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Anyone have any great moving tips?
I have moved a total of 18 times in my life. But it seems like every single time it ends up the same. Stacks and stacks of unorganized boxes that take me months to unload and my house takes forever to feel like a home. Even when I organize them by room this still happens.
You would think I would be a pro at this by now but I just hate it so much that I end up putting it off until the last minute and then tossing everything in a box just to haul it somewhere else.
I am thinking of putting a tarp down in my front yard with a "free" sign and anything I dont want putting it out there. I am sure that passers by will take it off my hands for me. lol
Anyone have any handy dandy moving/packing tips?
ETA: Since we have ten days to move alot of this can be spread out too. I am hoping that makes it easier.
Re: Anyone have any great moving tips?
I think you've got the right idea about packing rooms, but the only thing I can think of is just start earlier so you won't have to rush. I like the "free tarp" idea too!!
I never take clothes off hangers. Just throw them in the car and hang them up in the new closet. This saves a lot of time.
Other than that, I'm no help. We moved 6 months ago and still have unpacked boxes with who knows what in them.
You, too? I have moved about as many times. The last time, we hired movers. That was the best ever gift to myself. I will never do it without movers again.
I would say pack a shelf or a drawer or a space in a small box and then you can unpack that shelf/drawer/space back as it was.
Get some colored tape and put rooms or areas together with one color. Everything electronic with blue tape. Everything kitchen with green tape. You could use electrical tape... This wouldn't be for sealing, but for quick identification.
I'll think of some more I'm sure.
Sell everything and buy new sh!t.
Seriously get rid of everything you don't use. I moved 5 times in one year. Long story. Keep everything on hangers. Do you have a stagger time on both places? Like you get the keys to the new place on the 1st but don't have to turn the keys to old place in until the 5th? If so move and unpack all non essentials during that time. Otherwise I am of no help because I am that jack*ss that stays up all night unpacking my house.
I could loan out my DH. He is the king of getting rid of things! When he first moved in we had a few "discussions" about why it isn't right to just throw away my things even if I haven't used them since I was 10 yrs old.
I won't tell him he is right but it did help a lot to purge of a lot of the clutter.
Definitely do the take for free thing because most things will be gone in no time. It is amazing what people will want.
Buy some moving wrap at U-haul. (It's green saran wrap and on a roll) I bought for a move 3 years ago and have moved twice with it and still have some left. I use it to wrap drawers (I don't unpack dresser drawers- I wrap them, and pull them out to move the dresser and unwrap when I get there and put the drawers back in.) I use it to wrap things closed (plastic drawers, cabinet doors, protect woodfinish on things.
I wrap breakables in towels, washclothes etc. so that those things are packed too. That's all I got right now.
I always label each box with the area it's from, but I like Aria's idea better with the colored tape -- it's much easier to see. When we move in, we put the boxes in the room their labeled for, instead of all in one place. This helps me get my butt in gear!
Also, I pack things by importance. I know this may seem like it'd hinder, but it helps me bc I know what to expect when I unpack. Sure, I unpack the important boxes first (like the pots and pans I use almost everyday), but then when I get to the other boxes I already have an idea of what's in them.
With that, I pack things by location like each cabinet in a box. That way when you get to the new place, that one box all goes in one place.
A rule we made when we moved into our house that really helped was Each time you leave one room and enter the next, take care of one thing - whether it's taking a empty box to the trash, unloading a small box in the new room, or w/e. It helps releive the huge load and helps breakdown the move so it's not so overwhelming.
Oi I have moved so many times I cant count. We moved every school year, plus who knows how many times Ihave moved in my adult life.
Use index cards, put those on the sides of the boxes. Lable the box KITCHEN then on the index card say: Knives, spoons, husband beaters, what have you.
Also the first thing I take to a new place is a pack of TP and a pack of paper towels along with paper plates and plastic utinsels. Never know how fast that stuff will get unpacked
Here are a couple links I found as well!
http://interiordec.about.com/od/moving/a/org_movetips.htm
http://www.collinsdevelopment.com/moving-tips/packing-tips.php
OMG-I think I moved 20 times when I was in college!
I moved from my 3rd fl TINY apt to DH's house which is 2 mi away...
What I learned. Wrap your dishes, etc, in your own towels-tea towels, sweatshirts, etc-saves you $ and esp w the ones you rarely wear-or socks-that would be fast for some glasses...
keep clothes on hangers.
If you box something up that you are rarely going to use-put other rarely used things w it-esp if it's for a yard sale. Then, it's already boxed!
Have a condiment party (not sure why a neighbor did this, but she did... ) and if she had duplicates, she tossed em or gave them to the neighbors...
I'm a big one for having a ton of 'meals' around the house-Hamburger Helper, freezer meals, etc... don't go buy more food-unless it's necessary---eat up what you have-then it's less to take over.
Computer cords are a b!tch. maybe put a pillow case out and put them in it?
GL!
I moved a bazillion times growing up in a military family, so I never had to actually help. I was the baby so I got to keep our dogs entertained while everyone else worked.
THen I moved a bazillion more times in college and used the "dump in a garbage bag and organize it later" approach. It always worked!
DH & I moved 5-10 minutes away in college and a few years ago and took about 3 days to do each. I think when you can spread it out, it's so much easier because you can concentrate on unpacking what you need, then work on something else the next day. We took a few small carloads after class and then got my dad's truck for big stuff.
Take the big stuff first and set it up so you're not trying to maneuver around everything. Then the essentials and put them away. Then the decorations/unnecessary stuff that can stay stacked & boxed (preferably in smaller boxes that are easier to move) for a while.
Since you're not moving very far, you don't have to pack everything perfectly. We'd throw a bunch of stuff for the same room in a plastic bin and throw them in the back seat of the car.
Keep stuff in the drawers it's already in. And I agree - take some TP on the first trip!
Sorry, sweets, I got nothing. Moving is always a nightmare for me.
This time, I am utilizing the "I have a baby shower to host in Denver on the day we need to be out, so DH is moving on his own with the help of his work-buddies" approach. I'm coming back on Sunday and will help unload the truck and unpack, but the majority of the heavy lifting should be done by someone else!