While moving is so overwhelmingly on my mind, I have a couple of insider tips I want to share. I consider myself an insider here (where one is moving), because I have done it so frequently as an adult. This one I’m in the middle of is my sixth move in not quite seven years of marriage, not to mention the in-and-out of dorms and apartments every year of college before that. (1) I moved to our (formerly Justin’s) apartment right after the wedding. (2) We moved one breezeway over to a two-bedroom apartment when I was pregnant with Miryam. (3) We moved to my parents’ house in Missouri when Justin’s position became one of “three weeks on, three weeks off.” (4) We moved to our own first house a few minutes away when Justin got a new job in town. (5) We moved to our DFW area home less than a year later when Justin got a new new job after deciding he needed a different work environment. (6) And we’re moving next week to a new city for a new position at the same company he was already at. So. Many. Moves.
I wish I was so good at dance moves. But alas, my three year old calls me out on those: “When you wiggle like that, it means you need to go potty, Mom.” 🤷♀️
Anyway, straight to the tips.
First Tip: Label Thoroughly
I like things organized. I don’t think I’m quite on an OCD level, but I did arrange the jars in our spice rack alphabetically, which Justin thought was pretty unnecessary, and I always put them back with the labels facing right side up (they’re round and could go in any direction), so, decide what you want about me based on that. Anyway, this will be at least the fourth move I’ve used this labeling system for, and I can affirm that it makes unpacking so much less of a pain than it is otherwise.
Keep blank index cards, pens, sharpies, and packing tape on hand. As you load a box, write down everything you’re putting into it on a blank index card. Groups of things can be labeled as a group (ie. “baby blankets”), but I recommend writing down every individual item if it’s not part of an obvious group that will also stay together once unpacked. For example, don’t just write “pots and pans” (I guarantee all of your pots and pans will not fit in one box). Write “12 inch skillet, large saucepan, medium saucepan,” and whatever else you use to fill in around it, and write the names of the other pots and pans on their own box’s index card.
Once a box is full, figure out what room you will want to unpack that box in, in the new place you’re moving to. If everything is from the same room that’s easy. If you collected items from various rooms to get the perfect Tetris fit, decide based on the single item you’ll need first from that box, or based on where most of the items in the box need to end up. Write the name of that room on the same index card in sharpie for easy identification. Then tape the index card to the side of the box.
Here’s my reasoning: The sharpie-room label helps your movers or your friends and family (or yourself!) put each box where you want it in the new place. (Obviously. I think everyone does this already. But.) The detailed labeling of items helps you find most-needed items relatively quickly: you don’t have to open and dig through “kitchen” or even “dishes” boxes to find the plates; you scan your labels and only open the box you need.
Second Tip: Start Early
As soon as you know you’re moving, and your moving timeline, start thoughtfully decluttering and packing. Ask yourself, “What can I live without….?” If you’ve been meaning to clean out your closet–as in, get rid of stuff–now is the time. If you can live without something permanently, get rid of it. If it’s summer and you’re planning to be moved to the new place while it’s still summer, go ahead and pack away all the winter clothes in boxes. Anything else you can live without for “a few months,” go ahead and pack it. If you only use your roasting pan and pressure cooker twice a year, and not at this time of year, go ahead and pack them.
A couple weeks later, “What can I live without for a few weeks?” Same thing. Then one week. Then two days. You’ve broken down the task into more-manageable chunks, making it less overwhelming. And, when you start early, you can take your time: you can pack each box as efficiently as possible, and have time to “go through stuff” now, instead of bringing things with you that you don’t really want–meaning you need fewer boxes.
Third Tip: Don’t Make Boxes Too Heavy
I got to pat myself on the back after we moved into this house, when Justin’s friend who was helping us unload mentioned how nice it was that none of the boxes were crazy heavy. Justin and I split packing duties when we move thusly: I play Tetris with our stuff, fitting it into boxes; he plays Tetris with the furniture and full boxes, fitting them into the truck. So basically, my method of box-packing allowed “the guys” to save their big muscle power for furniture, since they could stack the relatively lightweight boxes on the dolly or carry them without too much effort. My rule while packing a box is that I have to be able to carry it to its holding spot in the house (where it awaits truck loading)—if I can carry it at all, our strong friends can probably carry it easily. ☑️
So here’s the tip part, the how: save pillows, blankets, towels, washcloths, and other low-density, squishy/conformable items to be added to the top of boxes that are starting to get quite heavy. Load the bottom half of a box with books, and put baby blankets or off-season clothes on top to fill the box without adding much more weight. Also, in the kitchen, resist the urge to fill up containers-with-lids with other things. Kitchen stuff tends to be heavy; leave that natural air space where you can. Unless you have very small boxes! Use the smallest boxes for the densest items.
