This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for a while now. Even new friends around here can likely guess that I’ve moved a lot. Um, ourfifthhouse.com yet now living in our seventh……that’s not confusing at all, is it? 😉 And that just gives you a glimpse of my many moving adventures. In the last 20 years, I’ve moved 9 times and have lived in 5 different states. (You can find more details on why we’ve moved so much here.) I’ve always looked at moving as an adventure, but it can also be super overwhelming and stressful. I’ve shared moving tips here before. But now, having another move under my belt, I’ve got a little more advice to share. Hopefully, these tips come in handy for any of you who may have an upcoming move on the horizon!
Check Facebook Marketplace for boxes before spending a dime purchasing moving boxes from a hardware store. Turns out, Facebook is actually good for some things. 😉 In my experience, someone will have recently moved into the area that you’re moving out of and is getting rid of boxes just when you need them.
If you can’t source free wardrobe boxes, go ahead and spend some $ to grab a few. Trust me. Wardrobe boxes are game-changers for moving clothing. You can pack and unpack a closet in practically no time with wardrobe boxes.
Sell your dishes and glassware, and buy new ones after you move. Hear me out on this. Packing and unpacking a kitchen not only takes a lot of time but also requires a small monetary investment when you consider just how much packing paper and/or bubble wrap you’ll need. And then, you go through all the trouble of carefully packing each plate, bowl, glass, mug, and still, some items will end up breaking in transit. So, in my humble opinion, unless you’ve inherited your great-grandmother’s China, it’s likely not worth the time and bubble wrap to bring your dishes with you. Have a garage sale, list them on FB Marketplace or just donate your current collection, and then after you move, start fresh. It’ll save you a ton of time on both ends, and you just might break even dollarwise.
While the kitchen is on my mind…..
Pack a few of your lightweight pans and baking sheets in a suitcase or duffle bag and plan to keep them with you rather than loading them up on the moving truck. This way when you get to your new place you won’t be dependent on your movers or your ability to find and unpack your box labeled “pots and pans” to start breaking in your new kitchen. All I know is, nothing makes a new house feel more like home than the smell of chocolate chip break and bakes in the oven. 🙂
Also worth keeping with you, rather than boxing, are sheets and towels. And of course, keep all important documents with you.
Don’t bother hiring packing help. Instead, hire a professional organizer to help you unpack and put things away. Packing services are fairly pricey. And while it’s tiresome, packing isn’t something that requires much brainpower. But unpacking?! It’s half grunt work and half brain work. Unpacking a kitchen, as an example, requires a lot of thinking. And after all the decisions you have to make when you’re in the process of moving, I think it’s really helpful to call in a pro to help you get your new home set up and organized. So if you’ve got the budget to hire packing help, I’d recommend diverting those funds to a professional organizer.
Go through all of your holiday decorations and PURGE, purge, purge! Chances are you have a lot of stuff that is very specific to the home you’re leaving. Like maybe you have a 12ft Christmas tree, but the house you’re moving into doesn’t have a vaulted ceiling. It takes some time to sort through, but you’ll be happy you didn’t pay to move items you can no longer use. And the new homeowners might even be happy to take those items off your hands!
Use colored duct tape on the boxes you want to be able to unpack first, like maybe the box you use to pack your coffee pot. The brightly colored duct tape will stand out from the rest of the boxes, so you’ll be able to easily spot those boxes you want to unpack first.
Last but not least, start packing as early as possible. It almost always takes longer than you think it will. And on the flip side of that, when you get to your new place, don’t stress about getting everything unpacked in a hurry. Give yourself some grace and some take time to just enjoy being in your new home! All you really need in life is a coffee pot and a baking sheet. 😉 The rest can wait.
Do you have any moving tips or advice to share?
I have moved several timeS myself and lOve the advice of selling your glasses and plates. It’s so true that eventually they will break. I lost all of my great-grandmother’s china, minus a couple if plates, in my last move. I would also suggest Bringing one towel per person, but using the rest to Wrap around breakable items, such as vases, picture frames, etc. i Would also suggest going through books and selling/donating ones you’ve read or don’t Need/want. Books are heavy! (Sorry for all capS, it won’t let me type in lower caps).