Moving Tips and Tricks With Duck Max

Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Duck Brand sponsored this post. All opinions are mine alone

We have officially been in San Diego for 2 months!
Honestly, I can't believe how fast the time is already flying by and how quickly everything happened when we were moving.
I absolutely hate moving. It creates clutter, it's difficult to find anything, and figuring out which things should go in which boxes is annoying!
We knew moving while Hunter was in the middle of working two jobs and finishing college finals would be crazy but throwing a crazy toddler and a tiny baby both with colds in the mix made it pretty much impossible ha.
Most nights we stayed up til 1 or 2 am just trying to get things done while both girls were asleep.
This was our first time ever doing a "big" move instead of just across town or something, and to be honest, we felt completely clueless!
I kept calling my mom for advice and we kept learning the hard way how to pack up our lives smoothly.
So, I have decided to create this post to help any of you first time movers have a slightly smoother experience than we did ;)
Here's a few tips and tricks that will help if you plan on doing it all on your own.


Tip 1) Use quality packing materials! Since the entire process was stressful enough, we wanted to make sure our packing materials held up well so we had one less thing to worry about. We chose Duck Max Strength Packaging Tape to ensure our boxes successfully made it from one state to the next in one piece! I was so worried about boxes opening when the moving truck went over bumps or that everything would fall out the bottom when people were carrying boxes to and from the truck. I know that stuff is just that, stuff, but I just wanted to make sure we weren't going to have to replace a million things after this move. So why did we choose this tape over others? Well, it is 100x stronger than acrylic tapes for maximum adhesion and we definitely noticed this to be true! Since we aren't currently in our own place, we have been storing our boxes and opening them to find things we need constantly. It is so nice to be able to re-seal them since it is ideal for heavy duty shipping, moving and storage applications. We were also trying to move on somewhat of a budget. We weren't able to throw thousands of dollars into this move so it was awesome knowing we could get a Value-8 Pack of heavy duty, clear tape for under $20 at our local Sam's Club in the office supplies aisle! Hunter luckily worked for a moving company so we were able to find quality boxes but that is huge too! Make sure those boxes are firm and stiff so your valuables don't get smashed by other boxes. We used plenty of bubble wrap, packing paper, and cushion foam as well! All of this combined with the Duck Max Strength Packaging Tape, made for a smooth move. 


Tip 2) Let people help you! You guys, I had so many people reaching out to me asking if I needed help with the girls, help packing, help cleaning, etc... and I kept turning them down because I didn't want to be a burden. That created a lot more stress on me than I needed and a lot more work for me. I kept complaining about how difficult it was and it wasn't until I let others help me that I realized how much smoother it could have gone. So when someone offers to help, take them up on it! Trust me, it'll help a ton. 


Tip 3) Stop trying to wait until the last minute to pack your kitchen stuff. Oh my gosh, packing a kitchen is a complete nightmare! I was beyond annoyed trying to make dinners and realizing I had already packed something I needed. Or, just leaving things out that could have fit in boxes because I wasn't sure if I needed it. Just do away with the guessing games and pack that kitchen up. We ended up getting plastic cups, spoons, forks, and knives, and paper plates to use the last week so we could pack our dishes. We also got a lot of frozen microwavable things or things that didn't need to be heated up to save the trouble of waiting to pack pots and pans. I tried waiting as long as possible, but once we decided to just pack the kitchen, it made a huge difference. We had the whole thing completely packed and were able to clean it ahead of time. 

Tip 4) Make a plan for moving day. Oh moving day, it's the worst. Basically, just don't plan a single thing other than moving on that day. Trust me haha. Find someone to watch your kids or they will be running mad. We finally just gave in and let the iPad babysit Oaklyn and Cam was little enough to just lay in the swing most of the day. I had wished we were more prepared when things started to get crazy and I could feel myself getting frazzled. Plan which boxes can be taken out first and which furniture can be taken out at which times. Instruct friends on what you need help cleaning and when. Look over your cleaning checklist and make sure you plan appropriately. (we forgot that we needed to run the self clean on the oven and it took several hours, oops!)


