Happy (or not so happy) National Moving Month!

May is the busiest time of year for changing residences for people in the United states; therefore, it has been dubbed National Moving Month.  Thirteen percent of American change residencies each year according to the U.S. Census, so never feel like you are alone in this atrocity we like to call moving.  
Whether you are moving, are planning to never move again or moved more times than your nomadic ancestors, you have a right to celebrate this month.  Or to even celebrate by not celebrating.    

To celebrate National Moving Month I would like to point out a couple of great deals offered for self storage and moving.  

1-800-PackRat Deal of 5% of monthly storage fee! 

Using portable storage units (pods) is a great way to make a move easier.  The company drops it off at your home then you can pack at your leisure.  PackRat will pick up your pod to move to the next location or to put into their storage facilities.  The transportation for the pods is safe, and the vehicle they use keeps the pod stable at all time.  If you get stressed about stories about moving companies losing and breaking people's stuff, this is a great way to avoid that.  

$10 Off Junk Removal Service from 1-800-Got Junk

This company will come in remove your junk, and clean up the area where your junk was afterwards.  You will have to have them come to your house to make an estimate.  If you have ever seen shows like Hoarders, you may guess why they would want to see what they're getting themselves into to give you an accurate estimate.  This is an easy way to clear out the clutter, and never have to worry about it again. 

10% Off Local and One Way Moves from Budget Truck Rentals
Sometimes it is just easier to rent a truck and do the move yourself.  Budget truck rentals lets you select where you pick up and drop off the truck.  They help you size exactly how big of a van you will need.  They also offer a service to let you rent a GPS.  


5% Off First Month Storage or Long Distance Move from Pods!
If you need to use storage, pods are the way to go.  All you do is load the Pod, and then they take it to one of their storage facilities.  When you are ready to relocate your stuff, they bring the POD to you for you to unpack.  This way you don't have to deal with the hassle of moving things in and out of storage, which can be extremely time consuming and stressful.  

How to Deal with the Stress of a Move

Our species stopped being nomadic, or free moving societies, about 13,000 years ago around the invention of agriculture and well... beer!  We can call civilization as we know it the ultimate hangover, and blame our hatred of moving on old human habits. Don't feel bad if you are feeling stressed about your move, because you aren't certainly the first one who has felt like they are on the cusp of a mental breakdown in the middle of a move.  Or if you are like me you begin to panic when you have to reassemble everything into the new home, because you weren't the tidiest of packers who mix books, silverware and everything else together somehow.  By the way, that is why this site recommends packing related items together, but it is easier to give advice than follow it sometimes. 

How to Make Moving Less Stressful 

In this section we will go over some services that will make the moving process go a lot easier.  Many people, including myself at times, can not afford these services, especially if we are moving somewhere more expensive.  There is a section below this for those who are penny pinchers, broke or just rather do it ourselves. 

• Move Out Cleaners: Even people who are completely enthusiastic about tidiness can find it daunting to clean up their apartment/house/condo after finally moving everything out of it.  Besides the fact you are probably tired from the process,  you won't get to enjoy the benefits of cleaning and sanitizing everything.  Move out cleaners will sanitize and clean all the appliances and rooms in your house.  Even if you are on a tight budget splurging on move out cleaners can at least eliminate one stressful part of the move.  Look here for more on move out cleaners, and be directed to move out cleaners in your area.
• Declutter Before You Move Out:  If you are one of those people who seem to collect a bunch of useless stuff, it may be time to ditch the junk when you move.  Moving is stressful enough with out having to pack, unpack then reorganize STUFF that you just don't need anymore.  Sometimes you hold on to stuff because of sentimental value or just because you haven't gotten around to throwing it out.  When I moved out of my college apartment I finally decided it was time to ditch all the copies of my university paper that I wrote for.  While it was cool to see my name and articles in actual print, it just wasn't worth keeping them anymore, especially since I have a digital record of all these papers.  So I feel your pain, it is hard to let go of stuff sometimes.  To get rid of stuff you could try to do a yard sale or sell things on craigslist.  If you don't have time to sell your junk you could give it to good will or local charities.  If you have the money you could consider hiring a junk removal team who will haul away stuff that you don't want.  
• Hire someone to Do it For You:  I personally have not ever gone this route.  My form of hiring a move out crew is buying a couple cases of beer in exchange for friends hauling my stuff to the new place.  There are lots of companies to choose from to help you with your moving out process.  Choosing a moving company can by a difficult task, but here are some guidelines you can follow to make choosing a moving company less scary.

Different Exercises to De-Stress 

Some of us may not have it in our budgets to hire help while we are moving or we'd rather spend money on something else.  Or you may be one of those people who feel that hiring people ends up being more stress than it is worth in the long run.  Here are some free tips on ways to relax.

