Moving Tips Part 1 - Packing

I am officially moved into my new home! And I can attest…moving sucks.

I’ve moved A LOT in the past five years (since going to college), but this was the hardest. For one thing, my apartment entrance isn’t close to a parking lot or driveway, so things had to be carried down a super long sidewalk, past two other apartment buildings, to reach a vehicle. To make matters worse, I only had my boyfriend to help – my dad (usually the MVP of moving my stuff) just had foot surgery and was down for the count. Unlike all of my college moves, I also had ALL of my stuff – nothing was with my parents, nothing belonged to my roommates (because I don’t have any), and lots of things had been collected over the past year of living alone.

Now I will be unpacking. But, in the midst of the Crazy, I’m going to do a series on moving tips and tricks – maybe you can avoid some of the mistakes that I made, either during this move or during a previous move (there have been.. at least 12. *sigh*).

Moving Tips – The Packing Part

1. Label your boxes. Everyone will tell you this, because it’s true – and it’s also not very hard. Label the top and sides of the boxes so that the writing is easy to see from any angle. You should definitely give it a general label, so you (and your helpers) can put it directly into the correct room. That will make unpacking infinitely easier.
2. Don’t overweight your boxes. Cardboard may seem heavy duty, but when you have a big cardboard box full of textbooks, the bottom will probably split open at some point. And drop your books into the snow (because yes, I was moving in snow).
3. Don’t move in snow. If at all possible, move when the ground isn’t covered with wet, slippery, cold mush. This has nothing to do with packing, but it seems appropriate.
4. Pack slowly if you can. Packing all at once can be overwhelming, and you inevitably will be more disorganized than you will be if you pack slowly. You’ll be surprised at how much of your stuff you don’t really need for the weeks before you move –guest towels, unseasonal clothes and dresses, most of your shoes, books and movies, extra pans and cookware, blankets, many toiletries….pack your least-likely-to-use stuff first, and go from there.
5. Don’t buy moving boxes. Why on earth would you spend money on boxes, that you will be throwing away in a few months? Ask your friends and family to save their boxes from online orders for a few months before your move, and then – to get more boxes – either ask your local grocery stores and warehouses (Costco is great) to give you some of their empty boxes. A lot of stores also just dump their boxes in cardboard-specific dumpsters that you can scavenge from (it’s not as gross at is sounds – it’s just cardboard). If your work gets a lot of boxes, you can probably take those too.
6. Don’t scrimp on your packing material. Bubble wrap, packing peanuts, and even tissue paper are critical if you don’t want your stuff to break. I have broken far too many things moving, and finally learned my lesson…although on this move I broke a mixing bowl and a plate because I slipped on ice and dropped a box (again, don’t move in snow!).
7. But don’t buy packing material. Bubble wrap is stupid expensive and again, a lot of online orders will come with bubble wrap or packing peanuts that can be saved by your and your friends/family. Another great option that I use all the time is to wrap your breakables in dishcloths, towels, and clothes. These make great cushions that you already have, and need to move anyway. Just be mindful of your box labeling – you don’t want to be searching for the box with the bath towels your first night in the new house.
8. Don’t make your boxes too ginormous. Huge boxes are heavier, more likely to break, and harder to pack into your vehicle. This might be alright if you rent a moving truck, but you’ll actually be able to pack your car more efficiently with smaller boxes (that can fit in the trunk and on the floor). You can always stack boxes when carrying them, but you can’t cut giant boxes in half to make them fit
9. Don’t make your boxes too small. A box that hold JUST your plates is basically useless. Your best bet to try and have boxes of varying sizes, without any that are super small or super large.
10. Store your packed boxes neatly in the room they came from. This way, if you do suddenly need something that was packed, it’ll be easy to find it again. Plus, it’ll make maintaining your current house/apartment easier in the weeks leading up to the move. I stored a lot of boxes in my linen closet, my bedroom closet, and stacked inside of bookshelves that had the shelves removed.

Good luck! Moving Post #2 will be Prepping Your New Home for the Move