Moving is the worst. I mean, moving into a new place is exciting, don’t get me wrong, but the actual process of packing and preparations and service transfers and being cut off from most of your belongings for a period of time is the worst. Naturally, there are always a few things I forget, and there’s always that one box of miscellaneous things from a bunch of different rooms that I’d forgotten about, and of course, there’s that one box that I end up having to unpack and redistribute into 3 boxes because it’s too heavy to get off the ground. To that end, these are a few moving tips I am learning and have learned the hard way.
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Tackle services and utilities at least 2 weeks prior to move-in day
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Separate books into genres or colors or SOMETHING – just don’t pack all of them together
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Pack KonMari style.
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Color code your boxes by room
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Set aside the things you’ll need over the next 3-5 days
A lot of companies schedule out their service appointments a good 2 weeks out (cable, amiright?), so make sure you’re not waiting ’til the last minute to get your services turned on. I don’t want to think about life without WiFi, so this is one of the few things I have ON LOCK.
I screw the pooch on this every time and I never remember and I end up with a huge tub of books that has to be moved like a frickin’ couch. The point is, books are heavy. Actually, no, they’re dense. And when you put a lot of them together, they get heavy. Really heavy.
I separate my books on my shelves by genre, but I know some people alphabetize and some people color coordinate their shelves. However you organize, USE THAT! Just separate your books into chunks, then pack them into small boxes that will make them easier to unpack again. Yeah, it’s more boxes, but it’s better than breaking your back (or bottoming out a box and having to repack the damn thing).
Remember how I decluttered my whole home? This has basically streamlined my whole packing technique, too. The whole thing about each family member’s belongings having a place in their own rooms has basically saved me, not to mention that it’s been easier to separate by item categories: clothing, books, paper, miscellany, and mementos.
See, I’ve gone room by room and packed by these categories, but in the order of daily necessity. I know, it seems complicated, but just follow me here. Art, pictures, mementos, and pretty much anything that’s strictly decorative went into boxes first, because as nice as things look, I have to spackle nail holes and scrub some walls. Following that, I packed books, except for the 2 I have on my list for this month (not as prescribed above at first, of course, because I’m a hands-on learner). I also packed miscellaneous items I don’t use every day – jewelry, extra linens, handbags, stationery, whatever I could live without for a week-ish. I also started packing off-season clothes and formalwear, but I kept them in the closet so things don’t get separated.
I have to say, one thing that’s been really nice about the whole KonMari thing is that most of my stuff now is pretty well self-contained. I’ve had access to most of my clothing because most of it gets put away in my dresser. My nail polish towers can be wrapped up with a large roll of plastic wrap to keep the drawers from sliding out or doors from popping open, but otherwise, there’s really not much true packing to do as far as those pieces are concerned.
Anyway, back to your packing order: take a look around you and consider what you need and when. I know I estimated for about a week to 2 weeks, but you might want to estimate that for more, depending on how completely you have your shit together. You might even be an organized enough person to list out what you can do without by the week. My countdown has been something like this:
4 weeks: Do another decluttering sweep, and donate or yard sale items that aren’t coming with you.
3 weeks: Pack mementos, decorative items and books.
2 weeks: Pack off-season clothes and non-daily miscellany (maybe this for you is extra handbags & kitchen appliances you don’t use frequently).
1 week: Get ruthless. Pack anything else and start pretending you’re living in a hotel for the week. Finish off anything in the pantry that’s been opened, knock out anything that’s in the fridge, shop minimally if you have to shop at all.
This advice has been GOLDEN, and there are lots of ways to execute here. The idea is to assign a color or design to each room, then label each box accordingly. I’ve used neon colored post-it notes, so blue is Bug’s room, purple is my room, pink is my office, etc. and so on. I’ve seen a lot of people use patterned or colored duct tape for this, which is a LOT more visible than post-its, I’ll admit, but I’m cheap soooooo…
Color-coding will help you and your movers figure out what needs to go where so unpacking and settling in isn’t chaotic and frustrating. There are basically no downsides here. Just do it.
Remember that countdown above? Anything you pack 1 week prior to moving should be among the last things you put on the moving van. If this means you stage these things in a different room so they’re not taken accidentally and put into the truck first, do it. Seriously, one of my friends had this happen to him: he’d staged everything for the movers, labeled the boxes that needed to go last, but since those boxes were easiest to access, they were the first to get on the truck. So SET THOSE THINGS ASIDE. Even if you have to put them in the trunk of your car, don’t leave yourself without toilet paper and clothes and a toothbrush.
Importantly, pack yourself a suitcase of the clothes and toiletries you’d need to get by for up to a week. Pack a box of silverware and flatware, set it aside. Pack a box with the 3 pots & pans you use the most, as well as the 5-8 cooking/serving utensils you use the most. Pack a backpack for each family member with entertainment items (books, coloring books & crayons/markers/colored pencils, a favorite toy or 2, any lovies, etc.).
Also don’t forget to set aside any important documents: I’ve set up a whole-life planner in a basic binder that holds all of my family’s important information, including a section of sheet holders to stash our birth certificates, passports, social security cards, copies of our insurance cards, all that good stuff. Smarter families put these things in a safe or a lockbox, but however you manage these documents, DON’T FORGET TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE ACCESSIBLE TO YOU. This should be among the last things you pack, and you should probably pack it in the luggage with the rest of the things you’ll need for the next 3 days.
