Home Moving Tips

In conjunction with our last post, “Staging Your house for sale”, we thought some tips and advice on moving would be helpful as well. Moving can be quite stressful and at times, very overwhelming, so to help ease your stress and make a difficult task seem a little easier we’ve gathered some of our favorite tips to help make your move a smooth one!

The first tip, is probably the best one to start off with, and will make everything else easier, and that is to PURGE! Get rid of the stuff you don’t use or need. Chances are if you’re not using it now and haven’t been for awhile, then you’re not going to use it later either. Getting rid of and donating some extras from around your home will give you less to pack and store. There’s plenty of charities that would love your donations anyway!

Never underestimate lists! Make a packing list with goals every week of what to pack. Sticking with a packing schedule will help you manage your time and will help to make packing not seem so overwhelming.

Pack light with the heavy stuff! Heavier items are easier to carry when packed in smaller boxes.

When it comes to packing your dishes, your plates specifically, they should be packed into the box vertically and not flat and stacked, with padding in between each plate to insure they’re less likely to break.

When it comes to memorabilia such as pictures, frames, art, etc, it’s best and safer if you can take it with you in your vehicle. But if you must pack them, using blankets and sheets as protection will help keep your valuables safe.

Bubble wrap can get pricey, so to save money, consider packing your fragile breakable items with clothing and blankets.

Labels!! The more you label the easier unpacking will be! Label not only the room the items go in but also the items in the box. For example, label a box “Kitchen” so your movers will know which room to put the box, but also label “blender”, that way you know which specific items are in that box. It really helps with unpacking.

Remove light bulbs from lamps before you pack them, that way you won’t have a mess in case they do break.

For those of you not so tech savvy, take pictures of the back of your electronics, that way you know how they’re set up, and will know how to put the cords back together.

For your necessary items such as toilet paper, phones, chargers, etc, place into a clear tote so that it’s easy to see what’s inside of it and place it in a safe easy to get to spot, so that it’s easy to find.

Another very important tip is to pack an overnight bag! With extra clothes, toiletries, medicines, etc. You’ll be glad you did, you won’t have to search all your boxes for every single item you need. You’ll be too tired, so remember to pack all of your essentials!

Keep some sandwich bags handy and a marker. Sandwich bags come in handy for small parts to things you will take apart like the tv, nails, screws, curtain rods. And use the marker to label what they go to so you’ll know! The more organized you are, the easier you’ll make unpacking for yourself.

If you’re running low on boxes, make use of your suitcases, baskets and laundry bins!

The easiest way to pack your clothes hanging in your closet is to use a garbage bag. It might sound odd. But if you leave your clothes on the hangers and literally take a stack and place them into a trash bag with the hooks of the hangers sticking out, it will save you tons of time and boxes. And when you get to your new place, all you will need to do is simply hang them back up and untie the trash bag. So much simpler than taking them off the hangers, folding the clothes, packing them and the hangers, then unpacking and rehanging. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and energy with this simple step!

If moving in the same city or area, you might want to consider arranging for a sitter for those of you with children or pets. No need to  worry about the safety or whereabouts of your children and pets. And they will feel more at ease as well.

There’s many, many, moving tips! We wanted to keep this short and simple, hope these few tips will help make your move go smooth and easy! Just remember, don’t over do it, and take your time! Happy packing!