We’re a nation of planners, reluctant to leave anything to chance. We start saving for retirement the day we get our first paycheck. We start saving for college when the baby is born. No one seems to want to wait for the obstetrician to announce “it’s a boy!” anymore. Parents-to-be want to know the baby’s gender so they can pick out the paint for the nursery and fill the toy box.
“Be prepared, not scared,” a wise person once told me. So I understand that planning makes sense. But some things defy planning, no matter how hard you try. Moving, for one. Moving requires a lot of skills, including forward thinking, logistics, attention to detail, and, most of all, cooperation. Not everyone can juggle all that gracefully.
Even more than moving, downsizing poses a lot of challenges. After all, sorting through years or even decades of accumulated possessions be very emotional. Lifestyle gurus briskly tout the benefits of “decluttering.” That’s easy to advocate until you actually tackle the task of tossing out beloved holiday ornaments or the children’s grade-school art projects. Farewell, papier-mâché dinosaur!
At FCG, we understand how moving – and especially downsizing – can tax even the most capable planner. Our phone rings daily with calls for help from homeowners in the midst of a furniture crisis. Here’s a sample:
• “I thought I sold my sectional online, but the buyer never showed up.”
• “My daughter was going to take my bedroom set, but she changed her mind.”
• “The folks who are buying our house said they wanted our dining set, but now they don’t – and they want it gone by the closing. That’s tomorrow!”
• “We thought our living room furniture was going to fit in our new home, but we just measured and it won’t.”
• “We just found out how much it’ll cost to store our furniture and it isn’t worth the price!”
For planners and non-planners alike, what’s most important is the ability to pivot in those tense moments. When everything falls apart and your blood pressure soars, think of FCG. We’re better than Xanax. We’re calm in a crisis but we’re fast at moving furniture. We’ll help you handle those last-minute unexpected snafus.
