Raise your hand if you love moving! Me neither. My family is doing exactly that over the next month, though. On top of the move, we’re taking a two-week trip overseas between now and the day we close on our new house. Needless to say, it’s been somewhat of a mad scramble to pack, sell some things, and donate others. As we dove into all of this, I went on Pinterest looking for ways to make any of it easier. Below are some of the tips I found most useful!
- Use trash bags for clothes on hangers – I’d come across this one before, and fully plan on using it for this move. Gather a section of your hanging clothes, carefully slip it into a garbage bag (a standard kitchen trash bag should be fine), and then tie it at the top. Repeat!
- Label your boxes – Take a few seconds to write what’s inside each box and in which room it belongs. If you have movers or friends carrying boxes into your new home, it’ll be helpful for them to know where to set one down. If you want to get fancy, you could even color code boxes with dot stickers for different rooms.
- Plastic wrap your dresser drawers – Worried about drawers slipping out when moving a chest? Of course, and it’s such a hassle to remove each one and put it all back together. So, wrap plastic all the way around a chest to keep the drawers intact. If you hire professional movers, they’ll likely handle this part themselves.
- Pack items in suitcases – Ok, this one had me going, Wow! I’ve never even thought about that. Put that luggage to extra work by packing things inside, like BOOKS. Mine are already packed up in a carry-on roller bag. I’d much rather pull along books in a suitcase than strain my back lifting a ridiculously heavy box.
- Pack jewelry in egg cartons – Sounds kind of silly, right? It makes sense, though – jewelry is difficult to move from one place to another. Dangly earrings are awkward and necklaces get tangled. Place each piece in its own little spot in an empty carton and save yourself some frustration.
- SELL, SELL, SELL! – With this move, we made a conscious decision to really get rid of some stuff. You know, the stuff that sits in closets and drawers for literally YEARS. Some of it we donated, but we’ve also been posting items on the OfferUp app. Just take a pic, set a price, and you’ll likely have a buyer within a few minutes (seriously, people are fast…and will buy the most random things!).
Moving is hard. Period. When you add (often rambunctious) kids to the mix, it can be even tougher. My daughter has been getting a LOT more screen time than usual (cue heavy mom guilt), while I get us packed up. Do what you gotta do! Finding small ways to make this task more bearable, or that to-do just a little easier, can save you time and frustration. Do you have any genius moving tips or tricks? Tell us about them!
