MOVING TIPS
We are slowly but surely getting settled in our new house! Thank you all for being patient with house content! It's tough to get dressed and want to take photos when I'm spending so much time in sweats unpacking! This morning I even organized the garage because it was making me crazy! Over the last few weeks of preparing for our move, working with movers, working through a few hiccups on moving day, and now unpacking and getting settled, I've made note of some of the things I'm thrilled that I did to prepare and some things that I would have liked to do better!
All in all, the move was super smooth, nothing major got broken (RIP to one cactus that didn't make it!), and I feel like we knew right where everything was as soon as the moving truck was unloaded (except for my Ninja blender - seriously cannot find it!). Our movers walked into our old house and I gave them a quick tour. They said they were really impressed with how organized I was and how much work I had done, and they were excited for the day (except for our piano lol), so I take that as a huge compliment! So I'm sharing a few tips that I want to pass on to you just in case it's been a few years since you've moved (it had been 10+ years since I had moved! OMG!)
1. Sell as much as you can before you start packing!
Moving is a great time to purge! I *love* to throw things away and make frequent donation drop-offs, and I like to think that I'm a pretty organized person and that I keep a tidy house, but in reality, I still had a lot of clutter that I was able to get rid of before our move. Since we got married less than one year ago (see our wedding here!), we still had a lot from Adam's old apartment that we hadn't sorted, and we were able to streamline our new decor ideas before moving and sell some old furniture! We ended up running out of room in our moving truck even after I had sold a ton of stuff, so I can't imagine what we would have done if I hadn't sold anything! Bonus: Facebook marketplace makes it SO easy to sell things and the extra cash can be used toward hiring movers or making updates at your new place!
2. Nerd alert! Be as organized as possible in your packing method!
I used Rentacrate and it was a GAME CHANGER. What's Rentacrate? Essentially, instead of packing in cardboard boxes, they give you plastic crates to pack in! I was fortunate to partner with them on our move and I was so surprised at how much of a help they ended up being! First, I didn't have to go to the store and buy a ton of boxes and bubble wrap and tape. Actually, I didn't pack in any cardboard boxes unless I already had them in storage!! I love that! Rentacrate sends you plastic crates and they are so much easier than boxes. The crates stack (sooo neatly) onto rolling dollies and it makes moving the boxes around the house such a breeze as you pack! I was able to contain my "packing mess" to our guest room and dining room for the most part until the very end of the process, so it didn't feel like we were living in chaos for weeks as we packed. Rentacrate also delivers all of the bubble wrap, dish protectors, mattress bags, etc., so you really don't have to go to the store for anything. Time saver! They have packages available for all price points. The package I used was one of the larger ones and it was only $880 - I say "only" because it was so worth it in my opinion. I have been raving about them to everyone!
3. Make *to-scale* room schematics.
Again, nerd alert! This is a HUGE TIP that most people don't do! Label the rooms in the new house and make a schematic (aka draw a little diagram of each room in your new place) so your movers (or you family and friends who are helping you!) can see where to set up furniture. This keeps you from having to hover and answer questions about "where does this go?" and "which way do you want the rug?" etc. This was a huge time saver and my movers loved me for it! Adam and I actually had to go back to our old house as the movers were unloading at the new house and they were totally comfortable with it and had everything in the right place when we got back to the new house!
Bonus: doing this also helps you visualize how you want to arrange your furniture at your new house. No more asking them to move a heavy couch again and again around a room!
4. Label your most important boxes in a special way!
Well, of course, ALL of your boxes should be labeled, but you need a special way to see your super important boxes that you need to access right away. Share that with your movers too! I put all of my moving label stickers in the same place on every box (top left corner of the crate and they were all stacked the same direction) so all I had to do was put a big STAR on the label and I knew right away it was an important one! For example, I packed most of the kitchen in advance except for two plates, two mugs, and a few pieces of cookware) so that became my Kitchen 1 * box and I knew to unpack it first as the new house and I would be able to eat (priorities!). It could be a star on the label, a different color sticker, a ribbon around the box...anything works!
Those are my big tips! I'm leaving with one last helpful list...a few items to remember to keep handy/easily accessible on your moving day/week!
- Pack a suitcase like you're going on an overnight trip so you have all of your toiletries, underwear, an outfit for the next couple days, etc.
- Shower curtain, towel...I'm sure you'll want to shower before bed!
- Bed linens and pillows! (setting up the bed is always the first task after a move!)
I hope you have a smooth move! I can't wait to continue to settle in and make our new house a home with renovations and special touches! Follow along @rhondajenkins on Instagram!