When it comes to packing I’m usually extremely unorganized. There have been times where I threw everything into random boxes a few days before a move and called it good. I’m sure you can imagine the mess of unpacking that move. I would only give myself a week before moving to pack. This time around I wanted to be a lot more organized, and I wanted to stress a lot less. What it takes to have a more organized move is time and thoughtfulness.
Start Packing at Least a Month Before the Move
You read that right. Give yourself a month. I never thought to give myself more than a week because I was always moving from apartment to apartment, so I never thought I had a lot of items. If you think you don’t have a lot just remember your kitchen, bathroom, and closet. The kitchen gives me such a surprising headache every time it comes to moving.
This time around I started packing our food storage room, out-of-season clothing items, and movies a month before moving. It still didn’t look like I made a dent in things, but I packed six boxes in one night. Now, five days before the move all I have left to pack is one last box of toys and the last of our kitchen essentials. I still feel a little stressed, though, haha.
Pack a Few Boxes Every Day
I cannot express the importance of this enough. Pack a few boxes every day, and you will slowly get through your whole house. This goes along with the point above. Give yourself a month, and take some time to really think about how you want to box up your items and what items you want packed first. Even think about being more detailed on what you write on the outside of the box so you know exactly what’s inside.
Packing a few boxes every day feels good because you get to see that slow progress grow. You also don’t get as overwhelmed with a massive amount of boxes all at once.
Get Help from Friends and Family on Moving Day
I know not everyone has friends and family nearby to help with moving, but if you do make sure to ask them for their help. We have always lived near family, so we have had family help us move every time, and we really appreciate their help. Try to reach out and remind them your move is coming up about two to three weeks before your move. Finalize the date and time of your move five days to a week before you move.
Hire Someone to Clean Your Apartment/House
Best thing I ever did last time we moved out of our apartment was hire some people I knew from church to clean my apartment for me. I was dealing with a lot of morning sickness and knew that I couldn’t handle the move and cleaning. I hired some people from church, left them with all our cleaning supplies, and paid them. I appreciated them so much for that, and it was such a simple process.
For me, the worst part of the move is cleaning out your old place. I get so stressed about it, and I just want to be in my new home. So it was great to just go back and pick up our cleaning supplies after we had moved out. This time around (due to COVID-19) I plan on doing a lot of the cleaning, but I plan to have family help with the cleaning too.
How Moving Day Actually Went
We closed last Tuesday in the morning, then drove all around town getting keys for our mailbox, figuring out utilities, and all that. I had to finish packing up any last boxes of things we still were using while living at our townhome. Unfortunately, I didn’t finish packing everything before having to get our keys. I went to get our keys, dropped off my kids with my husband’s mom, and came back and everyone had finished packing for me. I was super grateful, but also embarrassed that I didn’t finish packing those last boxes.
Moving day was still crazy, but it wasn’t as crazy as it has been in the past. The worst part of the move was having to go back and finish cleaning our townhome. I just wanted to be done with that place and move on with my life! The other downside was we didn’t realize there were two boxes of food from the refrigerator. We had to throw out one box that we forgot about.
Unpacking went pretty smoothly, though! We had almost all the boxes unpacked Thursday morning, but still had a few stragglers until Saturday when we decorated for Christmas.
So it was much more of a stress-free move, besides a few hours. For me that is a successful and efficient move! The only advice I’d give is to live in your suitcases the last few days and eat out, so you truly have everything all packed and ready to go.
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