From the time I was 3 til today, I’ve moved a total of 17 times in my life. Does that make me an expert at moving and packing? Far from it! Most of the moving was done by companies, and it seemed the moves that I actually did myself were not on par with what I figured a move should be like.
Next week, my wife and I are signing papers on our FIRST home. It’s exciting to say the least and causes me to think of the good and bad moves in my 33 years of life. While not all, most of them have seemed hurried to me, like the planning wasn’t as in depth as it should have been. Most have been stressful making me want to smoke a cigarette or something, although I did quit smoking during one of my moves nearly 6 years ago. Planning would go a long way to help take the stress out of your move.
So while thinking about these I thought of a few ways to help me plan this next move:
Boxes. You will need more than you think, escpecially if you are moving any great distance. Cereal boxes from grocery stores are actually quit sturdy if you can find them. Also, smaller television boxes are good, because they have handles on most of them, on top of being strong. If you haven’t yet found one of the best kept secrets on the Internet, we found some good ones to buy on craigslist, but a lot of people just give them away on there too.
A good permanent marker. Preferably one that doesn’t make you sick to your stomach from the smell.
Packing Paper. Wrap anything that will break in this, can also be found on craigslist, along with most any package store.
Packing Lists. It’s good also, that while you are packing your boxes, either write the contents on the outside of the box, or right a number on it, with the corresponding number on a piece of paper listing the contents of the box. This will help greatly when you are unloading your belongings into your new residence. One move I had, I just had the movers put the boxes whereever because I simply didn’t know what was in them for the most part. If I had known, I wouldn’t have had to open a box and then move it to where it should have been unpacked.
Moving truck. It’s more expensive yes, but you can get all your stuff in one load if you pack it right. If you are planning on using U-Haul and are doing a local move, tell them a lower estimate on the amount of rooms you have. They seem to want to push the larger trucks on your, which will cost even more for you in the end.
Pack early! Pack up the things you won’t need a good deal of time in advance. It will save you a lot of time in the long run. And you should be done 1 – 2 days before you expect to load your truck, living out of a suitcase is fine if only for a day or two.
Get rest. Don’t kill yourself trying to pack, load, unload all in one day it will kill you. I am doing a local move, so I will be sure that I have 4 days off, 2 to move, one to situate myself in the new house, and one to basically rest or take it a lot easier than I had been the 3 days prior.
Wish me luck, I start my move next Friday, most of the stuff is ready to go anyhow 
