Packing your house to move.........

[Taja]

After you have decluttered, packed and labeled (be sure to include contents and room in new home) boxes, be sure to pack a suitcase of clothing and minimal personal toiletries (toothbrush, hairbrush, etc.) for each family member for a couple of days in a suitcase.

And pack a second suitcase for the following: bath tissue, paper towels, hand soap, bath soap/shower gel, bath towel & face cloth for each person, light bulbs, flashlight, and linens for each bed. It sounds silly, but you'll need the bath tissue, paper towels and hand soap during the move, and if you're doing a lot of the work, everyone may be too tired to unpack much before going to bed the first night.

You can use boxes rather than suitcases. Just be sure they have clear, eye-catching labels!

Learned that the hard way! *LOL*

 

[Mono~rail]

To those of you who posted the flylady site ---->

We are moving in a few weeks. I've been preparing for it since Feb by decluttering and getting rid of stuff. I've made about 5 sweeps through the house and I still keep culling things.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

My #1 favorite packing/moving tip....use paper plates/cups/forks for the last couple weeks. You can pack all the plates up, as well as not have to worry abt washing the dishes while doing the last minute stuff.

 

[dd50]

If you are packing up yourself check out the free section on Craigslist. We gave away all of our packing paper and boxes to anyone willing to come pick up. You can also just post that you want moving boxes.

I see that on freecycle.com also.

Start with stuff you don't need now and go through it and what you want to keep pack. It is so much easier to do it little by little.

Also pack a box last with a set of sheets, towels, toilet paper, soap, shampoo, etc. and a change of clothes so when you are done for the night you won't have to go through all the boxes.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Label and number each box and keep a list of the total number of boxes. It helps when unloading boxes and to ensure all your boxes are getting there safely.

I also know a mom that each kid had their own color of sticker for their room/stuff and the other rooms had its own specific sticker. If she wasn't home but her husband was home with the sticker color coded list and knew were to direct the boxes.

Keep a box with cleaning supplies, paper plates/cups/plasticware, a few pots/pans(I travel with my crockpot), sheet sets for all beds or air mattresses, towels, toiletries and toilet paper. I also bring the phone book with me because it never fails you need the numbers of this or that office from the place you just moved from.

 

[clh2]

The times we've had movers - they've had us leave the stuff in the dressers...they just pick up the whole darn thing and move it and the contents (of course - there were no breakables in them!)

I would ask them - saves on a lot of boxes needed and packing and unpacking...

 

[Virgderon]

I can't add much except to use this opportunity to throw things out. If you save your kids school artwork, pick out the best of it and toss the rest. Throw out pots and pans that are beat up and you don't use. Give away those shoes that you never wear. I even threw away undies and bras, you know the ones you keep but you don't like and never wear.

Everything you give away or get rid of is a thing you don't have to move.

For about 4 weeks running I had 12 to 14 lawn style trash bags out for the garbage. I tipped my garbage guys a couple times.

I seriously couldn't believe how much stuff I had that I did not use .

I'll never have clutter again. I don't want to move it.

 

[DisneyCaliCouple]

Not really a tip on where to start, but just a money-saving hint on packing supplies.
Buying boxes can get expensive. Before you do that, try calling local stores to see if they can give you boxes from their shipments. A lot of Targets will do this. Call them early in the morning (before they open) and ask the manager to if they can save you boxes.

If you're not near a big store, even check with small stores. A few years ago we had to help a family member move in a hurry and I was able to get a bunch of boxes from a Valero gas station and a Del Taco. Most stores are simply going to crush them and they get recycled.

 

[DisneyFirefly]

I know a lot of people have already given you suggestions on where to get boxes, but I just wanted to second the suggestions of Craigslist and grocery stores. When my brother and his girlfriend moved, they got almost all of their boxes from my mom, who got them from the grocery store she works at. If you call early in the day, the manager on duty can contact the various departments and notify them to set them aside. Starbucks will do that, too, as long as you get a hold of them before they recycle the boxes. I used to have people ask us for them all the time.

Also, if you have a lot of clothes/linens/other soft things, the last time I moved, I put them in white trash bags instead of boxes and then wrote what was in them on the bags with a Sharpie. It made it much easier, and kept the boxes for things that really needed them.

 

[anabelle]

You've already got a lot of great suggestions. But I want to make sure that if you donate, you get a receipt. Itemize everything you give away. We donated as much as we could before our move. What we didn't donate, we let our friend's come "shopping" on the last day at home. My friends that helped me pack and clean the last day got to empty my freezer, fridge and pantry. We used to live in the Detroit area and it was just such a blessing to help out our friends.

One last thing, make sure that you list what is in each box on the outside on at least a couple of sides.

 

[cheerforchelsea]

Great tips, everybody --- I'm going to start as soon as we get back from an overnight trip out of state. My 12-year old will be able to help, but my 9-year old, not so much.

I've just always been the type to *delegate* the big jobs to the DH, ya know? And now that he's gone, I have to find a way to tackle them myself. And still keep on doing the laundry, cleaning, childcare, working fulltime, etc.

I'm getting boxes from my workplace. We're using movers, but not to pack. I'm doing the packing, and they're just doing the actually moving. That'll be a big relief.

Don't count that 9 year old out.....I was 9 when mom and dad divorced (in the 60's divorce was a 4-letter-word). Anyway my mom and I along with 7 year old sister moved us out of the house....then the radio in the car shorted out and caught the car on FIRE . Now that I am much older we all laugh about it!!! This too will pass ----

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I agree with the Keep/Toss/Declutter. Though I haven't moved in over 11 years, I had lots of experience as a military brat and we'd usually pack our own rooms b/c after a while, we figured out that mom was keeping/tossing/decluttering and we preferred to decide on our own.


As for moving--we hired a local "Two Men and a Truck" place to be our labor. They were licensed and insured.

When we moved from one apt to another, we didn't--one of our friends cracked ribs helping to navigate furniture up the stairs. While it wasn't anything more serious and thankfully he did not sue us, we preferred to not take that chance again.

For a few hundred bucks, I had some abled bodied, self-insured folks to take care of the move for us....though we did all the packing.

This move is unusal for us as we are moving to a completely differently configured home. We will have it professionally moved due to our circumstances and the fact that DH's work is paying for it. But I'll be rearranging many things and grouping items to be packed based on where the'll go in the new home.

I.e. our new home has a finished basement and the kids will all have their own room...so part of our keep/toss declutter process will be moving things around so that things that will go into these new areas will be appropriately grouped together.

Lately--Red Cross has been coming to my door to pick stuff up. I thought it was a one time thing and they keep calling for more. While they don't take big things--only things that one person could handle..it is a great way to purge through clothing and small household items that you no longer need that someone "might" need/use if they lost everything due to some kind of a disaster. I don't think they take niknaks--but a great way to purge through your household basics.

For boxes---I have found in recent years (including our last move) that major stores tend to throw boxes into the cardboard crusher at a faster pace. So while you can check a grocery store for boxes--they may not have what you need.

One of the local moving companies used to recycle boxes--so you may check to see if anyone has used boxes to sell.

As recommended, save the boxes for the items that really need more care in packing and then you can use trash bags for other things. If you have any overlap prior to the big move, you can also run car loads of the delicate items or whatever fits in your car to get some of the preliminary moving out of the way.

Best of luck!

 

[seashoreCM]

The times we've had movers - they've had us leave the stuff in the dressers...they just pick up the whole darn thing and move it and the contents...

Bad idea. Moving loaded furniture puts extra stress on the wood and the joints and the legs. This results in cracking and warping and joint/seam separation.

If you are driving some of the stuff to the new house, take just the drawers of dressers with stuff in them provided the contents is not too heavy.

Box up the stuff you will be keeping first. Stuff to be given away, etc can be pushed to another corner of the room unsorted and you proceed to the next room to do boxing and bagging.

A problem many folks face is time. YOu may have to buy fast food instead of cook. Wear clothing more days in a row instead of doing laundry. Buy the first boxes, tape, rope, etc. you see instead of shop around. Take days off work. Enlist friends to do the driving to soccer games and dance recitals you will fail to attend (spectate at). Possibly end up with some of the discards, Goodwills, giveaways, rubbish still strewn about the house when the official deadline to vacate passes (and you continue to work at at until the house is really broom-clean or the next occupant of the house calls it quits for you whichever comes first).

A common shortcoming of boxes from the grocery store is having the top flaps cut off so you cannot close and stack the packed boxes.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

 

[SandrA9810]

Lots of ideas on boxes... and I'll throw my two cents in too.

