bye, bye balham...

...hello cohabitation!

at the beginning of this blog, i introduced you to my purple palace in balham. now i have shacked up with s and become a borough of merton resident in colliers wood.

because i had some time on my hands, i decided to move gradually over the course of one week. if you, like me, are ever inspired to use transport for london as a moving company, allow me to offer some helpful tips. (please note, also, that this is definitely one of those things i would have *never* done back home, along with taking public transport to IKEA and walking anywhere as a destination and not just exercise.)

first, invest in a travelcard. it really is worth it.



next, wear suitable apparel. i find a ski jacket with pockets is ideal for easy access to my travelcard and keys, as well as coming in handy when it starts to rain.





duffle bags are great. wear one on your back and pull the other one behind you. put heavy items in the wheelie duffle bag.





appropriate footwear is essential. it is a ten minute walk to the tube from my flat in balham; and another five minutes from the tube to s's flat in colliers wood. times two for the trip back.



not pictured, but also immensely helpful, is an ipod. it drowns out the noise of the duffle bag wheels grinding down the street, and gives you implicit permission to ignore other passengers on the tube.

moving statistics:

trips from balham to colliers wood with full duffle bags: 7
trips from colliers wood to balham with empty duffle bags: 6
trips by car (thank you, j!): 2
bruises: 3
broken nails: 4
number of times i was offered help going down stairs to the tube: 0
number of trips in the rain: 1

all things considered, it was not as traumatic as it could have been, and cost much less than renting a van or calling a minicab.

our next big project is tackling some of the mess.



i am adjusting to the "floor as organizational system" and s is adjusting to having my girlie things around the flat.



it is sooo nice to be together, though, and we're already taking advantage of the short commute across the sofa to see each other.

hi honey, i'm home!