Plan on moving this year? Moving can be ultra stressful–on everyone, but I swear, organization is the KEY to surviving a move.
Here’s a few tips to keep in mind if you are making a move this year:
- Have each member of the family pack a suitcase of essentials and comfort items. That way, the first night in the new house is a positive one. You may not get to unpacking every bit of every room, but at least little Suzy will have her blanket and teddy bear to ease the transition. Plus, how nice will it be when you hop in the shower after a long move to easily grab clean jammies and a toothbrush?
- Save money on bubble wrap. Pack the dishes with the linen closet. Wrap breakables using pillowcases and towels. You’ll save money and kill two birds with one stone.
- Label boxes. Don’t just label what’s in them, but also, what room you want them taken to. Movers or friends/family will be so much more helpful when they don’t have to stop and ask you where you want “this box.”
- Show up pre-move and clean the house to your standards. It’s soooooo much easier to clean and empty house. Get in there ahead of time and give it a scrub. Have the carpets cleaned now too. That way, it will be “move in ready.”
- Place toiletries in plastic ziploc bags OR open the lids and put a piece of plastic wrap on the top, then screw the lid back on. It will minimize spills and messes.
- Don’t pack up all of your drawers. Just slide the drawer out and use it as a box, then when you place the dresser back in your new home, all you have to do is slide the already unpacked drawer back into place.
- Put ALL screws, curtain mounts, electronic cords in LABELED plastic ziplock bags. You may think you will remember what they go to, but in the chaos, it might just become a mystery screw or cord.
- Take a picture of the back of your television so that you can remember how to put it back together in the new house. Remembering where all those cords go is just a hassle otherwise.
- Make use of suitcases, laundry baskets, etc. You can really cut down on boxes by using the containers you already have. Just make sure to tie a label onto each of them.
- Pack a lunch the night before. Unless you are ordering pizza or something, having to stop to make a meal in a kitchen that is probably chaos, is a big fat pain in the behind. Pack sandwiches and snacks–that will keep the kiddos in a better mood anyway.
- To pack your hanging clothes, just grab a garbage bag. Keep the clothes on the hangers, and bag them from the bottom up. Pull the drawstring around the top of the hangers, and off you go.
- Number your boxes. That way, you’ll know if you are missing a box right away.
- Minimize your grocery shopping one to two weeks prior to the move. If you can, use up what you have in the freezer.
- Unplug and clean your fridge {if you are taking it with you in the move} the day before you move.
- Contact utility companies and let them know your move-out date and your move-in date.
- Keep valuable items, like pictures and passports in YOUR car on the day of the move. That way, they don’t potentially get lost in the shuffle.
- Remember to keep a roll of toilet paper out, so that you can immediately put it in place in the new house. Friends and family that are helping you will thank you.
- If you won’t have beds set up in time, remember to keep sleeping bags, air mattresses, etc. handy.
- Throw a shower curtain in your overnight bag. You will want to take a shower after a day of moving, and digging through the bathroom boxes may not be too appealing.
- Bottled waters. Remember cups will be packed away, so remember to get a case of bottled waters for the day. Make sure to get enough for the people that are helping you move {the ones you like, anyway, ha!}.
Any more tips you’d like to add?
~Mavis
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Linda says
We taped the bags if nuts and screws to dressers and that made things a lot easier.
Lisa says
If you use your linens, make sure to save out one set of bedsheets and towels to use the first time – before boxes are unpacked! Or, label them so you can easily find them if you wanna take a shower. How do I know this? Oh yes, been there, didn’t do that. 🙂
Emily B. says
In addition to numbering the AMOUNT of boxes you have to move, I HIGHLY recommend to rank your boxes 1-3 in the order of importance to unpack. Some items are needed quicker than others, and allows for an orderly unpacking.
Kat says
When you number your boxes (#12), keep a separate list that describes the contents. This is both for potential insurance claims, but also to help you find a specific item when you have a wall of boxes or are unexpectedly storing items because you can’t unpack.
And reducing the stuff to pack makes the whole process much easier!
Lauren says
Mavis, it’s like you read my mind! I’m packing this weekend. 🙂
chris says
Keep your beer cooler handy where your helpers can get to it.