I know, there’s a lot more to moving than this, and this list is anything but comprehensive. However, these are my hard-learned tips. What are your best moving tips?
Setting aside all of the things that I’ll need for the next three to five days of moving seems like a great idea that I should try. The last time I moved to a new apartment I forgot to pack my toothbrush, so I wasn’t able to brush my teeth for a couple of days until I was able to move in. This time I’ll be able to have the supplies I’ll need to take care of myself until I can settle into my new home. Thanks for the tips!
I’ve done the same thing! A good friend of mine planned ahead and set the boxes he needed immediately aside, and the movers naturally loaded them onto the truck first. When he relayed the story, I got hypervigilant and paranoid about it to the point where I put those things in my car before my friends & family arrived to load the moving truck!
Moving house is among one of the most stressful times in your life along with divorce and small children so if you are doing all of these things at the same time (which many people are) take some time to breathe…. I totally recommend downloading a meditation app like ‘Headspace’ to take 10 mins out for yourself where you think about absolutely nothing. Once you get back to real life you will face it with a new vigour!
Great advice about setting things aside that you will need that week. I hear you about heavy boxes and the stress of moving. I have a bad back, so we hired movers when we moved last year and it was really nice.
I love what you said about moving your books in sections, so that you aren’t trying to carry ALL of them at once. I organize them by color, so that would be the best move them. That way, we don’t have to try to carry them all at once, and just about break our backs.
Your color coding is something I definitely need to try! My husband recently got a new job so we are working on selling our home as we speak. I have been really worried about losing things in the move or things not being where they need to be. Giving each room a color would make things so much easier! I’m sure that my kids would really like to pick out the color for their own room.
Tip number one on getting your moving company figured out two weeks before the say you move is great to know. I wasn’t aware that most companies schedule out two weeks in advance. That does seem like it would help make moving easier.
I think that it is important to be able to move in a way that is less stressful. I think that it is important to be clever with moving. That way you are less stressed.
I am moving my three kids to another state next month and so I really appreciate your advice about labeling. However, I will probably use duct tape instead of post-it notes because those things come off pretty easily. I will probably wrap the tape all the way around the boxes so that I don’t have to go searching for the tape as well.
Yes, my prayers have been answered. This weekend I will begin preparing for my first move. I have been really stressed out and over all just not looking forward to it. So I have been searching all over Google for some tips that will help me have an organized move. I really like the Konmari method and plan on using it. So thank you, very much.
Love the color coding idea. Great way to stay organized when moving. Thanks for sharing!
My husband and I are going to be moving soon. It will be our first time moving together so we are thinking about hiring a moving company to help us with the process. We will have to keep these tips in mind, thanks for sharing!
I like that you suggested to color code your boxes. I think that if I was moving then I would want the organization afterward to be as easy as possible. I think that if you are moving then you might want to ask a professional for help get all of your things out of and into your houses.
Hello, I think that really good moving companies will pack your things for free. I don’t know is it really true , but my friend said that to me.
I really appreciate the insight here in this post and confident it’s going to be helpful to me and many others. Thanks for your post.
Books are really heavy! Being a bookworm, I have huge chunks of books of different genre. I can’t either sell or donate them, as I love them reading again when I get free time. For the first time, when I thought of move to a new home, I never thought about all those boring things of moving all my possessions. So when the actual date came, I got afraid. Last minute packing didn’t help me. I did the mistake. It was a bad experience for me, but I got to learn a lot. Anyways, thanks for your cool tips.
Thanks for sharing this valuable tips for a moving company! I like the valuable information you provide for a moving company suggestions. It was helpful. Keep Posting!
Thanks for the moving tips. My wife and I are planning a big move this summer, and we want it to be as stress free as possible. I like that you mentioned to assign a color to each room, and label each box with that color. That could save so much time and effort. I will give it a try.
Your tips are very helpful and should be followed by everyone that needs guide and help with relocation. As we all know that it’s very stressful thing to move to a new place and every bit of help should be appreciated. I am surely going to share your post with my friends to spread all the helpful info you put out. Thanks!
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Balwyn
Such an informative information . Been doing that each boxes has color code by room and it make us easier to unpacking our staff also hiring a moving company is a good idea if you have many things to move . I will suggest adelaide removals as they have a good services .
your way of explanation of pacing and storage anything is really helpful. Some points when you are explaining 1. color code boxes by room, 2. pack konmari style, these points are really good. Your tips are really helpful. specially when you are going tips for traveling to a new home. it’s really helpful point. these all tips will help anyone who wants to move their business or home International Packers is the best packing and moving company in Gurgaon. If anyone wants packing and moving service in India Contact
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your way of explanation of pacing and storage anything is really helpful. Some points when you are explaining 1. color code boxes by room, 2. pack konmari style,
these points are really good. Your tips are really helpful.
these all tips will help anyone who wants to move their business or home International Packers is the best packing and moving company in Gurgaon. If anyone wants packing
and moving service in India Contact
Om International Packers