Stay Organized While Moving

My family recently relocated to a much larger house about 2 hours away from where we were living. This made the 3^rd move my husband and I had made since being married (4.5 years) and I knew this move had to be different than all the others.

Previously, we had always thrown stuff in boxes and wrote the name of a room on the box and called it good. We didn’t purge and we didn’t organize, which is how we wound up with excessive amounts of junk that we haven’t seen or used in the last 3 years. This move was completely different. I purged, oh boy did I purge. And I stayed organized by using the simple system I’ll discuss later. First, let’s talk purging.

Purge simply means to get rid of (stuff, junk, crap, etc). If you’re going to move I highly recommend purging. A lot. I don’t mean simply throw away outdated magazines and the socks with holes, I mean get serious and get rid of it! I started out with 2 dressers and a closet full of clothes, I pared my wardrobe down to 2 dresses, 3 dress pants, 4 pair of casual non-denim pants, 5 pairs of jeans, 12 tshirts, a few sweaters and other tops. I didn’t keep a count on undies or bras, but the point is my clothing now fits into my half of the closet and 4 shelves. I also purged almost 20 pairs of shoes (I have a slight shoe obsession). This purge translated into me only having 2 boxes of clothes to move-woohoo! I must admit, I do have another box of clothing, but it’s full of scrubs for work, so I didn’t count that in my wardrobe purge. When going through and packing your clothes, really think about what you have/have not worn in the last 6 months. If you haven’t worn it in that amount of time, chances are you’re not going to in the next 6 months (except for seasonal items) so get rid of it! Don’t keep clothes that are a size or two too small, odds are stacked against you for getting into them again, besides isn’t one of the most exciting parts of losing weight getting new clothes? And unless you’re only 18 or 19, chances are the tshirts you’ve had since high school are probably so worn you can read through them or so disgusting you can’t wear them in public…get rid of them! As for seasonal items, if you didn’t wear that lovely jingle bell sweater Aunt Hilda got you last winter, you’re not going to this winter. Do yourself and your closet a favor and purge.

I seriously had an issue with getting rid of perfectly good clothing that I just didn’t fit anymore or didn’t care to wear any longer. I was certainly not going to throw it away and I didn’t have time to post lots of clothing on ebay. My husband and I went through and folded and recorded each item of clothing, as well as kept track of an estimate of what we paid for each item new and an estimate of the items current worth. We then packed all of it into huge garbage bags and headed for the Goodwill store. Once there we dropped off the bags and filled out the donation receipt with the previously mentioned information and voila, huge tax write off. We probably won’t get every single cent, but who cares? Less fortunate people are getting some sweet clothes and I am much less cluttered!

Go through each and every room in your house with a box and a trash bag. Trash the trash and any junk or clutter ends up in the box to donate. Make sure you fill that box and another one or two if you’re really brave! Decluttering and purging will make moving less of a headache and give you a lot less boxes to pack!

Now that you’ve purged the extra junk, it’s time to pack. We purchased our boxes online at usedcardboardboxes.com. Obviously, you don’t have to purchase boxes, but there was a method to my madness. The purchased boxes were cheap, clean, being re-used and had minimal writing on them (some were even plain). The other reason I purchased my boxes was that the only businesses in my town that would donate boxes were the umpteen million bars. I didn’t particularly cherish the idea of the neighbors feeling like they had a brewery moving in next door. Also, on the upside of purchasing quality re-used boxes is the option to re-sell the boxes. I didn’t realize it until I started looking for boxes, but there are a ton of places looking to buy used boxes in good condition, such as boxquest.com and the above mentioned box store. Also, don’t underestimate the power of Craigslist!

I purchased one of the box packages from usedcardboardboxes.com and received 75 boxes, 3 rolls of tape, 3 sharpies, 2 rolls of packing paper, 3 box cutters and a tape gun thingy. The only thing I had to purchase extra of was tape! I also implemented a labeling system to keep myself and my stuff organized, but it was cheap; simply purchase a package of multi-colored construction paper.

I started out on one end of the house in one room and worked my way through each and every room one at a time. This discouraged me from throwing bathroom items in with the family room items simply because it was in my hand and there was an open box near by. This was also a lot less overwhelming than running helter skelter through the house with a million half-packed boxes. Pack the room you’re in as completely as possible before moving on. Keep in mind while packing your boxes, that unless Hulk Hogan is coming to help, your boxes should not weigh any more than 50lb and 30lb is an even better number. I did cheat a little bit and used kitchen towels and wash cloths as packing material to fill up space without adding weight, but I was sure to use them in boxes that were going to rooms near where the towels would ultimately end up.

You can be as anal as you like with your labeling system. Just be sure to choose a system and stick with it. I didn’t want to get so stuck on my labeling system that if I ran out of pink labels that I was at a stand-still until I could go get more pink paper. My method was simple and easy for anyone and everyone to follow. I cut construction paper in half length-wise and simply wrote (LARGE AND LEGIBLY) the room the box was to go to on each label, I then taped them securely to the sides of the box. I also wrote, much smaller, in the bottom corner of the label a general description of what was in the box (Bekka’s Scrubs, Matt’s Shirts, Cookbooks, etc). Finally, after I had taped the box closed I wrote the destination room ON THE TAPE across the top of the box. Notice I did not write directly on the box…easier to sell back that way!

Once your rooms are packed, with the exception of stuff necessary to live for a few days, arrange the packed boxes in a central location in your home with stuff that should go on the truck first in the front. Finally, pack up the stuff you left out into a few boxes and put them in your car. Pack a suitcase with 2-3 days worth of clothing and toiletry items and put it in your car. Packing cleaning supplies, canned or boxed food, paper plates and utensils and put them in your car. If you’re moving with young children be sure their comfort items and favorite toys are packed in your car for easy access!

Try to arrive at your new home before the truck. You definitely want to get in there and give the house a good cleaning (if you haven’t hired someone to do so) and make sure every room is ready to receive boxes and furniture. I taped labels on the doors so there would be absolutely no question as to where a box was to go or what a room was to be used for. Just stay consistent: if you labeled your boxes “Family Room” but put “Living Room” on the door, people are going to get confused and you can kiss the organization goodbye! The people lugging the stuff off the truck and into your home are not going to want to have to do any heavy thinking while they’re struggling with your grandfather clock-stay consistent and easy to follow! At the same time, if a bedroom box finds its way into the dining room, don’t panic-1 or 2 stray boxes won’t kill you!

We unpacked much the same way we packed. Methodically, room by room. We started downstairs and made sure the family room was set up and comfortable before moving on. It’s nice to have an area in the house completely finished to escape to when the mountains of cardboard get too overwhelming. The kitchen was next as I could not handle one more night of take out. I literally cooked the first night we were in the new house. Once the family room and kitchen was finished we knocked out Kesiah’s bedroom and our bedroom so that we could sleep comfortably in peaceful rooms. Obviously, if the kitchen isn’t a priority to you, don’t settle it first. Think about which areas and rooms in the house are your family’s priority and get them as homey as possible first!

Our recent move was made much more hassle-free and easy just by taking some time to purge and stay organized. I hope that if you have to make a move sometime soon that these tips will help keep your move headache free!