Fourth Tip: Get Enough of the Right Supplies
A tape dispenser is a must. I like this simple one. Don’t go more simple than that, though. This one has a little lip on either side below the cutting edge to hold the loose end of the tape up off the rest of the roll. I tried a cheaper dispenser for 30 seconds and threw it in the trash. Ain’t nobody got time for prying the end of the tape up every time. Extra rolls of tape are also a must. I use this kind, which conveniently comes in a 3-pack, so that even though you think the half roll you had leftover from before plus two new rolls would have been enough, you actually still have plenty when you are on the home stretch of packing and that second new roll runs completely out. 💪
Labeling supplies: blank index cards (I prefer unlined/truly blank), pen(s), and permanent marker(s).
Boxes boxes boxes. Of course you will use diaper boxes and amazon boxes and whatever other random sturdy cardboard boxes you can save and scrounge from friends or local facebook groups over the weeks leading up to your move. I won’t speak about those much here, because of course. In addition to those, I recommend these:
We invested in quite a few hard plastic 20-gallon totes (like these) from a home improvement store for one of our early moves together. Since we’ve moved so many times, we have gotten every penny of our money’s worth out of them. Each move, some get cracked beyond use, but we still have about 40 from the original batch going with us this time. They stack easily/efficiently in a moving truck, their handles make them easy to carry, and their snap-on lids mean you don’t need much (if any) tape.
These also work splendidly for long-term storage while you’re not moving. I keep kids’ clothing that doesn’t fit anyone at the moment, my maternity clothes, and toys that are “off rotation,” among other things, in these totes, and they fit in the back of closets, or in the garage, basement, or attic. Since they’re not cardboard they don’t particularly attract moisture or bugs. Spider webs on the exterior can be expected in the garage or attic, but that’s it. And they nest inside each other for compact storage of the empty boxes when not in use: ready and waiting for your next move, if you can stomach the thought.
The only negative to these is how easy it is to make them very heavy. Their large capacity is excellent for oddly shaped and less-dense items, though!
The only type of boxes we had to buy for this move were large picture frame boxes and a flat screen TV box. The Uhaul store carries these and they make it very convenient to protect your TV and pack multiple wall art items together so you and your friends are taking fewer trips to and from the moving truck. Uhaul will buy back any boxes you don’t end up using, so it doesn’t hurt to err on the side of liberal with how many you think you need. This post is not sponsored. I’ve just been satisfied with the services at Uhaul so far!
Fifth Tip: Make High Priority Boxes Stand Out
When we moved to our current home, I made the mistake of packing all the bath towels in a suitcase instead of a box. I had failed to label the suitcase. So at the end of the Unload the Truck Day, when my mom, my brothers-in-law, and my husband and I were ready for a shower, I was searching “bathroom” box labels and pulling my hair out because I couldn’t find the dang towels! Justin went to Walmart, bought 5 of the cheapest bath towels they had, and then I happened to open the suitcase, found our towels, and Justin returned the new towels to the store the next day. But I learned my lesson. This is the first time I’m labeling a few boxes as “High Priority,” in sharpie next to the room label, in hopes of avoiding that towel situation again. I intend for them to be put where nothing else is out for ease of finding. The kitchen “high priority” box should end up on a countertop instead of on the floor in a stack. The towels are going to the kids’ bathroom, where there should only be a few boxes total. We’ll see how it works. If it doesn’t, I’ll rescind my tip.
My last “high priority” box was filled with toilet paper, hand soap, key cleaning agents, and paper towels, and labeled with “half bathroom” as its destination. It will be the only box there. I don’t want my friends and my children to be stuck drip-drying after hand washing (or before…. 😬). 🤞🏻
Well, I meant for this to be a relatively short post, but apparently that didn’t happen. Don’t you love all my backstories and explanations, though? If you don’t, don’t tell me; I don’t want to know. My target audience here, after all, is people who do!
“(or before…)” — hilarious!
lol!! 😉