Any moving advice?

[Spacemom]

Besides stock plenty of xanax? ;)

I'm boxing everything this week and we move next weekend. We're renting a truck to hopefully get everything in one trip.

Any advice or tips? :)

[Bunny]

1. Sell everything at a yard sale and go buy all new stuff!

As unrealistic as that is, the thought has crossed my mind every single time I've moved. :) Good luck!

[philosophie_en_rose]

2. Number your boxes and then count them when they come.

My movers somehow lost two boxes of kitchen things. :grr: But I could hold them to it, because I had a list.

[sarge43]

3. Try to pack by type (small kitchen stuff together, etc)

pad everything well

label every freakin' box in detail ('stuff' or 'shit' won't work)

load the stuff you'll need immediately last (no fun digging thru gazillion boxes looking for the can opener)

get knee walking drunk (you'll be sorry the next day, but you'll feel no pain during the process)

Good luck :hug:

[trof]

4. You may not want to do this, but...

The first time we moved, we did it in a very large U-Haul trailer.
I kept eyeballing everything we were going to pack and thinking "OK, I'm PRETTY sure I can fit it all in...probably. I think. What if I can't? Just leave stuff behind? Geez."

So...I laid out some 2X4s on the living room floor, outlining the dimensions of the trailer floor.
And. We. Did. A. Practice. Packing.
I kid you not.

It was like putting a 3 dimensional jigsaw puzzle together.
"OK this fits here and...no...wait...OK if I turn this THIS way then the legs of THIS will fit in there and..."

Finally all of our possessions were stacked in a neat cube in the middle of the living room.
My wife thought I was nuts, but went along with it.
And we didn't have to leave anything behind.
:-)

[burythehatchet]

5. Best moving decision I ever made was

to buy plastic containers with lids from Target instead of cardboard. The cost difference is less than you might imagine.

The benefits are the ability to pack and re-pack easily, no taping and sealing, and when you move in you have a storage solution.

[Wcross]

6. Its a GREAT time to throw out stuff you don't need or use.

The last time I moved I had so much crap that was either broken or didn't fit anymore. The clothing went to goodwill and the broken stufff in the dumpster.

[we can do it]

16. Great Idea -

Most of us accumulate way too much junk.

[Gormy Cuss]

7. Once you arrive at your new place:

Unpack and organize everything as soon as possible. If you've followed the other posters' advice about number boxes and packing related things together the process of setting up in the new place is much faster than you'd think and you feel 'settled' into the new digs much more readily. The last time we moved (with pros moving the boxes) we spent the first day unpacking the kitchen and bedroom and over the next two days unpacked a room at a time until we were done. We had a handful of stuff left in boxes because we had to buy a bookcase and rearrange a few rooms but having MOST of our belongings out and accessible felt good.

[Haole Girl]

8. First advice...

...ditch the Xanax. You don't need that just for moving! ;-)
I guess that's easy for me to say because I've moved over 20 times in my life. Seriously, here is a hug...:hug: And, seriously, don't use too much Xanax (it's not good for the long-term memory).

Ok, moving advice? The big mistake I make is I never have enough boxes. Now I just get 20% more than I think I need and recycle any extra.

Good luck...try not to get stressed. Waiting until the last minute to pack will just make it worse...don't do that!! :hug:

[SOteric]

9. Most importantly,

pack in your bed frame, mattress, sheets, pillows, covers and everything you need to get a shower & good night's sleep LAST.

And then when you get to the new place, unpack it and set it all up FIRST.

That way no matter how cranky, sweaty and exhausted you are at the end of the day, you've got a place to collapse in a heap and sleep like the dead, -and you can leave the rest of the boxes for the morning.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

10. label the boxes according to rooms and priority of opening

Ex: Dining Room 1. Kitchen 3. Books.

its annoying to go through hoards of boxes trying to figure shit out

[Roon]

11. Just keep your cool

People tend to get snippy during moves. Xanax wouldn't be a bad idea.LOL

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. I used colored labels...instead of labeling with a pen....

Green was living room, red was kitchen. That way, I wasn't always searching for the pen and it made our move happen in 1 and 1 half hours. In, out, in again. good luck

[Richard Steele]

13. Always keep some TP where you can find it as soon as you get there!

Like in a purse, or the glove comprtment of the truck.

Similarly, an "overnight" box with just enough dishes, towels, &
bedclothes to get through a single night comes in handy
after you're tired out from unloading a big truck all day.

To maximize packing space, things like microwaves can
be used to hold other things.

If you're moving a washer, be sure to pad the drum
with blankets or such so it doesn't beat itself to death
from road vibration.

[radwriter0555]

14. Label and inventory the boxes. Start with number 1 of course, number

the box and on the paper, write down what's in the box.

RENT A BIG enough truck to get all the stuff in one load.

GET the truck as early in the day as possible, crack of dawn.

Load the big things on the bottom, boxes in last.

Try to get boxes of the same size. It's worth buying them.

When loading the truck, put the boxes in first. That way, you can put critical, important boxes directly into the right rooms AFTER you've moved the furniture in.

Stage all the boxes into the room you will use least, if you like, to organize your unpacking. I had them all in my guesthouse and unpacked them little by little because I remodeled when I moved in and didn't want to trip over them.

Remember when packing the truck, last out, first in.

MAKE THE BEDS. Put out towels, get out your coffee maker and the fixings first.

[havocmom]

15. General anesthesia

:thumbsup: