Moving

[yvi]

At some point during the next two or three weeks, I will have the pleasure of moving for the 5th time in less than 7 times, this time further than the previous times (about 3 hours by car away).

So I thought that as a rather big community, we could have a thread where people share their moving tips. Might be helpful to me and others :)

Comments

[wyldbutterflies]

If there is anything you can part with, do so now. That way you won't have to move it. Goodwill and the Salvation Army do make pick-ups for furniture if any of that will be leaving you.

If you have a grocery store nearby, contact their produce department and get some banana boxes. Many of them have handles as do some boxes for liquor. Handles are a lifesaver. And the best thing is that they are free. If they are slightly grubby inside, you can place a trash bag in them and that will keep your valuables clean.

Label all your boxes with a coding system that works best for you. I normally label by room, but make get specific like "Kitchen - Pots". This will make things much easier to find in the long run.

As for packing: aside from furniture, if you can't lift it safely, it is too heavy. My motto for moving has always been that I plan to do it myself because I don't know what help I may have. I would want to be able to lift it and whoever you have helping you move will thank you.

My parents have a trick where they shrink wrap furniture. According to my dad, it makes it easier to grip. Take that for what it's worth. I tend to think it is so they don't have to remove the cushions.

You might want to eat up or give away any food items that are refrigerated that won't make the three hour trip.

Keep all things you can't live without in one place - think of it as packing for vacation - what sort of things would you put in a suitcase if you were going out of town for a week? Those will be the things that you will want to have handy for the first few days of settling into your new home.