Box stores like Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, they have a compactor in the back, and as soon as they're done stocking, the boxes are chrushed down. So you kinda have to get in there when they're unpacking it. Or talk to a few of the managers/employees to let them know you're looking for boxes. I got really lucky at target. They just finished unpacking ponsietta plants, so I got like 2 dozen big boxes that were all the same size.
Wine/liquor stores are great for getting little boxes, and even with dividers which are great for packing glasses and stemwear.
UHauls around here do a leave a box/take a box donation thing. And after moving this last time, I took all the boxes over there, and even left all the packing material too, so some one got really lucky. My aunt still has "connections", so she sent me a roll of 3/8" foam roll to use for all the fragile stuff.


Easy packings... dvd/video game collections, china cabinet, books, photos, stuffed animals/toys.
There's several boxes that I've been moving for years, and every apartment just isn't big enough to store everything. So the last remaining boxes always get left in a closet for later. And later comes around, they just get moved to the new apartment without being looked in.

Ohh and make sure you have a good shredder on hand. I wind up with grocery bags full of papers that need to get shredded because my little one just can't handle more than a few bins full in a day.

I have to pack myself up, and help my aunt in Texas pack her apartment all by the end of may. And the hardest part, is my stuff is with kari's, so a lot of joint things (like the dvd collection), I have to go through with her, but she never wants to find the time. I've already taken the stuff that is mine, and left her the rest to go through. And whatever she doesn't want to keep, I'll go through again to see if I want. Such a long process, and only a month away.

 

[SandrA9810]

ohh yeah... there's also tax breaks for moving. If you're staying with the same company, but moving more than 20 or maybe it's 50 miles away, you can write that off. So keep all your reciepts from moving, and all the stuff you donate. Gotta make it worth your benefit some how.

 

[StephMK]

I agree w/the CL & freecycle suggestions for boxes. When we moved, I also grabbed boxes from the local McDonald's, nice & big. If you know anyone that does home party sales, those are great boxes, very sturdy. Take it a day at a time, try to do what you can & don't forget where you leave the tape & markers!

If you need to, ask at work or the neighborhood, colleges will be out soon or local teens might provide some cheaper packing help if you need more hands.

When I was tired of driving to the donation place, I just set last minute piles on the curb & stuck an ad on CL for free stuff. Everything went & I didn't have to toss usable stuff.

Mark your cords w/sharpies so if you end up w/a box of misc. stuff, you can match it up easier. Be prepared to unpack later & not remember if you packed it, gave it away or pitched it out! Good luck, it's not fun but it can be done.

 

[Minnie_me]

ohh yeah... there's also tax breaks for moving. If you're staying with the same company, but moving more than 20 or maybe it's 50 miles away, you can write that off. So keep all your reciepts from moving, and all the stuff you donate. Gotta make it worth your benefit some how.

Too bad! I'm moving less than 5 miles away - LOL!!! Staying put right in the same little town, just have to be in a much less expensive house. But thanks for that info - - it might come in handy someday!

 

[wdwfan16]

ohh yeah... there's also tax breaks for moving. If you're staying with the same company, but moving more than 20 or maybe it's 50 miles away, you can write that off. So keep all your reciepts from moving, and all the stuff you donate. Gotta make it worth your benefit some how.

The number is 50 miles and the rule is: 50 miles longer commute than you had. So if you company moved 49 miles farther from your current residence, not moving expenses for the company or write-off for you if you move to be closer.

 

[WeLuvDiznee]

I agree with LilyWDW, I would have friends,family,anyone come over to help! Then, they could help you even take items away you don't want anymore,or can't use. I have moved several times also,people seem to always have "plans" on packing day.But you really need help,so your family & friends will be there for you,as will we! Good luck!

 

[LisaInNc]

I am in a yahoo Freecycle group. It's awesome.

People give away stuff they don't want and people come and get it. It saveds a trip to Goodwill.

I am the typre of person that can't throw things away, I can donate them but with Freecycle I just send an email with what I want gone, give the first person that responds my address, put the box on the porch and voila.....gone!

I am moving in 2 months and starting to declutter now. I am going to have a huge yardsale. I hope to make money for a Disney vacation. I am determined to really get rid of about half of our posessions. I am going to a smaller house and I want to simplify things.