What's your best tips for moving?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Pre-emptive snark: Yes, I can get out of bed. I’m talking about moving to a new apartment.

We’re moving in 2 weeks. The last one went more or less smoothly, but one thing we learned was not to get boxes that were too big. I had all my porn in the bottom of a large box covered by my books. The box was close to 100 pounds, so the movers had to open the box and separate the books. This time, I’m putting my porn in a smaller box.

Another thing I’m going to do is only put half my books into a box at a time. I have a lot of dvd’s now, so I’m going to try and put something light in the box with the books and use smaller boxes.

2

Keep a trash bag next to your boxes and weed while packing. It’s frustrating to unpack stuff that you know you have no need for.

Pack a box of necessities (TP, soap, shampoo, cleaning supplies) and clearly mark it. Make that the last box in the truck and the first out.

During my last move I boxed books with clothing. Heavy / light. And as a bonus, all the books ended up in one room rather than a few in with LR boxes… a few in with TheKid’s boxes.

3

Call all the utilities you’ll need turned on (cable/phone/electric) now and tell them what’s going on. They can make sure everything is on at your new apartment and off at the old one on the correct days.

4

Furniture to the back, shit to the front. It’s a lot easier to navigate with boxes if you don’t have to dodge your sofa.

5

Pad belongings with clothes; A) It will make most of the boxes equal in weight, B) It will force you to unpack things faster because you will want to reclaim your wardrobe, and C) You will save money on packing paper and not dirty your hands as much with newspaper.

6

In the necessities box that Miss Take mentions, pack a set of sheets for each of the beds. As soon as the beds and mattresses are unloaded, take the time to set up the beds and make them with the sheets you packed in the necessities box.

That way, at the end of the day when you’re so exhausted you just want to sit in the middle of the floor and cry, you’ll at least have a freshly-made bed to collapse into.

7

Do this. Also start a “donate to Goodwill” pile. You have more stuff than you think.

If you saw all of your stuff in some other place, you’d swear it is not physically possible to fit all of that stuff in to where you’re living now.

You have things you’ve forgotten you owned. You have things that you have no earthly idea where they came from. There’s a box in the back of that closet you haven’t unpacked since the last move. That “spare” coffee maker from the kitchen cupboard doesn’t work. You can shred that folder of maintenance records from a car you no longer own.

Yes, I moved recently, can you tell?

8

You should probably keep your weed in the box with your porn. :stuck_out_tongue:

9

Your porn story reminded me of something a friend did years ago; there were four or so young guys renting a house together, and when they were all moving out, one of the guys labelled all his boxes “CONDOMS” (cause you know how neighbours watch other people moving). :smiley:

We just moved last summer, too. We actually used real moving boxes for the first time, and it was great. We also used movers, and that was great, too. We’re all squared up with our families for helping each other move; next time someone asks, we’ll politely decline, since we didn’t ask for help with our last move.

Be really, truly ready to go on the day of the move - don’t still have half your house left to pack, thinking you’ll do it as you go. For one thing, if you have people helping you, it is really irritating to show up to a place that is only half packed. You’ll also be needed to direct the move, and won’t have any time to keep on packing.

Pack a bag for yourself like you were going out of town for the weekend, and keep that in the front seat of your car or somewhere where it won’t get in with everything else. Putting the afore-mentioned sheets and pillowcases in there is a good idea, too.

10

Never pack your porn and weed together. That box will disappear.

Not that I would know or anything.

11

I use the weed to pad the sex toys. You can’t put The Dominator next to the Monty’s Python without something in between.

As a side note, what do you guys hand carry? I always move my computer myself, and seat belt it into my car.

12

Any super important papers/files, your camera (to document any problems in your new place before you move in) and your box of stuff needed right away.

13

The thing to keep in mind when packing is that, to a certain extent, you’re doing more than packing. Packing is pretty much the only time you deal with all your stuff at once, and so it’s also a time for evaluating your stuff.

Others have mentioned that you should have divide stuff into three groups: Stuff you want or need, stuff other people might want but that you don’t (good will, things you’ve borrowed but haven’t given back), and garbage. Deal with each as appropriate.

I disagree with the idea of mixing books and clothes and so on. I like to have only stuff that goes together in each box, which I can then put close to where it’s going to end up. This, in the end, saves me from having to wander from room to room putting things here and there when it’s time to unpack. It also helps me figure out stuff that I need but that I don’t have. (For example, I’m not good at keeping track of scissors, for some reason, so if I don’t see them in the “office” box, I don’t have to wonder if they’re in the “kitchen” box or who knows where else. Use smaller boxes for books.

Pack everything with a lot of packing paper to prevent damage. Protect the corners of furniture, at the very least.

