It's been duly noted in Los Angeles folklore that at one time or another, everyone has lived, or has known someone that has lived "off Sweetzer."
The beautiful, 1930's-era, 3-story apartment buildings and bungalows located in West Hollywood (and near the new City Hall) house entertainment creatives, interior designers, fashionistas and artists. Over 38,000 people live in this 1.9 square mile city, the second largest concentration of people outside of Manhattan.
Saturdays and Sundays on the street are a not-so-careful and hurried orchestration of moving vans, orange parking cones, double-parked cars, tape guns, packing blankets, wardrobe boxes as well as front lawn tag sales-- all sorts of Angelinos moving in or moving out while they move up or down our social ladders.
I too have lived above Sweetzer in the early 90's, but on Marmont Lane, in a small ranch house built by a writer from the tv series Gunsmoke. My lovely neighborhood, just above the (then) unrenovated Chateau Marmont, was full of older homeowners, who used to complain to me that they were "land rich and cash poor."
Many nights after visiting the brand-new Sunset 8000, I used to walk up the hill to the house from Sunset Boulevard noting our small canyon most always yielded a warm breeze. I'd pass the tall hedges that hid the garden above the garage at the Marmont and head towards home hearing the bus boys in the back kitchen of the restaurant banging pots and washing silverware with indistinguishable conversations and laughs.
One late night I walked past the garage, around the corner, and literally bumped into Christopher Walken. He was very pale, friendly and had just walked through the gate to a car parked in the red. It was really dark, and I honestly didn't think much about it. But a few months later, I was reading Vanity Fair, and there was a picture of him, sitting in a chair by the window in a room of the Hotel, photographed by Annie Liebowitz. I bet she took his photo the evening I bumped into him. I felt like part of history and my introduction to Hollywood had begun.
But I did what everyone does, when they "live off Sweetzer." I moved soon thereafter.
Two Sunday's ago, my friends and Professional Organizing colleagues Stephanie Culp and Lynne Gilberg served as experts in an article on moving for the Los Angeles Times. Lynne and I have worked together on several estate moves. View the story here, or continue reading.
Rule No. 1: It's never too soon to start packing
Tips from the experts include shedding extra possessions and boxing up what will move with you as soon as possible.
By Mark Kendall, Special to The Times
The key to a successful move is to start preparing as soon as you know you're moving, advises Stephanie Culp, a professional organizer based in Temecula.
"Every day, go through something, even if it's just two shelves in the linen closet," said Culp, author of "How to Conquer Clutter." "Typically what people do is they wait till the last minute, and they throw anything and everything into a box."
Start by going through the house, room by room, and getting rid of stuff. And don't forget the yard. Give items to charity or sell them.
"Purge, purge and purge some more," said Culp, who plans a move of her own to Arkansas later this year and started packing months ago.
Culp also recommends:
• Label boxes by the room the stuff belongs in and write it on the four sides of the box instead of on top. Labels on top can't be read when the boxes are stacked.
• Make sure boxes are packed to the top, even if it's just with paper. Otherwise, the empty portion may collapse under the weight of other boxes.
• Give helpers clearly defined tasks. For example, assign one person to pack all the bathroom items, Culp said.
Lynne Gilberg, a professional organizer based in Los Angeles, suggested wrapping small items in packing paper and then labeling them with an X. Otherwise, the item might get thrown away as packing material.
Gilberg also recommended packing a travel bag with items such as a change of clothes, toiletries and snacks.
Consider whether you're capable of handling your own move or should hire professionals. "You don't want to be responsible for spraining your friend's back," she said.
Evaluate the size and weight of your furniture, how much there is to move and how much it is worth.
"If it's the good stuff," Gilberg said, "let the professionals do it."
The distance of the move is a consideration as well. Culp, who will still be working with California clients after she relocates, plans to hire professionals for her out-of-state move.
For those who still aren't sure, Culp offered an observation.
"Do-it-yourselfers generally woefully underestimate the job," she said.