Reader Question: Tips for Organizing a Move
24 Sep
I received a reader question from Danielle that was too long to go at the end of a Snapshot post so I’m posting it solo. She wanted to know if I had any tips for organizing a move which can be a large and daunting project. Although I’m not an expert on moving, I do have a few organizational tips that should help. We haven’t moved in over five years, but seeing as how we recently had to pack up everything in our house in order to get all new carpet I do have some experience. And I’ve lost track of the times I’ve helped friends move in the last five years. I’m happy to share what advice I can and if you have advice please add it in the comments so Danielle (and everyone else) can benefit from your wisdom and experience!
DECLUTTER LIKE A MOFO. I think the first and most crucial, most helpful step comes before the move: ruthlessly purge and get rid of as much clutter as possible. If it is not worth it to you to painstakingly pack it up and keep track of it it’s not worth holding on to. Whittling your possessions down to only what you really love and need and use will save you so much frustration (and possibly sore muscles) come moving time. Declutter now and make things as easy as possible. When my neighbors moved they held a yard sale both before and after. The second yard sale was to get rid of all the stuff they wished they had gotten rid of in the first place. They simply opened their moving boxes and let people rifle through them. They wished they had let it all go in the first place. When the yard sale was over they took the remains to Goodwill and moved on with their lives.
RENTALS. A friend of mine found a really, really great deal on a moving truck and rented it without asking too many questions. Apparently it turned out to be the worst deal ever because they wanted to the truck back ASAP when my friend thought she was getting the use of it for most of the day. She ended up returning the truck and renting a new one from U-Haul to finish the job. An expensive and frustrating lesson. See if you can rent a dolly or a the equipment to move your refrigerator or other large appliances while there. Many storage lots also rent reusable plastic boxes for moving.
BE PREPARED. Pack a box full of toiletries and other essentials to get you through the first couple days. Deodorant, toilet paper, contact solution, anything you’ll need right away to fulfill your intimidate health and hygiene requirements need to go in an easily located box that you have access to right away. Some aspirin or other medicine for sore muscles or stress headaches caused by moving would be a great idea, along with any daily prescriptions you might take. Also: cell phone chargers and large garbage bags for trash are vital.
BABY MAMA DRAMA. If you have young kids you’ll need a box like this just for them with diapers, wipes, cream, sippy cups, and other necessities that a baby needs. Don’t for get the infant Tylenol or Orajel. If your little one still naps one of your first priorities will be setting up a comfy sleep area in the new digs, ditto to a diaper changing or potty training station.
MEAL PLANNING. Pizza is the meal of choice when treating friends who helped with the move, but keep in mind you’ll need a plethora of paper plates, utensils, napkins, and cups on hand. If your budget can swing it, I’ve found it’s helpful to eat out the first couple meals when you’re in a new place because not only do you not have to worry about the paper supplies and the trash, but it also gives you a much-needed break from the mess.
SURVEY YOUR DOMAIN. It’s a good idea to have an idea of how to fit the stuff in your current space into your new one. Stuff you keep in the living room in one place might fit better in your bedroom or in the den in another. Be as specific as you can so that as you pack stuff up you can label it to be placed in the correct room in your new house. The more organized you are with your surveying and labeling the more work you’ll save yourself post-move.
MOVING BOOKS AND COLLECTIONS. We have a ton of books and I keep them organized loosely by the Dewey Decimal System. The thought of these books getting out of order when we moved was enough to make me long for a darkened room where I could breathe into a paper bag. I came up with a numbered shelf and box system to keep everything organized and that saved my sanity, and probably, my marriage. It was a snap putting things back together and I highly recommend this system for moving books or anything organized on shelves.
Do you have a question for me? I’d love to answer it! You can leave your question in the comments, @-reply me on twitter, email it to me at alittlebigblog@gmail.com or send me a messenger pigeon. Don’t actually do the last one, though. My cat will eat it.
In the last 12 months, my moves included: the entire household out of a duplex into an apartment 250 miles away AND a small room in town, then out of the small room into an apartment 250 miles away, then half of the original apartment into that new apartment. SO I have some experience with this, and my newest best moving tip is that UHaul has a partner/companion site that makes it SUPER easy to hire by-the-hour moving companies:
http://www.uhaul.com/MovingHelp
I worked with 2 crews in Chicago and 1 in Ann Arbor, and was totally happy with all of them and have strongly recommended them whenever possible. SO: check it if you’ve paid your friends in beer and pizza one too many times.
Elizabeth recently posted..no simmering life but a boiling one
If I ever had to make a move out of our little town I’m so using that website.
I agree with everything in this post. I love to declutter for months before a move. As a thrifter/reseller this is the most important step for me.
Gotta share this helpful post soon
Van recently posted..Thrift Haul: A Wunderkammer Haul of Curiosities + Toys + Vintage
Thanks, Van! Everyone needs to periodically go through things and purge I think.
Pack like this :
Books , clothes, breakables, clothes (or linens).
OR
Books, dishes, clothes, breakables, clothes (or linens)
Here is the thing about packing : If you pack each room individually, you end up with really heavy and hard to move boxes. If you try to pack books (and scrapbooks) into one or two boxes on their own, you end up with impossible to move boxes. But if you divide it like I said, you end up with a really great, solid base and then really great stuff surrounding the breakables. You can stack anything as you like in any manner in the moving truck and not worry about breakables.
Fenn recently posted..Marathon Training : Week 37
This is definitely an original way to move! I have to keep things organized by rooms and type, and it’s funny you mention the heavy boxes of books. My husband spent about 8 years hauling heavy boxes full of books around at Borders, so he was definitely used to it.
Ugh. I have moved house about ten billion times. It does NOT get any easier. I agree that decluttering is key but I never quite finish the process and end up with a few ‘whatever, just get it in a box!’ boxes at the end. I have to visit thrift shops before and after the move, but it feels good to get rid of excess. When we moved back to nZ from Japan, we numbered each box and had a rough list of things that were in each box. Since I also pack by room, a few items in each was enough to jog my memory if I needed to find anything.
Marie recently posted..Off Balance
Dude. You could probably write a whole BOOK of moving tips!