Planning a move in the near future? These tips will help it go a bit more seamlessly (from someone who has been there and done that!).
For various reasons I have moved various times over the course of raising my family. And I’ve tried moving both ways – by renting a truck and hiring laborers and by hiring professionals as well. The professionals amaze me at how fast they get it done and how strong they are. Movers are an expense but doing it yourself takes a lot of energy. If you do choose to do it yourself, bubble wrap and packing tape will be your 2 most popular items so stock up. But, whether you’re moving yourself or hiring professional, these tips will help you during your move:
Note: Insurance is petty change per pound in case things get damaged, so I recommend having moving insurance.
1) Begin by purging.
Why schlep things if you don’t need them anymore? If you don’t have enough time, pack everything. A few extra boxes won’t make a difference and it might be easier to discard items when you unpack in the new space.
2) Worried about how you’ll transport your good china?
These china storage boxes are good. I have never had the movers transport my dishes in the truck. If you are moving to a new home in the same town, you don’t even have to bother boxing up your dishes. Simply seat some little people (not too young!) in your car next to piles of dishes and drive them over to your new destination.
2) Label the boxes or at least color code the floor/room each one belongs on/in.
If you hired movers, you don’t want to open a box to realize that you still have to schlep it upstairs. It’s best if the movers know on which floor everything belongs.
3) Pack a suitcase with two days of clean clothing and necessities.
You want to have these on hand as it will take some time to unpack.
4) It’s nice to set up a kitchen right away, but don’t pressure yourself to do this first.
Remind yourself that it will eventually get done.
5) Order groceries and toiletries to the new house so it’s well-stocked when you get there.
6) On the day of the move, take the bedding off each bed and wrap each one in a bag so you can have beds made by bedtime in your new home. (I once tried washing all the linen on the day of the move to have fresh beds in the new home–that was a bad move. I needed a bed way before it was ready for me!)
7) Color code the mattress and beds so the frame, box spring, and mattress stay together.
8) Keep your valuables, electronics, and important documents near you while the movers have free reign in your home.
9) Have extra boxes.
Have a couple of boxes ready for miscellaneous things. Even if you thought you would be done with packing once the furniture and boxes leave, you will find lots of knick-knacks.
10) Arrive at the new house before the truck so you can direct traffic.
11) If you can have your children sleep away the first night, it would be super helpful.
12) Be sure to feed yourself and the movers!
13) Always remember whatever happens is meant to be. You won’t be finished unpacking as you planned for various reasons:
(Just saying – not that any of this happened to me.)
- There will be traffic
- You will need a second truck
- The movers will be 2 hours late
- You will be missing your swimming gear a week into summer.
- You will find some lost objects that you gave up on ever seeing again.
Want more moving tips from people who have been there? See these posts:
Oh yay! I’m in the plans of moving and the thought of it overwhelms me. So thank you for this post! Please BCP community, please share any more ideas tips or suggestions that you have about moving. I could use it.
With color coding, you can use colored painters tape, a friend of mine did that! When I moved I packed a small suitcase with enough clothes for everyone for about 2 days (just in case I dont unpack in time, at least we have what to wear!) and also things I may want right away, like makeup/hairbrushes and even the shower curtain with the hooks! This way my shower was able to be set up right away!
I moved a few months ago and found the posts on BCP to be so, so helpful. For me, color coding turned out to be an enormous time saver once we moved, so thanks to all who suggested it. I used a small colored label, but I know someone else who simply closed her boxes with colored duct tape instead of packing tape. Spring cleaning (or simply going through each room and planning HOW to pack and WHERE everything will be placed in the new house) also was a tremendous help for me.
Go to your new house the day before (if it’s local) and put tissues and toilet paper in the bathrooms, shampoo and soap by the shower, drinks and cups in the kitchen etc. All these little things will make a big difference on moving day.
thanks for this helpful post! I will be moving soon iyH and our mover requested that we label the boxes with numbers corresponding to all the rooms in the new house and we should put signs up in each room each one a dif number so when the movers arrive there with all our stuff they know exactly where to put it (ex 1- kitchen, 2- playroom etc..). Similar to the color coding method.
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