Moving Stinks! Here’s 3 Tips to Make it Easier

Here’s All You Need to Know About Moving the EASY Way

I thought moving might be fun until I actually had to do it.

I looked around at my house and thought what I’m sure most everyone thinks—Aw, this won’t be that hard. We don’t really have that much stuff.

Trust me when I tell you, you have more stuff than you think.

And those junk drawers, cabinets, and possibly entire closets are just waiting to make your moving job a lot harder than it needs to be.

So, here are some tips I wish someone would have given me four years ago as I set out to pack up and move on to my dream home.

Get Rid of Stuff

The most crucial part of moving is deciding what NOT to move.

Too often I have heard people say—and thought myself—“I’ll just take it with me and get rid of it later!”

Don’t. Do. That.

If you are even considering the possibility of getting a new place, start doing this now.

My rule of thumb is this: If I haven’t used it in a year I am not going to use it.

So:

• Have a moving sale. Profit off your surplus. Lighten your load! Just think of how many boxes, trips up and down stairs, and clutter you’ll save on moving day.

• Donate to charity. All of those outgrown clothes, hardly worn shoes, and never used dishware can benefit others as well as your sanity. Gather it up and donate it.

• Throw it away. If you’ve done 1 and 2, chances are the item is ready to be tossed. Recycle what you can and throw the rest out. Never pack what should have been discarded. Scraps of paper, socks without a match, nearly empty beauty products… the list goes on. Don’t bring old clutter to your new home.

Get Organized

Maybe you feel like this should have been the first tip, but, I assure you, it is a lot easier to get organized when you’ve picked through it already.

• Straighten up the cabinets. If you haven’t already go through your kitchen, bathrooms, and any other storage areas and group like things together. Glasses with glasses, bowls with bowls and so on. Not only will this making packing easier, unpacking will be a breeze. Each box will have a clear label and a clear destination.

• Collect all things random. If you’re anything like me, you see little things around your home all the time that aren’t in quite the right spot. A stapler on the dining table, batteries in a kitchen drawer, tools in the bathroom. When you see these things, intentionally put them in their place as soon as you notice, and if it has no place, create one.

• Deep Clean. I know. I don’t want to do it either, but beginning this process slowly over a few months is so much easier than on the big day—which will inevitably make the day longer, or even extend it into two or three days or even a week! Vacuum long forgotten corners, wash curtains, dust light fixtures and scrub those baseboards.

Get the Right Tools

Moving is hard work, there’s no denying it. Having the right tools (and the right expectations) will make the work satisfying instead of a quick trip into Crazy Town.

• A dolly. Hand-truck. Thing with the two wheels that rolls stuff. Whatever you want to call it, it’s a life (and back) saver. And you can rent them from moving companies. Or, better yet, borrow one from a friend.

• Packing tape dispenser. Nothing is more annoying than trying to find the end of the tape. You just keep spinning it and spinning it and but it disappeared. Get the tape dispenser. You’re welcome.

• A Sharpie marker. I know, seems common sense. But for whatever reason, these guys are everywhere until you need one (like my kids). And remember, label the side of your box, not the top, or you won’t be able to read it when it’s stacked.

Moving is a fresh start. A clean slate. Get rid of your clutter, get organized, and get the right kind of help. Happy moving!