Burn it all… Buy new at the other end : D
Sh*t only I could mess up a smilie!
Good suggestions thus far!
Get yourself (or go locate from the garage) a pair or two of work gloves or garden gloves. Sometimes what makes moving things hard is the way a hard edge of furniture or a heavy box cuts into your hands. Gloves make a huge difference.
Go to the library and check out any of Don Aslett’s books about not being a packrat. He’s got really good strategies for getting rid of stuff, and excellent arguments against keeping things–including counters to your best excuses for why you just have to keep something. The more you can get rid of, the less you have to move, and the happier you will be in your new house.
I moved this summer. ALL summer. I’d second (or third or whatever) the recommendation that you not try to unpack everything and take boxes back except for very easily stacked items. I did it with our books, since we had so many, and stacked them all in the den (I’m still shelving books, but I live in hope that they will one day be organized in some way). When I tried that strategy with most of the other stuff, I just ended up spending all my moving time packing things and I had a huge mess at the new place.
If you need extra boxes, liquor stores have great ones, but it’s good to ask them at least a few days in advance.
And get friends to help. I was moving our family of four out of a house we’d lived in for twenty years, and I ended up moving all but four truckloads by myself, usually because I didn’t have boxes ready to go at the same time I had friends with trucks ready to help.
I don’t know why I’m giving you advice, though. It sounds like you’re much more organized and experienced than I was, and no one could possibly be less organized.
The last couple times I’ve moved I bought bankers boxes (at Staples or Office Depot) on sale, usually 6 for about 10 bucks. They come in two sizes, have lids and pretty comfy handle holes, and will fit most everything, but don’t get too heavy. They are very sturdy and fold flat when you’re done if you decide you want to keep them around for storage later.
I also started packing things in layers - fill the bottom of the box with paper backs, then wrap a few dishes in my clothes - I did a whole set of desert plates accordioned in my pant legs - on top of the books. That way nobody has to carry boxes of just books around. If you start with clean boxes, and wrap your dishes up in freshly laundered clothes, you shouldn’t have to wash them again when you get there.
Make sure that the first box to go to the new place has a telephone (if your line is hooked up), toilet paper, paper towels, bandaids for the inevitable busted knuckles, and random food and water bribes just in case.
Advice for moving.
The previously mentioned friends time for beer has worked the best for me in the last couple moves I’ve been involved in but, remember DO NOT START DRINKING UNTIL YOUR FINISHED
-hijack-
My most recent move a friend and myself shared a moving truck since he was moving across the river, the same time I moved downtown, well we moved his stuff first. That wasn’t so bad seeing the biggest thing he owned was a waterbed which we took apart. His girlfriend on the otherhand had antique chest (weighed about 200lbs each), a big solid oak chinet thing, which was heavy, really fucking heavy.
After all that we decided we need something to drink but all there was was tap water, so we went down to the
mini-mart at the end of the block to orginially get a bottle of pop, instead we come back with a 24 pack.
By the time we get to moving my stuff, or 7 beers later.
We get all the boxes in and I still have 2 love seats, and a matching chair. Now these were going in my bedroom on the third floor!!! Well we decided to take another break, and take the uhaul back (his girlfriend drove it since she was sober) so we didn’t get charged for another day, we get back to my place and my other friends have no bought beer and are setting on my furniture which is outfront on the sidewalk.
We continued to set out front and finish off the all beer, before we tried to move the couches (real smart).
let me just say this I thought all my fingers were broken from where they’d been smacked on door frames, my toes had also been smashed from me tripping on the stairs and the couch falling on my toes, then the couch falls onto my friend which jumped out of the way into the hallway when he realized he wasn’t going to be able to hold it.
Don’t get me wrong I had a blast, but my only regret isn’t drinking, but not having a video camera at the time.
Oh, also, a little helpful tiperoo from past experience. If you do rent a big truck to help with the move, pay attention and look out for those signs that say “No trucks”. They are there for a reason. When you miss a sign, go under a too-low bridge, and peel the top of the moving van off like a sardine can, it can get expensive. Reeeeeeal expensive.
Keep a list of what you need to get to bed at night and what you’ll need to get ready to face the world in the morning. As Wumpus noted, something to cover the bedroom window is essential, even if it’s just a large blanket and a handful of thumbtacks to hammer it in place for one night. Sheets for the bed, a towel and whatever else you need for a shower, clean clothes for the morning (and PJs if you wear 'em), food and equipment for a decent breakfast. Pack this stuff in clearly marked boxes - if nothing else, put a gigantic X on each side of the box with a broad marker. When you get to the new place, choose a place for these where they won’t be hidden behind a hundred other boxes, for instance on the balcony or in the bathtub/shower stall. This way, no matter how much or how little you unpack that day before you’re ready to collapse, you’ll have a decent night’s sleep and a good start to the next day.
Pointless Moving Story: My brother-in-law made an even shorter move, within the same apartment complex, from a second-floor apartment to a first-floor apartment almost straight across the courtyard. In a move that was either inspired or deranged, depending on how you look at it, he moved by clothesline… The moral of the story is, no matter what you decide to do, someone somewhere has tried something even more insane. 
