Moving is a part of life. We move for all sorts of reasons. Whatever your reason for relocating, know that you are not alone. The relocation experience can be a fun and easy process or an exhausting and stressful one.
With the right moving checklist, you can make the process easier on yourself.
How Should I Prepare for a Move?
Knowing that you need to prepare to move doesn’t mean you have any idea where to start. Americans are said to move on average more than 11 times in their lives. If you might do something a dozen times in your life, it’s worth learning to do it the right way.
Make a Packing Checklist
Who doesn’t love a checklist? Packing up your life and relocating is quite a project, and a checklist is a must. The last thing you want to do is forget something and realize it after moving.
Packing up your life involves moving all of your stuff, but it also involves other important tasks that need to be on your checklist like:
- Acquire packing supplies
- Change your address (with EVERYONE)
- Move your vehicle(s)
- Schedule utility connections and shutoffs
Planning will allow you time to make a comprehensive checklist that’s right for you.
Consider Hiring Professional Movers
Sometimes you have to admit that others are better equipped to handle tasks than you are. When it comes to moving, professional movers know how to load a moving truck quickly and easily, and hiring professionals can make the process much more stress-free.
Other moving projects like relocating your vehicle go smoother with a professional, and they solve logistical problems without all the stress. Carvaygo can help you schedule your car pick-up and delivery to your new location, and you’ll be amazed at how helpful car shipping can be.
Go Room By Room
Multitasking is a myth. You can do many things at a mediocre level, or you can do one task at a time for great results across the board. Packing and moving go much more smoothly if you divide and conquer each area one at a time.
Going room by room will also help you to organize what you’re packing as you’re packing it. This will make unpacking it easier when you are moving into your new place.
Clean Your New Place Before Moving In
To create a beautiful work of art, you start with a clean canvas. To create a space you truly enjoy in your new place; you’ll want to clean it before moving in. If you’re busy packing, you might consider hiring someone to clean your new place before you arrive with the moving truck.
What Can I Do To Make Packing Easier?
When people complain that they hate moving, they usually mean that they hate packing. If you can make packing easier, you can make moving easier. If you've hired professional movers and scheduled the cleaning of your new place, all that's left is to pack up.
Here are a few packing tips and tricks to help make your move easier.
1. Get Rid of Clutter
A great way to start packing is to get rid of all the stuff that you don’t need. As you move your way through each room, have a large donation box and a trash can with you. As you come across items that you no longer have use for or items that need to be discarded, you can put them in the appropriate bins and keep going to maximize the use of your time.
2. Start Far in Advance and Do a Little Each Day
When a task seems too big, we can get overwhelmed and lose sight of what we’re doing. It’s wise to break any large task down into smaller tasks to reduce your stress.
Some parts of your move can take more planning than others. Scheduling your car shipping can be an easy first task to get you started. When you use Carvaygo, they handle so much of the stress that you might have enough energy to tackle that junk drawer that you’ve been putting off.
3. Organize and Label Boxes Appropriately
The biggest lie we tell ourselves when we’re packing is that we’ll remember where we packed certain items. Unless you keep your boxes organized and labeled, you won’t.
4. Label Using Different Colors for Different Rooms
Unless you’re moving from a one-room efficiency or a single bedroom, you likely have several rooms that need to be packed away. If you have three closets, four bedrooms, or two bathrooms, how will you know what boxes are for which room? A great way to keep your boxes organized is to use different colors for different rooms.
If you've delegated packing certain rooms to other people in your home, give each person a different marker color. As they finish packing, label their boxes with their marker color. When it's time to unload, you can send the right boxes to the right rooms, or each person can grab the boxes with their marker color on them.
5. Wrap Any Breakable Items Carefully
When you’re moving into a new place, you don’t want one of your first memories of it to be when you opened up a box and found one of your favorite items broken because it wasn’t packed away carefully.
When you're packing breakable and fragile items, consider the item's size. Choose an appropriately sized box. You won't want the item(s) to fit so snug that they'll be easily crushed, but you also don't want so much space that the item(s) can bang around and become damaged. Bubble wrap is your friend. If you're trying to be friendly to the environment, consider recyclable items like newspapers to wrap and create padding around breakable items.
You might also consider packing your towels around items that seem like they'll be jostled easily. This can create natural padding from items that you already need to move.
6. Pack Essentials in Your Tote
If you’ve ever moved, you know that the process is exhausting. Even with movers, you can be so tired that first night or the first several nights that all you want to do is order a pizza and get some sleep.
Preparing a personal tote with your essentials will keep you from mindlessly opening boxes just to find your pajamas and a toothbrush. Here are some items to consider putting in your tote:
- 2 - 3 changes of clothes, head to toe
- Pajamas
- Snacks
- Personal hygiene items
- Medications
- Water
- Chargers for your electronic devices
7. Use Baskets and Laundry Bins to Your Advantage
You have to move your baskets and laundry bins with you anyway, so you might as well utilize the space and storage room and fill them with items you need to pack away.
For example, after securing the lids with tape, you can put your detergent, fabric softener, bleach, and other laundry care items in the basket. Now, they’re ready to tote to your new place to be stored in your new laundry room.
Some other quick-moving hacks like this include:
- Pack your spices in your pots
- Pack your fridge and freezer items in your cooler
- Pack your cleaning supplies in your lidded trash can (cleaned, of course)
You can think of all sorts of tricks that will save you space and make use of what you already have on hand. That way, you’re not paying to move so much air.
8. Use Packing Cubes for Soft Items
Packing cubes are helpful when you’re packing a suitcase to keep your clothing organized and categorized. They can help you organize other soft items when you’re packing to move. You can also categorize your important items like charging cables, compact items, and more.
9. Vacuum-Seal Soft Items You Don’t Use Often
Some soft items can get rather bulky. Vacuum-sealing them can make them easier to pack and easier to move. Some soft items to consider for vacuum-seal are:
- Pillows
- Blankets
- Comforters
- Coats
- Sweaters
Taking the air out compresses the items into a more manageable size.
10. Take Photos of How Things Are Set-Up Before Packing Them
When you’ve lived in a space for a while, you usually have your items just like you want them. When you start unpacking, it can be difficult to remember how you had them arranged, and it can take some time to settle in and put them the way you like in your new space.
If you take photos before you start packing, you can remember how you had your items laid out more easily, and it can make unpacking faster and easier.
Taking a photo can also help you mentally check off that you’ve unpacked everything you need for your space, and you’ll know that nothing was lost along the way.
11. Sell or Give Away Items You Don’t Want Anymore
Some items just don’t work in your new space when you're moving. As you’re packing and unpacking, you may decide you just don’t need certain items any more. Rather than throw away perfectly good items, you may want to find them a new home.
Selling or giving away items is a great way to extend the life of the items that you don’t need or want. If you sell, you can recoup some of your moving expenses. If you give them away, you can help improve someone else’s space.
Either way, you can make room for all the news that’s coming into your life and feel good about the space you create.
If you’re not sure what to sell and what to donate, consider having a garage sale and donate what doesn’t sell.
The Bottom Line
Moving and packing can be tough. Doing it the right way can make it easier. When it comes to moving your car, trust the professionals at Carvaygo to help make the process stress-free, and use these simple moving tips for all the rest. Happy moving!
Sources:
Most Stressful Life Events — Handling the 5 Top Stressors in Life | University Hospitals
Calculating Migration Expectancy Using ACS Data | census.gov
Why Multitasking Doesn't Work | health.clevelandclinic.org
