Please post your packing & moving tips!

[profmom]

I found one thread on this and read a bit online:

 

~ Gwen in TX (I think it was) said not to put the boxes into the house, but into the garage, sorted by room. :) Bring them in one at a time to unpack after the furniture is in place.

 

~ Organized Home says to print a bunch of mailing labels with room names on them. Put 4 labels on each box, one on each side in the upper right corner. Can also prioritize boxes with numbers or ABC. (I'd still list some of the contents on the box.)

 

~ Here's one from a past move: put a sheet down on the floor, lay hanging clothes on top, tie sheet corners to carry. (Surely this would only work for moves across town.)

 

 

Please share your tips and advice for packing and moving! We are moving to a house about 5 minutes away. We'll pack and move ourselves, with the exception of hiring movers for our furniture only. We'll ask to have access to the house before the closing date, but we don't know yet if we'll have it.

 

Our closing date is July 15th, a little less than 3 weeks away. What should we be focusing on: now, 2 weeks from the date, 1 week from the date, etc.?

 

We would appreciate the advice! :bigear:

[Lisa in Jax]

1. Designate a different color for each room or bedroom. Then provide the packers with cheap round stickers to put on each box they pack. When you get to the new home, mark each room with the appropriate color (tape a piece of colored paper up, for example) and have the movers put the boxes in the room by color.

 

2. Put clean blankets, sheets and pillows for each person in the DRYER for the move. When you are tired after moving in, you'll know right where the clean bedding is.

 

3. Pack a "meal kit" with paper plates, napkins, plastic forks, cups, etc. and put it in the car. Then, when you order pizza or subs while you're moving in, you'll know where the eating stuff is.

 

4. Pack your non-essential stuff before the movers come. Mark each box as such. Then when you're unpacking, you'll know which boxes need to be unpacked first, and which can wait.

 

5. Put a telephone, local phone books, paper towels, toilet paper, pet food, snacks, etc., --anything that will make the first few days easier --in the car with you. This includes kids' lovies/favorite books, etc.

 

6. If you own a small tv/dvd combo (or a tv/vcr), put it in the car with some movies. (If there's not enough room in the car, make it one of the last boxes that go into the truck, so it'll be among the first unloaded.) Then, while you unpack, the kids can be entertained.

 

7. Make an "important documents" envelope. Put birth certificates, SSNs, checkbooks, bills, credit card info, insurance info, important phone numbers, etc., in the envelope and take it in the car with you.

 

HIH!

 

Lisa

Edited June 26, 2009 by Lisa in Jax

[Melissa in St Louis]

I just moved about a month ago, and used a cards-on-a-ring system. I bought a bunch of different color index cards that were pre-punched to go on a ring. (You could also use a file box, but I like the ring.) I thought about where things were going and packed accordingly. For example, I put all framed pictures to go to the family room in a box and wrote on the left half of the index card "framed pictures and put a "1" at the top. Then I snipped off the other half of the same card and wrote a big "1" on it and taped it to the box. Now I know that yellow box #1 contains picture frames. When people were moving stuff in, they could tell by color tag where it was to go. I also stuck some of the tage on the furniture so that people could tell what room it belonged in. This system REALLY worked well for me! I hope I explained it well enough. :tongue_smilie:

[wagnfun]

I just moved about a month ago, and used a cards-on-a-ring system. I bought a bunch of different color index cards that were pre-punched to go on a ring. (You could also use a file box, but I like the ring.) I thought about where things were going and packed accordingly. For example, I put all framed pictures to go to the family room in a box and wrote on the left half of the index card "framed pictures and put a "1" at the top. Then I snipped off the other half of the same card and wrote a big "1" on it and taped it to the box. Now I know that yellow box #1 contains picture frames. When people were moving stuff in, they could tell by color tag where it was to go. I also stuck some of the tage on the furniture so that people could tell what room it belonged in. This system REALLY worked well for me! I hope I explained it well enough. :tongue_smilie:

 

i did this only I used stickers. All yellow stickers were homeschool supplies. I numbered them. I kept track of what was in yellow 1, yellow 2, yellow 3- the men that help us move only have to worry about putting yellows together. Same w/ boxes marked kitchen- I number them... When I want to find something specific, I just refer to my list to find which box it is in. Ultra organized & crazy for my dh but when I can find EXACTLY what he wants in just seconds, he appreciates it!

[swellmomma]

Wow you ladies have some great ideas. I have started packiing non-essentials already to help make life easier when it is time for the real packing to begin. I am focusing on books in my room (these are our extras, school related books are in the kitchen), Videos, The basement and a few other things. Other than labelling the tops of the boxes with what is in the them I have done no organizational stuff. Since I do not know what place I am moving into yet I can not even plan what goes into what room, I just know which boxes have books, which have movies and which have toys etc

[Wyndie]

:lurk5: Our move date is two days before you and I'm all ears for ideas too!

[Dobela]

I used our towels, extra bedding and such as the soft packing material around my extra dishes. I hate using newspaper.

 

Set up a box or 2 for things you want to give to charity. Instead of packing what you don't want, and unpacking it again just to rebox and donate later, you just drop the boxes off at the thrift store. Make sure the box is clearly labeled though.

 

Bring a big trash can in the house and keep bags in it. You will want to throw away some things before you move. You won't have to carry trash out as often this way.

 

Buy a second set of cleaning supplies. Take the new to your new home so you can clean before you move in. Then, leave your old supplies at your old home and pack last after you have cleaned up. That way you are not dragging stuff back and forth.

 

Start trying to eat up as much food as you can at home. Use that crockpot. It is easier (and cheaper) to eat the food than it is to move it. Eat on paper or easy to wash plates until the move. You will be busy unpacking and want to eat out after you move. I know you are busy packing, but take time to eat healthy. You will feel better and deal with the stress better if you aren't living on fast food.

 

Make sure the boxes you are using will fit in all of your family vehicles since you are doing most of the moving yourself. One year we moved across town and forgot the make sure the boxes would fit in our car. They didn't and we had to ask a friend with a truck to help us.

 

Start calling utilities to get them in your name. Sometimes it can take 2 or 3 weeks for them to schedule you in. You can always call and change the date later but you won't be caught surprised.

[Guest janainaz]

I use old clothes (t-shirts, towels, blankets, socks, etc.) to wrap up breakables. Sounds odd, but newspaper grosses me out and bubble wrap is expensive. Using stuff that you need to pack your breakables also stretches how many boxes that you need, too.

 

I think it's much more convenient to label the boxes (yes, on all sides) and have them delivered into the room they need to be in. Going to and fro to the garage is a pain (I think).

 

I would label any priority boxes with a different colored sticker (or just make them stand out). Whatever items you will need right away (alarm clocks, toilet paper, coffee pot, etc....) should be in easily accessible boxes.

[Tap]

We rented a small storage unit and put everything we knew we wouldn't need for a while in there. Christmas decorations, bikes that were in-between our kids sizes, keepsakes, furniture we didn't plan on using right away etc.

 

It was very nice to move this stuff out first, so that the attic was empty ahead of time and we didn't have as much to do on the final days.

 

It also gave us a chance to get to the new house, unpack and feel done, before we had to move all the stuff from the storage unit. It also gave us a chance to sort it before it went into the attic. The unit was cheap, like $20 a month, and we only had it for 4-5 months, but it was the best $100 we spent during our move and really took the stress off of us.

Edited June 27, 2009 by Tap, tap, tap

[JoyfulMama]

I've never moved as close as you are.... but my best friend did. She was able to move over the course of a couple days. Ahead of time, she packed up all non-essentials, and labeled. Those were put aside until the big moving day.

Then, she moved one room at a time, basically. She didn't have to pack as well as I did whereas she moved 10 miles, and I moved 1100 miles. She'd pack up a room, drive it over, and unpack it. She did this while her DH and FIL moved furniture. Kitchen was SO easy this way - moved stuff quickly into boxes and then again out.

[Mrs. Frankweiler]

Marine wife here = lots of moves.

 

• I do the colored sticker on the boxes. Pink = girls' room, blue = boys' room, yellow = kitchen, etc.....
  
• If you're pretty sure of the floorplan of the house (and your plan for each room), draw up little diagrams for each room for furniture placement and tape them on the doorframe. When the movers come, you don't have to be following them telling them where to put everything. Pack a first day box with absolute necessities (phone, shower curtain, toilet paper, etc...) that you'll need right away. Have the kids decorate this so that you can easily find it.
  
