So my weekend was a complete waste of time and muscle (what little I have of both). If you can't tell by the title, I helped move a family from our ward that is heading to St. George. This is a big family, which is fine, but the way they handled the move left something to be desired. There were only four of us there to help; me, a good friend in the ward, and two missionaries. The story is a long one, so get ready, I'm about to vent. The family decided that they would be able to do all of the following in one day. Instead of a 26 foot U-haul, (which they moved out here with) they bought a 24 foot trailer. The trailer didn't show up to their house until after 10:30. We were told to be there at 9:00. Now this is Miami, and there was a problem with transferring the title of the trailer to this family, so the father was out trying to get that taken care of and told me to pack his stuff really tight to save space. He didn't show up until 2:00. So the four of us moved this entire family. Now this family had nothing to pull this trailer with. Their plan was to trade in their mini-vans and buy a bigger van or a suburban to move across the country. If I may, I like to point out that yesterday was also the last day of the month which means they had to be out of their house today. So we left at 3:00, at which time the trailer was packed, almost full, the husband and wife were trying to decide what stays and what goes, because amazingly enough, all their stuff didn't fit. The house was filthy with stuff all over, and they still had no way of moving that trailer out of their driveway. And for those of who don't know, it is HOT and HUMID here in Florida.
After this ordeal, my friend and I decided that there need to be rules of etiquette if you are using the ward to move, we came up with the following:
1. You start on time not an hour and half later. (If you start at 9:00 a.m. or earlier it is strongly recommended that you provide juice and pastries, and if you'll be working past lunch time, pizza or sandwiches or burgers are appropriate. COLD Water should always be available!!!)
2. YOU NEED TO HAVE EVERYTHING BOXED UP THAT YOU WANT MOVED. (The movers should only move boxes and furniture)
3. The head of the house should be present to help move his family's shi...stuff.
4. Get a vehicle that is large enough to carry all your shi...stuff.
5. Don't estimate a length of time the move will take. (We were told this move would only take an hour) If your move takes longer than your estimated time, your helpers may have other plans and leave before everything is finished.
Now these rules are a collection of ideas that have come from several different moves over the years. So my friend and I have decided that these need to be made into Mormon law, and we may push for a posting of these in our ward bulletin. Because our ward literally had 8 families move in the past two months, luckily all but 2 followed the above rules.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Rules for Moving if you are LDS!!
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6 comments:
Nice. I hope to follow these rules. I actually spent my entire saturday (also my birthday) helping my brother pack his 26 ft trailer. For the most part he followed your rules except that not all of the boxes were packed, but they did get done while I was helping load other things. However, his plan was to have me help him load all the big, heavy items (couches, washer/dryer, beds, furniture, etc..)before the Elder's quoru8m showed up to help at 6:30 pm. It worked out alright though. Anyway, I thought your posting was very appropriate for what I have and will go through in the next week.
-Matt
Careful Tom, if you get too good at moving they'll make you Elder's Quorum President. Our ward has a large transient population with all the med students, redsidents and the soldiers out of Fort Hood. In fact our Elder's Quorum has moved the same military family three times in the last 18 months! I bought a nice handtruck/dolly a few years back and its more than paid for itself. Your rules are spot on.
Jim
Amen. Dave would agree with you. He's like the ward mover because they know he's home during the day. I think there's a lot of members who could take your advice. Oh those Mormons....sometimes you've gotta wonder! :)
I agree. I'm sure that since we are in the military we'll have our fair share of helping and being helped move. I will make sure I always follow your rules. Lets just hope everyone else does.
I'm glad I'm not a boy at times like those! You guys are sure good sports! I so would have my line-up of excuses ready. I guess it's a good thing I'm not a boy! I'm certain that they greatly appreciated you and if not now, they certainly will one day - those fetchers.
-Ginger
Jim wants to know if he can publish your rules in the next ward newsletter! In our neighborhood everyone assumes that "big blue" our truck is just for moving people (now that it isn't spending all summer going back and forth to girls'camp). The problem is that the HP group all are "old" and have bad backs from moving people while they were elders!
We've had several opportunities over the years to help. The worst is when the people haven't even started packing and expect you to do it with them. Great List!
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