Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Paper, Paper, Paper!

I used newsprint to wrap and cushion my belongings when I packed them for the move.

This is two reams of newsprint.

I used three reams of 24" x 30" newsprint. A ream is 500 sheets, each of which, when stacked (and unrolled), measured about 1-1/2" high.

The paper worked great. Nothing I packed was damaged at all. But 1,500 sheets of crumpled paper fill up a lot of garbage bags when you try to throw them away, so I got the bright idea of flattening them out to take up less space.

It sounded like a good idea at the time.  But by about Saturday afternoon, I almost cried every time I opened a box and pulled out the crumpled paper. It was one thing to pull the paper out. It was another thing to sit on the floor and flatten it out. 24" x 30" is big. To flatten it out I had to lean forward and sweep my arms in big circles across the paper. My shoulders, knees and back were aching, and I was taking pain killers every day.

So, WHY didn't I "take my time" instead of unpacking all the boxes between Thursday (moving day) and Sunday (I had to go back to work on Monday)?

Well, what ELSE was I going to do? I had been living with these boxes for four long weeks. I wanted my stuff. I wanted NORMAL.

So how big a stack is one thousand four hundred ninety-seven pieces of flattened out crumpled newsprint? (I had three sheets left over after packing everything.) It's bigger than you think.

I was kinda surprised.

Actually, I was VERY surprised.

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wait for it...

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ok, here's how big.




Yeah.

10 comments:

Elaine M said...

Some elementary teacher would love that stack of paper. Your place looks great.

Debra said...

cool story, broh ;-)


seriously, you made it all look so easy. you are my hero.

Megan said...

I think I might have found a teenager and paid them to tackle this Lynne! Or got Millie to do it, since she's discovered that she enjoys playing with paper. Let her earn her keep. LOL

I can relate to the craving for 'normal'.

Megan
Sydney, Australia

Pat said...

I don't blame you for wanting to get back to normal. I probably would have procrastinated but good for you!!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Do the movers take back the paper? If so, I bet your paper is in the best condition ever!!

Hoping "normal" is within reach ( judging by the photos, it is pretty close ).

Sending hugs for those sore "everything" parts...

imquilternity said...

I'm totally impressed with you saving the paper (I do that too) and with the very organized way you've handled your move. Wow! I've started my "purge" but need to be more diligent. You've inspired me!

Susan Torrens said...

We moved a lot (military family), so I am very familiar with packing paper. When our boys were young, smoothing the paper was their job! In the days before recycling, the moving company would come and pick up the boxes and paper. We still smoothed it out so we could get more in each box. I still have some leftover sheets that I use for patterns from time to time, and we have been retired for almost 14 years!

Mari said...

Congratulations on your new home! It looks great so far. Unpacking is almost as bad as packing it all up. In our area, many people sell their boxes and paper or even give them away. Might earn something for all that work smoothing the paper!

Terri said...

We were convinced that our house would sell right away... I've been living with my stuff in boxes for over a year. Now it is sold, and the real work starts - finding a new house in the new location 600 miles north.
Hope my move goes as easy and damage free as yours did.
Hugs

Just Ducky said...

recycle that, just don't trash it