviving ones from that job) vs trash (more stray boxes when I've already secured one months ago). There's really nothing here -- not at the moment anyway -- that I can just point to professionals and say "pack this" without my involvement. I could, in a narrow sense, identify the major fragiles -- like Fenton art glass that I personally purchased and intend to keep -- and turn them loose on those in batches ... but I'm a lot of batches away from having a LOT of batches

[flere-imsaho]

You could also buy cheap plastic shelving units and put those in the storage units and put boxes on the shelves.

We've had something like these in our basement and shed for ages with heavy stuff on them and they've never failed: https://www.amazon.com/Sterilite-Ass...92KCKEQV4&th=1

You'd have to measure to the size of boxes, of course.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

For me, the initial concern about weight/size is "can I lift the fucker to stack it or am I limited to shoving it around with my foot?". Lemme explain a tiny bit. Right now I could go upstairs and pack up 3-5 medium boxes worth of Will clothes that he wants to keep, mostly destined for storage. Fine. BUT those will be sitting here indefinitely until the actual move. I need them stackable (even just two-high) for floor space purposes, cause there's other stuff in his room to address still too. Once I know right sizes, I'll know ... but I'm paralytic from the "i don't know YET"

Going from memory, with sizes from U-Haul, I'd go with mediums at the biggest, then.

That's why I'm so proud of myself for not only my Excel doc -- which has longer descriptions of contents than the short blurb on the box -- but also for
the 100s/200s/300s numbering systems for each. My notion is that, when it gets to storage units, grouping the short term items (100s) in one unit, mid-term (200s) in another, long-term (300s) and being able to tell moves "okay, 300s go in unit 2407 and 2408, 200s go in unit 3763" etc SHOULD make sense. Plus, as long as we have the list, we'd know what boxes contained what we happend to go looking for down the road.

Yep, you're in good shape here. Most people don't have the patience to do this and then pay the price when looking through 50 boxes for something (that person may or may not have been me).

To some extent, that's a lot of TBD. I don't know where I'll be living short-term, certainly don't know what I'll be living in long-term ... and you know how variable condo layouts can be. I don't even know where my primary desk, primary TV, etc are gonna be yet, much less ancillary / secondary stuff.

If you've got stuff cataloged as above you'll be fine, then. You'll be able to say "these numbers go there, these numbers go there, etc...".

We both have limited experience, me especially, dealing with storage units. His 6 months of storing basically his entire Miami "stuff" (from furniture to dishes, electronics, etc) was our biggest insight. From knowing what we fit into that space (which I think was the 10x10 size I mentioned) and knowing quite well what furniture we're storing, and having at least a kinda sorta guess about the number of boxes to be stored, we sorrrrrta know we're looking at 3-4 more units the size of what he has already. There's nothing magical to us about 10x10, EXCEPT that we know the facility we use and kinda want to stay with (due to central location, neighborhood, perceived safety, etc) is heavily weighted toward units of that size, getting anything bigger is a significant challenge with them. It's sort of the sweet spot for pricing too.

I should have said this earlier, but every mover I've worked with has been able to estimate how much room you'd going to need. We were able, for instance, to tell them we were going from a 1800 sq ft house to a (I forget) sq ft town house (temporarily) and that besides what we needed, stuff was going into storage, and the estimate they made on unit size was fine. If I had to do it again, I'd go one size bigger, but everything did fit. Bear in mind they do this stuff all the time, I would imagine especially with people moving to Florida.

Edit: wanted to clarify that this was especially true once the movers had seen our existing house & stuff.

The volume of trash generated already has been staggering ... but so is the volume of stuff that we either both agree should be kept or at least one of us feels strongly about keeping. And we're kind of okay with that I guess. We've both accepted what our monthly storage bill is going to look like indefinitely. We have some emotional limitations (him moreso than me) about what we're willing to part with right now, but we've accepted that reality and the price (literal) consquences of those limitations.

Yeah, I get it, definitely, and only you can make those decisions. If you're unsure, err on the side of keeping stuff. Easier to get rid of it later than realize you wanted it but it's gone forever.