Moving tips/hacks?
 

Well, it looks like we are moving.... exactly 1.8 miles from where we live now, from a 3 bed 2 bath condo to a little sweet 3 bed 1.5 bath house (with a partially finished basement we can easily finish and add a 4th bedroom and full bath, also has a little backyard, deck, and garage which we are excited about!)

Anyways, we are set to close on April 7th and we are going to move out of our condo and then put it up for sale after we're out. Does anyone have any moving tips or hacks for a move of a short distance? What should I start packing now? We plan to hire movers.

Favorite types of boxes to use? Should I use large Tupperware bins for some things so I can use them in our new basement for storage as well?

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

Check pinterest, i saw entire boards dedicated to this ��

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

I don't have short moving tips because I've only moved far.

• Start by packing the things you don't use - decor, holiday, wall art, books, kitchen stuff you only use occasionally, out of season clothing, things that are in long-term storage, things that are in long-term files, extra linens and towels, .
• Put like stuff in each box and label what's in there- the important part is the label!!! If you also label the room it will go into, that helps expedite on the other end.
• Wrap breakables in clean newsprint - you can buy it from uhaul in a big box
• Try to fill the box completely full so they stack easily and don't cave in.
• I loved moving company boxes because they were all so similar in size, but they aren't free. Tupperware bins might be okay, but if you stack them too heavy, they might crack.
• Pack the stuff you still need last - label it well because it will be the first things you will need in the new house - a small set of dishes, silverware and pans, food, cleaning supplies, clothing, bedding, towels, toiletries.

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

I used color coded sticky notes on each box. Coded to rooms they were to be delivered to. Packing tape over the sticky note kept it on.

Banker boxes are a great size for books. They are a manageable size and stack well. They are also reusable for other stuff later.

Wrap breakables in wash clothes, napkins, kitchen towels, etc.

In the new location tape/stick the colored sticky note for that room on the door.

Go ahead of time and label where in the kitchen you want stuff unpacked. It was so wonderful to have that done while I was directing traffic elsewhere.

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

These are all so helpful THANK YOU! Gives me a place to start. I can start with decor and books, we have tons of both.
Where is a good place to get banker boxes? Maybe I can order them on amazon? I have also found diaper (we used disposables) boxes to be great for books, I wish I would have been saving them for a longer period of time.

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

Bamker boxes are at office supply stores like Staples. Amazon also has boxes, both moving and banker.

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

Keep boxes and bins handy as you pack AND unpack for donations and trash. Since you are handling it all anyway, take the opportunity to make it go away.

Label your Right Away boxes as such so you can set up bathrooms, bedding and kitchen essentials first thing. You'll for sure want some paper towels, multi purpose cleaner, scissors or knife and chargers in there too.

Don't fill big boxes with only books. Way too heavy for life.

Drawers are already boxes. Don't sweat packing their contents unless you want to sort things.

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

The best thing I did when we moved was have people help us unpack, especially the kitchen and kids closets.

I went through the house the day before we moved and leveled the cabinets and drawers with sticky notes. Then the people who were the "inside unpacking team" followed those notes. It was amazing, and we had our entire house unpacked by the end of the weekend.

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

Be prepared to be exhausted! To me, the short moves are the most deceptively tiring moves!

Since things are not going to be in storage, I found using my linens to wrap things in for the short move was the easiest because basically you can just take dishes out and put them in the cabinet without having to do all of the washing. YOu are basically transporting them out of the cabinet into the next...........so take as many shortcuts as you can.

We just moved the children's clothing in the drawers from one house to the next.

If you are going to store things in the condo down in the basement of the house, You will want Rubbermaid boxes so they do not attract bugs like cardboard boxes do, so you might want to go and invest in those and put things like Christmas decorations in them and they stack well. (They won't be too heavy)

I loved the labels and then the doors of the rooms being labeled at the new house. This way you don't have to be everywhere at once. If you are moving over the course of a couple of days, you could possibly just load your car up with the immediate dishes and put in place before the big move day.

I would use my reusable grocery bags to bag up the fridge items to transport in the car. (You could use laundry baskets to transport the pantry items andput in place before the day of the big move.)

Taking all of that into account, you make many, many car trips to help cut down on the cost of the movers having to pack and unpack.

Congratulations on the new house!

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

label all the boxes with colored duct tape. One color for each room. Movers know exactly where to put each box!

Deep clean your house now. No sense in moving extra dust on furniture.

I moved 12,000 lbs (or more) of stuff using free boxes from liquor stores around town. FREE. Thursdays good day to ask for boxes.

Put styrafoam plates between plates to keep from breaking.

Don't let anyone else unpack your kitchen so dirty hands aren't on your dishes. Use the plain paper that was mentioned up thread.

Things I like to move in first move are trash cans, basic kitchen stuff, scissors, etc. Stuff that is used often and would be annoyed to have to dig through other boxes to get.

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

So, we closed today as scheduled (yaaaaay!)

And guess what I've packed so far? Two boxes of books.

Yup. That's it.

Should be an interesting 2 weeks, ha!!!

But DH and I took takeout over to the new house right after we closed and walked around and planned where we'd put things and generally got all excited again about moving! I think I will hire movers this week. Thanks again for all the tips!!!

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

How exciting. :jump You can do this. :cheer

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

Move the kitchen in the night before- not only move the boxes in but get the kitchen all set up so that as soon as you move in, you have a functioning kitchen. Then bring those boxes back to the old house for other stuff (the misc. stuff left at the end will take way more boxes than you think it will).

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

Lots of good advice, but before you do any of it, take the opportunity to DECLUTTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol

Re: Moving tips/hacks?
 

Do not use newspaper for cushion/filling/whatever. The ink will get on your things! I use the clean paper from U-Haul.

Plastic bins will crack under the weight, so I would not use those for transport.