• Meditate.  Even if it is just for one minute a day, this practice as show to lower stress levels. Even if you don't have the time, you must have one minute you can spare.  If finding a quiet place is tricky try closing yourself in the bathroom if you need to.  Once, you find your relaxing spot sit or lie down, whatever is comfortable.  The first step is to relax.  Scan your body while releasing one muscle at a time.  While you are doing this focus on your breath and nothing else.  If thoughts creep up in your head try to get rid of them.  After a minute, or more if you desire, slowly come back to reality.  Focus on your muscles awakening and wiggles your toes and fingers.  Acknowledge that it is a good thing that you took one minute out of your day to better your health. 
• Plan Ahead.  If you have a tendency to procrastinate, try not to.  The more we have to rush the process of moving, the more stressful it can be.  Start packing items in your house, like books, movies, decoration, early on, so that they are out of the way.  Make sure that you have decided what boxes you need and want long before the move.  One way to make sure that you do not put everything off until the last minute is to make a check list of things you need to do.  Try to check off at least one item from your list everyday.  On the day of moving think of all the things you don't have to do right then, because you dealt with them in advanced.  Make sure to congratulate yourself on these accomplishments. 
• Exercise. When you are stressed exercising may be the last one thing you want to do, but it can benefit you physically and mentally.  When we exercise it releases endorphins that give you a feeling of euphoria.  Whether you want to hit the gym or go on a walk it will help you get past this move. 

"They Say Wine Gets Better As It Ages, I Find the More I Age the More I Like Wine."

A Blog Post on the Art of Storing and Drinking Vino! 

To Learn More about How to Store Wine .  This site will let you know where, why, how and the what about storing wine.

When first introduced to alcohol I would not drink wine. Besides being introduced to an atrociously cheap wine via a supermarket bought box wine, I had a phobia of anything pretentious (which on hind sight was an ironic position to hold while attending liberal arts school).  Anything above cheap beer was a scam to my naive perceptions.  Then I met my fiance who persistently introduce to me to delicious varieties of wine, starting with Malbecs.

We have plans to cellar wines for long-term for the first time. I have hopes of collecting a bottle of Syrah each year from my favorite Maryland vineyard, Black Ankle, and then having a tasting years from now to taste the actual process of aging.  I realize this is not a controlled experiment, but it will be a fun one I think.  I suppose I see in 10 years from now!   So I am one of the lucky ones who have a convenient and healthy environment to store wine.  Not everyone is so lucky, and have to seek wine storage.

First thing is first though.  I want to debunk any notion that some may have that ALL wine gets better with age.  This is simply not true, and most wine is made to be enjoyed right away.  It was one of the reasons I though wine was sort of pretentious, because  I couldn't imagine at the time living somewhere long enough to store my booze. Later I would learn some of the nuances to wine storage. Wines that are supposed to be aged may be great right now, and some wine even go down hill if you age them.  Also, if a wine was stored improperly while aged, it may turn by the time you get to drinking it.  And lets face it, sometimes we just don't want to wait to enjoy that Pinot Noir from California or whatever your delicious and divine poison may be from.

The best way to find out how long to store a wine (or if to) is from the winemaker.  Not all of us can be lucky enough to be located near all our favorite vineyards.  And as much as I dream of living in the Colombia Gorge (my favorite wine region in the world) in Oregon, I know I couldn't take the constantly rainy weather nor afford to pick up my east coast lifestyle and leave to the west coast.  If you buy your wine from a store regularly, ask the owner of the store.  Hopefully you have found a good wine store with someone who knows their stuff.  If you haven't found someone who knows about their wine, I recommend you search for a wine store that offers at least some knowledgeable staff.  Not just because you want someone to tell you how long to store a wine, but you also need someone who will point you towards the best wines in their stores in your price range.  People who are in the business to sell wine are frequently passionate about the wine, and aren't necessarily in it for JUST the money.  Use them as a resource, they want to be used!

Anyways, Why We Store Wine


One word, tannin.  Tannin is the substance that comes from the stems, seeds and skins of grapes.  Tannin also comes from the barrels that wine is aged in wineries.  Tannins serve as a preservative for wine, so that it can undergo the aging process.  As the wine ages the harshness, bitterness of the tannin will become sediment in the bottom of the bottle reveal the flavors, fruit, acidic, mineral, etc, more in the open for the palate.
Red wines are generally the ones that get better with age, because of the large amount of tannin present in these robust wines.  If you drink it too young it may taste a little too harsh, but after storing it for some odd years the complexities of the flavors will come to the foreground.  Personally, me and the fiance like the bitter taste of fairly young red wines, but that isn't for everyone.  If you like your coffee black and your chocolate dark you may have the same preferences.
Red wines get their color from the skin of the grape and skin, and white wines don't have the same contact with skin and stem.  This means that they do not have the tannin present to preserve their flavors.