Tip 5) Be prepared when everything is gone! Oh my gosh this was comical! We had so much on our minds that we completely forgot we still had to sleep in our empty apartment one more night. Luckily, we had little portable beds for the girls and I kept all of their bedtime stuff out to ensure they were comfortable, but we managed to forget that we had to sleep that night too! I ran out to Walmart and had to get an air mattress, we each had one little blanket because it was all we could find, I was holding up a towel while Oaklyn showered because we didn't have a shower curtain, Hunter had to attempt to fit in the bath, oh it all was just getting to the point of being hilarious. So basically, if you plan on staying another night in your empty house/apartment just make sure you're prepared!


I'll definitely be using these tips for moves to come, but luckily I think that was our biggest move we will have.
We are still unpacking and repacking boxes as we need them and I can't tell you how helpful it has been to have Extremely thick tape for heavy-duty box sealing on hand.
Make sure to head to your local Sam's Club to purchase your Duck Max Strength Packaging Tape!
So, what are your best tips for packing??
I'd love to hear!

All my love,
Aleigh Joy


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A Little Life Update

Sunday, February 18, 2018
Thank you Pink Blush for sponsoring this post



Hi friends!
It's been a hot minute since I've sat down and typed out some sort of update.
Life has been exceptionally busy lately!
Even though I like when I'm busy, it can also be overwhelming and the first thing that gets pushed to the back burner is blogging... sad!
However, I've had quite a few of you message me asking what's happening in our life currently so I figured I'd at least pop in here for a second and give a little update!

Hunter:
Hunter was working for Marriott right when we moved here.
He was trying his best to enjoy it, but just knew it wasn't the right path.
He ended up applying for another company here in San Diego and got the job!
It's called General Atomics and they build unmanned aircraft for the military.
To be honest, we had no idea what to expect with him applying.
We knew he could totally do it, but they've never hired anyone right out of college for this position.
We were so happy that he got it and we have been loving the schedule!
The hotel business has awful hours and is pretty taxing on a family.
This has been a million times better for us.
Hunter is still learning the ropes but likes this job way better!


Aleigh:
Moving was a complete whirlwind and I still feel like I'm trying to get my feet on the ground here.
It has been tons of fun living near so much family and means I'm constantly busy.
I haven't had much time to sit around here which is good!
I've been planning multiple parties since I've been here and it has been really fun!
I'm missing my friends and the life we built in Utah, but I'm remembering why I love it here too.
I have days where I ache to go back, but other days are really great here.
The girls also keep me very busy and are still causing a lack of sleep and an abundance of grey hairs but what's new? Ha!
I'm also really loving shopping at Pink Blush! They have tons of cute maternity clothes and stylish women's clothes. I love wearing this baseball tee out and about because it is so comfy and cute! I was having a hard time finding this exact top online, but there are plenty of trendy maternity clothes options on their site! I'm not currently pregnant, but I am able to find something for every season of life!

Oaklyn:
My Oaks is three! She is the most stubborn child but also the cutest.
She just gets prettier by the day. Sassier too ;)
We keep talking about her "happy birthday" and she can hardly wait!
I love when she gets so excited about things.
She has been loving being surrounded by so much family.
I honestly think she has forgotten about Utah completely because of how much fun she has with family here.
She always has someone to play with and is in heaven having grandparents within 5 minutes of each other.
She seems so much older to me now and is SO smart!
Her vocabulary is incredible and she is always trying to use big words in sentences. 
I'm always impressed with her memory, ability to pick up new things, and eagerness to learn

Cambria:
Oh my sweet baby Cam!
I'm still as obsessed with her as ever!
I literally cannot get enough of this baby.
She's so squishy and perfect!
She is the most angelic child you will ever meet.
She get's a solid D+ for nighttime sleeping but it doesn't even bother me because I'm so obsessed with her and how adorable and sweet she is!
She takes great naps, but is still waking up quite a bit at night.
She is sitting completely by herself for long periods of time.
She rolls alllll over the place.
She's eating solid foods and figuring out how to eat on her own.
Everything about this child is adorable!



That about sums up what each of us are up to now!
I'll try harder to update more in the future!
Mostly, life just keeps passing by and we can't believe how quickly things are going.
We have a three year old and a 6 month old and it happened in a blink!
It seems like just yesterday I was Shopping at Pink Blush for their Pregnancy Clothes  and now here I am looking at their women's line!
Time is a crazy thing.
I hope all of you are well and I'm excited to share Oaklyn's party with you!!

All my love,
Aleigh Joy

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