Best kind of boxes to use are those from liquor stores. They tend to have heavier cardboard, and, if it hasn’t already been removed, the dividers that keep bottles from clinking against each other can be great with your own, bottles or other glassware. And they aren’t so large that when you fill them up they are too heavy to carry.
I’ve moved too many times. I wish I’d heard some of these suggestions before some of those moves…
My contribution is to put together a box or 3 of emergency supplies. Paper plates, cups, & towels, plastic cutlery, so you can eat and pitch the trash. Oh, trash bags, too. Any medications you will need, if you’re on them. A working phone and phone book, if the phone is on at the new place. Bedding for those staying at the new place, or at least sleeping bags and pillows. Toilet paper - jumpin’ frijoles, don’t forget toilet paper! Several rolls, at least 2 for every bathroom or water closet. Kleenex, too. Try for whatever you need for the basic needs of life.
Put it all in a box that is plainly marked, make it the very first thing to be taken in and put away, so that when nature calls or you’re done for the night, you don’t have to run back to the old place or to the store just to… well, you know.
Hey, I should have thought of that, I have most of my stuff still in banker’s boxes, I must still have 1500lbs of papers and books in bankers boxes in my garage, never unpacked from my last move. But these boxes mostly useful for books and papers, they’re not so good for assorted houshold stuff because the lids aren’t attached. I still buy regular boxes at Staples. But boy is paper getting expensive these days.
A professional mover once told me that one of the best ways to insure a long distance move arrives intact is to make sure you put the bulk of your stuff into the same sized boxes. This way, they stack better and you don’t have irregular stacks of an odd assortment of box sizes that fall all over each other as the truck bounces down the highway. But this isn’t the problem in the OP.
The biggest tip-
Go back to your old place after it’s re-rented and give the new tenants a batch of labels that say “Moved - please forward to: __________”
The post office will send lots of stuff there, no matter that you gave them a forwarding card, and it only forwards for a short time anyway.
You always forget some people to notify. For me it’s the auto insurance company and other things that renew annually, like memberships.
And sometimes your friends will send you odd things that aren’t in your full name, like postcards addressed to “Ace”.
I once read that the last thing you pack should be the vacuum, so you can vacuum the old place once everything is out and vacuum the new place before you put anything in it. I hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time.
For anyone paying for a move, be sure to find out what the cost per pound is. If it’s costing you a dollar per pound to move, Packing 16oz, 69 cent cans of beans is not cost-effective. Take that sort of stuff yourself or give it away.
Be prepared to get your couch stuck in the door while 3 guys stare at it and figure out which angle to tilt it.
Make sure you have screwdrivers(Philips and flat), a hammer, and some allen wrenches handy in case you have to take apart tables, take off a door, or some other large objec that needs adjusting…
That’s about it for me. All the moves I’ve done were the ‘all in one afternoon type’. For those, if yo have helpers, make sure everything is boxed, labeled, and ready to go. That way nobody is standing around. Just walk in, grab a box or three, put on the truck. Then when unloading you aren’t fumbling around asking “where does this go?”.
If you have a truck, put the big stuff in the back, then throw blankets on them. You can then put boxes on that.
Two things:
1 - If you have a company moving you and they’ve given you an estimate based on time, tell the guys you’ll tip 'em well if they get it done in about, say, half the time. Split the diff in savings with them. They’ll be happy and so will you.
2 - Number the boxes and make a list on a computer or just an old-fashioned written list by number, with contents and room listed. This way, if you don’t unpack everything right away, you can always put the boxes up in the attic or something and get them down as you need them with the help of the list.
I had to move my household 3 times and my in laws household twice in 5 years when we moved my mother in law in with us, decided to build a new house and in the meantime our landlord divorced and we had to move before our new home was completed. In total we had to move the entire contents of his mother’s home(where one family had lived for 90 years),her apartment, our first home, our first place we rented , and the second rented house before everything finally ended up here.
I swear I would sell, burn, or give away everything before I would move it again. Look at things with a critical eye and just get ruthless.
All the previous tips are good, especially the ones about a first night box. Don’t forget the coffee pot, and toothbrushes. And make your bed first thing, even if it’s just clearing a place on the floor to throw the mattress. And if you have kids have them pack a bag or backpack of their own with a few snacks, books, music, toys. Encourage them to pack their own most precious things themselves and decorate the box. It saves much tearing through the boxes to find their things, keeps them busy and cuts down on their anxiety.
Good luck.
Great tips everyone. Thanks! I think I’ve got my game plan lined out. We’re going to go look at the house again tonight just to kind of get a feel of where we want to put stuff and measure some windows… things like that. The lady that’s living there should be able to tell us whether or not she’ll be completely done by Tuesday or not. If she’s done by Tuesday we’ll be able to start moving stuff Wednesday. We’re going to try to move everything except for the beds, entertainment center, tv, one couch and our essentials (some clothes, shampoo, shoes, etc.) by Friday. Then Saturday we’ll just have to move what was left behind and I can start cleaning up the old place.
I’ve also picked up paper boxes from work. They’re not too big and they have lids. I’m also going to use our laundry baskets for stuff and trash bags for most of the kids toys. We also have two flatbed trailers and about 8 people to help us move stuff. Hopefully everything will go smoothly!