We’ve moved five times since 2016, so I like to think I’ve learned a few lessons along the way. If you’re considering a move, here are a few tips.
- Do not, I repeat, do NOT buy large moving boxes. They are just way too heavy. Stick with medium sized boxes. I’m also not a fan of cardboard wardrobe boxes. Everything just ends up in a pile at the bottom of the box in my experience. Plus they are HUGE and have lots of dead space.
- Buy boxes, packing tape, packing paper and, if necessary for protecting large items, moving blankets at Home Depot or someplace similar. They even have ‘kits’ for plates, utensils and glassware. Also, whatever amount of packing tape you buy, it won’t be enough. Buy more. Make sure to buy decent packing tape with a refillable dispenser. Also be sure to tape the bottom well. There’s nothing like picking up a heavy box and watching everything fall out of the bottom.
- Start preparing as soon as you can. Even if the move is several months away, tackling small amounts daily will make the job much more manageable.
- Sell, donate and/or toss things you no longer use or want. Why pack or drag unwanted items to your destination?
- For the first move, our kids were heading to college or enlisting, so I packed a lot of things that I no longer needed into ‘apartment kits’ for them for their future digs (e.g., plates, utensils, pots and pans, bedding, pillows).
- We took pictures of the furniture and decor we weren’t taking with us, wrote a brief description of each item, determined a price, and sent an email to family, friends and neighbors. They started showing up with trailers the same day! Side note: Don’t ask my youngest daughter about me selling her bed while she was at a track meet. Mom of the year here.
- Next, we posted on Facebook (since then, Facebook Marketplace is a thing, so I’d recommend that too) and brought a few things to a local resale shop. Use the resale shop option as a last resort. It wasn’t fun giving them half the profits.
- Lastly, we had the mother of all one-day rummage sales. I wore a jacket with multiple pockets. One for singles, one for fives, one for tens and one for twenties. Whenever a pocket filled, I popped into the house and threw the cash on our bed. By the end of the day, we honestly looked like we’d robbed a bank. The great news is that the proceeds fully funded the movers and then some.
- Pack seasonal and rarely used items first. I started with Christmas decor, photo albums, and our kids’ ‘memory boxes’. In spring, I packed all of our winter clothes. I also packed kitchen things I could live without and didn’t use often, like our large roaster for holiday roasting and our Instant Pot.
- Pack boxes well so that items will not shift in the move. Fill empty spaces with packing paper, wash clothes and kitchen towels.
- Use a sharpie to label EVERY single box on multiple sides. I promise you that if you label just one side, the mover will stack them with the label not showing and you’ll kick yourself when you have to wade through stacks of boxes to find something. Make sure to bullet list everything in the box and where you want it to land at your destination (e.g., kitchen, garage, primary bedroom, guest room).
- Use beach blankets and towels to protect fragile and oddly shaped items.
- Set up a staging area in your garage or a designated room, preferably on your main floor. Movers always ask if there are stairs and you want to minimize how many times they will have to navigate them to keep the cost down.
- Do your research on quality movers. We’ve had excellent experiences and horrible experiences. Read the reviews before booking and get multiple quotes. Very important tip: Make sure your moving company does not subcontract the work to some fly by night mover. Our entire neighborhood watched in horror as a scary, rusty, oil leaking truck pulled up and three shady characters started loading our things. My bad.
- If your move is a relatively short distance, consider moving fragile things on your own or renting a U-haul.
- If your destination isn’t ready for move in but you’ve sold your house:
- Find a climate controlled storage unit nearby.
- Make sure to rent a ground floor unit. Elevators are a killer. Also try to rent a spot near a door. One time, we were forced to rent a unit that required us to traverse the entire width of the facility and then make a turn and go further down a side hall. Let’s just say it was a fantastic workout.
- If you can, visit the facility before renting. During our last move, I rented a unit that was super convenient, but I wasn’t able to tour the facility beforehand. The building was old and musty… and so were all of our belongs after storing them there.
- Get the insurance when you rent the unit. Would you believe we had water damage AND a fire at the last unit? We’re just lucky that way.
- If you’re building a new home, rent a storage near your destination early on and every time you travel to check on the progress, load the car up and drop things off at the storage facility.
- Create a list of things you will want to keep with you during the move and pack these items in suitcases and other bags or containers for your car. It’s a little bit like packing for a vacation. You might not see your mover (and your stuff) for weeks if your destination is out of state. Consider what you will need for the next 3-4 weeks to survive.
I’m probably odd in that I actually enjoy moving. I love to be organized and I don’t like clutter. Moving is the perfect opportunity to get rid of things and also to start fresh with a clean and organized new home. People used to visit our house – even the one we lived in for 16 years – and ask, “where’s all of your stuff?” For me, an uncluttered home is peaceful and welcoming. We were recently in between homes for a year and a half and it was a life lesson in how little we actually need. I’ve been a victim of overconsumption my entire adult life. Over time, I’ve found that we have too much of nearly everything. A pending move is the ideal time to rethink how you live and what you really want or need. We’re in a two bedroom condo currently and we don’t have overstuffed closets and we even have a few empty cabinets. We also don’t have an attic, a basement, a garage or a storage unit… and we’re fine. We have everything we want and need, and more.
Best,
Lisa