When a relocation gets close, it can be hard to focus on what really needs to get done. Not to mention, trying to get it done with kids in the house. Here are 5 helpful moving tips that I’ve been implementing to help me stay sane and get some stuff done as we prep for our big move and before the mover company we hired arrive.
Some tips for how to pack for a move are below
- Lighten Your Load By Getting Rid Of Junk. Try to go through every drawer, cupboard, shelf, etc, and evaluate if there’s anything you can toss. I like Sandee Payne’s sorting tip in her book That Military House: Move It, Organize It & Decorate It. She says to use the 3 box method:
- Have one box each for Keep, Sell/Donate, and Trash/Recycle.
- As you go through a shelf or drawer, sort it right away.
- This allows you to do it quickly, dump the trash right away and set aside anything you want to sell.
- You can easily put back the stuff in the “Keep” box, or return it to its proper home.
When it comes time to move into your new home, you’ll have a lot less work to do!
- Say “Yes” to friends who want to help. I have a few friends who have offered to help clean and organize, or cook us dinner. It’s so nice and such a huge help since things are starting to get crazy around here.
- Hire Help. In addition to volunteers, it never hurts to hire some help. I hired our babysitter to come a few days help me organize. It’s hard to get things done with a one-year-old underfoot, and my recently-graduated babysitter wants money! She has been super helpful.
- Put Small Things In Ziploc Bags. This is one of the best moving tips! Little things get lost easily in a move. Remedy this by putting small items into ziploc baggies, gathering them together in one spot. I try to keep the baggies in the room of the hosue they go in, so they have a good chance of being packed with similar items. (There are no guarantees though!)
Some examples of items that could go in baggies:
- Office supplies
- Hair “things,” bands and clips
- Random keys (you never know when you’ll figure out what they go to)
- Small kitchen items such as toothpics & bottle openers
- Shower curtain rings
- Kids socks
- Organize your Files. Ok, this one I hate. I did phase one of this project today, which was file the papers that have been sitting on my laundry room shelf. The next phase is to pull out all the necessary files into a separate file box. We’ll take this smaller box with us on our drive. It will include health records, car titles, recent years’ tax info, passports and other important personal information. It’s kind of a pain but very necessary.
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