Other than that, I suggest packing from the inside out, in a sense. Start with closets, cabinets, drawers, and the like. Then move from most to least used. If you don’t cook all that much, pack the kitchen before the living room. Or vice versa, if you don’t spend too much time watching tv, you might want to pack the living room first. You get the idea. Stack boxes as they are filled somewhere reasonably close to the door. If you have a dining room, it’s usually ideal. Just pack the table and you have lot of space.

Generally, the bed, necessary bathroom stuff, and food is last. Put the bed linens, as well as clean bed linens, toilet paper, a bar of soap (unpacking is dirty), paper towels, and a couple changes of clothes, including pajamas, in the “open first” box. I tend to use a suitcase or two for these things, since you don’t need any tools to open it, and even if it gets lost in the truck somewhere, it’s easy to pick out. Perishable food can go in a cooler. If you’re not moving far, don’t bother with ice. If you’re moving pretty far, just give the food away. It gets to be a pain.

I like unpacking. I like to see the dull brown of the boxes mix with the brighter, better colors of my stuff and watching my new place take shape. Finally, if the new place isn’t clean, clean it before unpacking. It’s pretty much the only time my place is exactly like I want it, before real life sets in, and I don’t have the time or the desire to move everything before I wash the floor (or whatever).

14

I’m moving in two weeks as well. We’re not getting movers, but then our move is probably much smaller since our only big furniture is a mattress. Whatever that doesn’t fit into the 6x7 moving pod isn’t coming with us.

I’ve since learned that one can never have enough newspaper and packing peanuts. There’s also no reason for me to have 3 checkbooks for bank accounts that don’t exist anymore. Nor the progress reports from high school.

15

As someone who had to move 5 times in 5 years (and will be moving AGAIN next year, though its with my fiancee so its all good :smiley: ) I learned a few things:

Really, REALLY try to end up with less stuff than you started. This makes moving easier, faster, and if you end up having to move less than a year later, less of a hassle having to move repeatedly.

As others have said, if you hire movers, they generally charge by the hour and have a minimum, say, like 3 hours. When I had to hire movers I tried to keep it down to the minimum and have everything ready to go. Since they’re making pure profit on getting the stuff moved in LESS than 3 hours (they can go to some other house right after and do the same thing) they’ll work as quickly as they can. If everything is already packed into boxes they can quickly load it in their truck, drive to your new place, and unload it.

…Since you can pack things you don’t use all the time, you can gradually pack bit by bit, starting with the least frequently used items. I did this during times that I didnt have a lot of time off to move. Also, maybe just me, but breaking the task into much smaller bits made ‘moving day’ feel less of a chore.

Don’t make the mistake my friend’s wife made by getting all sentimental about your place to the point you don’t bother to pack ANYTHING on moving day, then later hurt your back, so the few people that showed up to help end up spending ten hours packing and loading stuff up while you sit there. Does not make a good impression! No, I’m not bitter :rolleyes:

16

There’s never been truer words spoken. Now is the time to shed yourself of anything you haven’t used in a year

17

Banker boxes. They are all the same size and have handles. They stack together so nicely =)

Also, label the boxes with numbers only, and make a list of which numbers go to which rooms. They do make very nice hanging wardrobe boxes if you must hang the clothing, and that is about the only thing other than electronics that gets a unique type of box. I always preferred to keep the original packaging for my electronics and repacking it, and moving it in my vehicle myself. [TV, computer, stereo.] Small or kitchen appliances can be repackaged in the original packaging and shipped in with the rest of the household goods. Most people will not hijack a blender or wall clock =)

18

Another thing to put in your necessities box is a shower curtain, if your new shower doesn’t have its own door. You’ll want to shower ASAP without getting water everywhere.

Then, pack the necessities box in something distinctive - color the box a different color, use a box that doesn’t resemble anything else, etc.

19

We tried to save money by having two guys and a truck, and I think we would have saved more money by having three guys and a truck - the move took a really long time with only two guys hauling (plus me and my husband, of course).

20

How far are you moving?

  1. Sell everything you can
  2. Throw away 3/4s of the rest
  3. If it can’t fit in your car, leave it behind
  4. I’m serious

If you are asking for moving tips, you don’t have anything of any real value. IKEA furniture is not worth moving. Futons are not worth moving. Electronics are. CDs/DVDs aren’t and neither are books- use a library. Nice pans are. Dishes aren’t (a package for 8 place settings is $32 at IKEA). Wood working tools are. Coffee makers, toasters, microwaves (standing mixers are a toss-up) are not. How old is your bed? Your table is probably pre-fab and could be replaced.

I have done several local and cross-country moves- and the happiest, most enjoyable two were the ones we just liquidated everything and started over. A person quickly realizes that you just don’t need that much stuff.