Tips for Moving

We're getting ready to move soon, and this will be our second move in two years. The first time around our system worked so well, I'm attempting to do it the same way again.

I decided to go through my whole house WELL in advance (think, several months) of our move, going through every drawer, shelf, and cabinet and deciding what to keep, toss, and give away. With plenty of time before things got REALLY crazy, I was able to take stuff to donate, sell things on Craigslist, have a garage sale, etc. By the time moving day came along, EVERYTHING left in the house got packed.

I started by making a checklist of each and every room and closet. When I had a few minutes, I'd start on a room and go slowly, going through one area at a time. If I didn't consider it worth the time and space to pack, move, and unpack the item, we got rid of it. Trash, donate, sell, whatever.

This strategy saved us from having to make the decisions during the crunch time of the actual move. It helped us better estimate what size moving van we needed (and save money by getting a smaller one!). We were able to get a fair price for our stuff when selling it, because we weren't desperate to do it right away. For special things that weren't coming with us, we had time to find them a good home. People were able to help us pack because I could just say, "Everything left in that bathroom is going. Pack it all." The benefits went on and on.

I'm starting this process again right now (in my kids' room - UGH!), and with each bag that comes out ready to go to the trash or the thrift store, it makes me so happy to know that's one less load of stuff that I'll have to pack and unpack.

Moving is never fun, particularly when you have little kids. But using this system makes it as painless as possible, at least!