Jenn says
If you have friends and family that are helping you move, feed them. Pizza, wings they are easy to go buy and pick up or even have delivered at lunch time. Everyone will be starving and it is a good way to thank them for helping you.
Frau von E says
We’ve moved MANY times and already this year, so I’m an expert on this topic. 🙂 I save bubble wrap and packaging (those air bubble things from Amazon etc.) plus any brown paper that was used between dishes and keep it all in a box or two between moves. Everything can be reused and even the tape on bubble wrap usually is fresh enough to tape around another wine glass or whatever. Obviously, if you’re moving into your “forever” home, you wouldn’t want to keep this stuff but since we are renting and know we will be moving again eventually, it doesn’t take much space to store it . If you are done moving for a long time, please post your moving supplies on Freecycle so that they get used again. We don’t have space to store that many boxes, so I put all of mine on Freecycle and got rid of every last one. I also always label the box with the room on 4 sides and then at least one side with the contents. We always get extra “wardrobe boxes” (tall ones with a hangar bar) from our moving company ahead of time and have them taped and ready before moving day. The the morning of the move, I take the bedding off each bed and toss it into one of the wardrobes and label them accordingly. That way, the beds are easy to make that night and everyone sleeps happy in their own bed and their own sheets. Lastly, we always use professional movers for the day of the move (I pack everything myself) and we buy them pizza and drinks for a lunch break. They always appreciate that and many have told us over the years that people would not even let them use the bathroom in the homes they were moving to or from! We also always tip them at least $20 per person —my son likes to be the one who gives them the money. I think it makes him feel rich. 😉
Madam Chow says
Great tips!
Missy Homemaker says
My top tip is to not pack anything you won’t be excited to unpack. Get rid of all that junk you don’t need.
Practical Parsimony says
When I know I am going to move, I don’t get rid of any clothing or junk linens. I save them for packing. I did use the linens. By folding the sheet lengthwise and then accordion like, plates can be slipped into the folds. I even used my husbands tshirts and underwear. Okay, it is all clean enough I handle it with my hands and don’t feel like I need to wash my hands. I always label with labels like: master bedroom, L’s bedroom, J’s bedroom, A’s bedroom. Then, it dawned on me, I was the only one who knew that, so I ended up adding pink room, blue room,–things any guy or stranger can figure out without asking. On one move, I taped signs over the door with information on the boxes. No one had to ask me continually what room? which bathroom?.
One of the first boxes I packed was bedding, towels, underwear for everyone, change of clothing and night wear, tp, toothbrushes, paper plates, cups, a couple of baby bottles. This box was labeled “Last Box on the Truck” That way, I did not use all the sheets for packing. Pillows for each child were in the car. Our pillows were in the trunk in a garbage bag.
Once, we carried all my husband’s suits in the car. One the trip, the 6 month old had diarrhea for 500 miles. The two and a half boy threw up–all over the suits my husband thought did not need a bag over to protect. “What can happen to them in our car?” So, he had a huge dry-cleaning bill.
Charlotte says
With the seasons changing and the kids often changing clothing size during our moves, I pack all the kids’ clothing into boxes labeled by size. Then I pack the kids’ linens in their dresser drawers along with anything else I might want right away.
The other tip I have is to put the kids’ shoes on them and watch that they keep them on. One move I had to carry a kid into a shoe store because his shoes had mysteriously vanished into a box we weren’t going to see for at least a month. The take-your-shoes-off-when-you-enter-the-house training was deeply instilled.
Amanda says
Put mattresses, cleaning supplies, and essential kitchen boxes at the very BACK of the truck so that they come out first!
nicole says
make shore you have people lined up a head of time to help move large heavy furniture. so that your not left at the last second trying to get that big pice of furniture moved. we had this happen trying to get together 6 men to help us to move our 220 gallon aquarium at 500 lbs (empty) just for the tank not including the hard wood stand and top that we had to move too. plus needing two trucks. another thing you can do is if you know that you will be moving in x amount of months go ahead and pack up the things you know that you do not have to have. like books, extra blankets, nick nacks, kitchen things that are not used all the time. by doing a little at a time your not so over whelmed right at moving time. we knew we had to move b/c the house we rented needed some big repairs (we were smelling mold and found in closets), that could not be done with us living there. so when we agreed to start looking to buy with in a 2 to 3 month time spanned i packed what we could live with out.