• For the kitchen (or any room for that matter) number your boxes as you pack them, and do the least essential items first. Usually the last things you pack are the most important things, so when you get to the new place, you'll know that box number 50 needs to be unpacked before box number 2.
  
• When you get to the new place, get your kitchen unpacked first. Once the kitchen is unpacked, I can always relax a little.
  
• Go to a local liquor store and ask if they will give you a lot of liquor boxes. (you might want to call ahead of time as they don't always give these away.) Also ask for any extra dividers they have .The boxes are great for packing up glasses as they already have the dividers in them. I've done several long distances moves with these and I don't even have wrap the glasses in paper. Usually you have to enough room in to boxes to stack two levels of cups, so cut up the cardboard from the extra dividers into little squares. Use those to cushion between the two levels of glasses. Your new neighbors might think you're a lush when they see all the liquor boxes in your house, but you'll definitely save packing time!
  
• Moves are a pain. Make a deal with dh that neither of you will file for divorce during the move (because I guarantee at some point you will want to.) ;)
  

Good luck!

[Guest carney]

Visit http://www.storagedeluxe.com/packing-tips.asp for packing and moving tips.

[mommy2be]

These ladies have had some great tips!

 

A few other small things I do...

 

- Pack similar items together. For instance, I pack all decorative accessories together, because they might not end up going in the same room in the new house. All pictures, all books, all linens, all curtains, etc.

 

- I also use my own extra linens and towels to pack breakable items. It is probably more protective than newspaper, you already have it right there, and then you will save an extra box or so.

 

- Put all hardware together. Any hardware from anything goes into a ziploc baggy with a note of what it's to. All baggies go into the toolbox, since you will most likely need tools to put stuff back together anyways. This way you know where all of the hardware to anything is, what it's to, and have the tools to do it! This includes furniture, curtain rods, anything that requires a special hanging bracket... whatever.

 

-Before the moving day we put all boxes in one area, and all furniture in another area, that way it's just ready to go! This also helps give you an idea of the best way to load things and know how much more space you have on the truck, etc...

 

There isn't really a right or wrong way to move... but take all of the advice you can get because it's just not fun!!! Good luck though, and congrats on your new home! :)

[Brigitte]

Call you local newpaper and see if they sell end-rolls of newsprint. It is great packing paper (no ink to rub off) and the leftovers are great for the kids to color on while you unpack.

[Susan in TN]

We moved two months ago (20 minutes away) - no movers hired. Since you are moving yourself, I would simply make sure you label boxes well. (I started with the color coding, and dh said - give me a break, just KISS and write it on the box. This worked just fine and was indeed much simpler, especially since I didn't have to "supervise" anyone else who helped with the packing. We just labeled the contents, floor, and room. :))

 

The garage was our big struggle. Depending on how long you've lived in your house and where your major storage area is, you just never know how much is collected...:tongue_smilie: We completely underestimated how difficult and awkward it would be to pack up that stuff - tools, gardening stuff, misc. storage stuff. So all I can suggest is that you pack up as much as possible - wrap long tools together with plastic wrap, and collect misc. stuff into boxes and put them in a neat staging area.

 

Keep a couple of open boxes available on moving day for throwing in misc. little stuff you find around the house. Keep out some basic cleaning supplies - large trash bag, windex, all-purpose cleaner, cleaning rags, paper towels, mop, and a vacuum.

[OnTheBrink]

Are you moving a short distance, or a long one?

 

Short distance:

 

*Pack your kitchen, move everything except the basic essentials and unpack it first. The kitchen usually takes the most time to unpack and arrange, so if you do it first, the rest of the unpacking is easy. Also, you can save money by having food and drinks there ahead of time instead of ordering out on the actual moving day.

 

*Take toilet paper, paper towels, soap, shower supplies over first thing. There is NOTHING worse than trying to find toilet paper amongst boxes of stuff.

 

*If you have pets, take them, and their crates or some other form of confinement, to the house before the big move (I mean the same day, in the morning).

 

*Have a tool kit readily available for assembling or disassembling furniture to get it through doors or around corners.

 

You've gotten a lot of good advice for long-distance moving.