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Amber Bouthot
Amber Bouthot
Moving is a monumental task, especially if you’ve lived in your current place a long time and have accumulated a lot of stuff. The earlier you start, the better off you’ll be, but sometimes things happen quickly. Here are some moving tips to help you navigate the day and the weeks leading up to it.
Before Moving Day
1. PACKING HACKS
The most time-consuming task related to moving is packing. If you are tackling this step yourself, the key to success is to be organized. Get boxes and packing materials ahead of time and label as you go. The more details you include on the box, the better. Be sure to include which room in the new house it is to go and what’s inside.
As you pack, have your radar up for things you need to get rid of. Now is the perfect time to purge. While packing each room, separate items into 4 corners by category: throw away, goodwill, garage sale, and new house. This will help you immensely on the other end. There’s no sense moving things you haven’t used in years.
A space saving hack presented by BuzzFeed is to wrap all your fragile items in clothing. This will save on bubble wrap and on space since you are essentially killing two birds with one stone. For additional moving day hacks, check out BuzzFeed’s article.
Finally, make sure everything is packed before the big day. This will save a lot of time the morning of the move. Pack an overnight bag with all your essentials and consider packing things you’ll need first on the other end in clear plastic bin. Things like paper towels, trash bags, tools, phone chargers, etc. The clear bin allows you to see inside and separates itself from the myriad of cardboard boxes.
2. DRAW A FLOOR PLAN
To make the move a bit easier, draw a floor plan of your new house with rooms labeled and large furniture numbered, then tag the furniture pieces to correspond with the numbers on the floor plan. You don’t want to be making decisions about where furniture will go on the day of the move. This way, you can carry heavy pieces directly to the rooms in which they will stay. Check out: How to Arrange Furniture Like an Expert Before You Move!
3. MAKE LISTS
This may seem like an added task, but it will make moving day so much easier. Make a list with the mobile numbers of anyone who is helping you move, especially if you have hired a company. Make another list with everyone’s duties for the day so it is clear from the get go to save time. You can also use a moving app on your phone for even better progress tracking. Here’s a highly rated moving app, available from iTunes, Google Play and Amazon.
4. PLAN YOUR FOOD
Whether you’ve hired a company or have enlisted friends to help, you need to consider what everyone will eat. You need to keep them fueled and happy throughout the day. Don’t wait until the last minute. Prepare sandwiches or other portable food options that are easy to grab on the go. Have plenty of water and other beverages on hand throughout the day too. If you can, put a friend in charge of this so you can keep focused on the larger task at hand.
Moving Day:
5. WAKE UP EARLY AND DRESS APPROPRIATELY
It will likely be a long and tiring day. It’s best to get an early start. Make sure you are dressed comfortably. Moving is hard work, so you need to be comfortable.
6. KEEP CHILDREN AND PETS OUT OF THE WAY
Not only is it distracting for movers to have rambunctious kids or barking dogs scurrying around, it’s dangerous as well. Make sure you have a plan and take them out of the equation.
7. TRY TO RELAX
You’ve done all you can to prepare. Now it’s time to trust that your preparation will pay off. Even if things go wrong, you will still get everything moved.
Here are some additional things to consider to help you on moving day:
8. Get a dolly, you will want this for heavier items.
9. Wrap your drawers with plastic wrap to keep contents intact.
10. Cut handles into the sides of boxes for easier lifting.
11. Plan for delays—something is bound to go wrong.
12. Prepare an inventory- the number of boxes for each room or area.
13. Create a first day essentials and cooking essentials bin, so you don’t have to dig through your packed items after you’re moved in.
14. Have plenty of Ziploc bags on hand for small items.
15. Pack books in a rolling suitcase, this will save your back and arms!
16. Leave your clothes on hangers, ziptie them together and put them in a large garbage bag with the hangers sticking out on the top. This will group them together for easier moving and you can hang them right in your closet when you get to your new home!
17. Take a picture of your electronic set up, before you pack things up, especially if you’ve found the perfect setup for your entertainment center and office desk!
While we know this is not an exhaustive list of moving day tips, we hope this will give you a good start. There are so many resources available online to help you make this transition as smooth as possible.
