Laughing // At the pictures Emma has taken with my phone the past few nights. (The three above were all taken on Wednesday as I was giving Charlotte her pre-bedtime bottle.) She loves to take a picture, look at it, and dissolve in a fit of giggles. It’s pretty cute.
Calling // Soooo many people. Movers. Mortgage brokers. Insurance agents. Utility companies. Moving is a lot of work. I knew this, but still — sheesh.
Soliciting // Your moving advice, big and small. I will take any and all that you have to offer! Jose scheduled the movers yesterday — they’ll pack one day (as little or as much as we want), and then move everything the next day. I’m thinking we can pack the easy stuff and special items, and let them pack the annoying stuff. The problem is that I don’t know what’s easy vs. what’s hard or annoying. Clothes are easy? Kitchen is hard? Help me people! Tell me where to start!
Anticipating // A fun weekend full of some time at the pool, a kid’s birthday party, date night to the movies, a visit from our realtor to figure out how much we’ll be able to list our house for next month. Hopefully there will be some packing too, if I can get my hands on some moving boxes.
Wearing // My finished sailor top! Yes, I finished my shirt and it turned out well enough that I even wore it to work earlier this week. I’ll post some nice pictures of it next week but if you want a sneak peek, you can check Instagram. I’m pretty pleased with myself on this one! It was pretty easy to sew, and I won’t be surprised if I find myself making another one sometime soon. I made this one with quilting cotton, but it’d be fun to try another type of non-stretch fabric. Maybe a linen or lawn?
The hard stuff is all the little crap at the end! Where does it go? It’s always the worst to unpack, too, because you have to rehome it!
If you have a lot of garage stuff, I’d say that’s hard, too.
I’m hoping to sell/purge a decent amount of what’s in our garage, but that’s a good point, there’s a bunch of junk in there that would be awkward to pack.
Kitchen is ridiculous. Definitely have them pack that!
Use this time to PURGE! If crap hasn’t been used in the past 6 months and ESPECIALLY since you moved in to the house, then IT GOES! Don’t even think about it or you will talk yourself out of it. Take the monetary or sentimental out of it and just toss.
Purging is definitely the plan — but this week I’ve been so overwhelmed that I don’t even know where to start! I think I need to just break it down by room. I’m pretty good at ignoring the monetary value but overcoming sentimental attachments to certain things is harder. This weekend I plan to tackle at least 2 rooms in the house and just get rid of as much as I can.
I don’t know this advice might all seem completely self-evident:
Do things to your new house that need to get done before you move in.
I have observed and experienced things you don’t do in the first year of ownership become pretty low priority and you end up living with it for a fairly long time.
Don’t move in summer in the south (oops).
Throw things out before you move them. Now is a great time for trips to good will. Clothing that has not been worn in > 6 months (except special occasional clothes), kitchen gadgets you never use, etc.; papers receipts whatever can be taken to one of those mass-shreds the bank holds or whatever.
And from law school: make sure someone is carrying insurance on that house you are going to buy during the contract period, getting the lawn mowed, and running at least keep-mold-dead levels of A/C.
Delegate to Jose.
We found it helpful to pack up a couple boxes of the favorite kid toys that were not a pain. Keep one as one of the last things to leave the old house and move one to the new house early on – so that if the kids can be doing something and feel at home in both places.
Do the places you think you need to do the most purging. At the end, you’ll just be throwing crap into boxes to get it done. There will be no thought involved.
Easy – clothes, books, toys, dishes if you have the right materials.
Hard – everything that doesn’t fal into a category. Garage.
This may be long… Former military, moved 14 times in 13 years
-Disassemble everything you can before movers show up (beds are the biggie). Keep nuts & bolts in labeled ziplock bags to make reassembly easier. Either tape baggies to the furniture or keep in toolbag.
-Yes, kitchen is worst to pack. Let them do that.
-Also leave anything else especially breakable for them to pack – pictures, mirrors, etc
-Take everything off the walls and out of drawers before packers show up.
-This seems like it shouldn’t have to be said – but take out the trash before movers/packers arrive or it will get packed.
-Pack your own “open first” box(es) that have kitchen essentials, iron, towel, sheets, anything you’ll need to survive right away (like, what you’d find in a hotel w/ kitchenette)
-Set out drinks & snacks for the movers. They will love you. Nothing alcoholic. Soda gets taken before gatorade or water. Premade packaged snacks like rice krispie treats, peanut butter crackers, etc. Think junk.
-Tip the movers. $20/mover is a good ballpark. You can give to supervisor and trust he’ll distribute, or you can hand out to individuals.
-Choose one room to be off limits to movers. This is the place you put your suitcases, pets, take with you boxes, etc. Also a good place to go to take a moment to yourself if need be. Put HUGE sign on door that says DO NOT OPEN. Even if you don’t have a pet, you can say CAT INSIDE to ensure the door doesn’t get opened.
-Be aware of chemicals, liquids, and melty things like candles when it comes to packing. You may want to pack these yourself in plastic containers and transport separately. If it CAN leak or melt, it likely WILL. And you have no control over what it gets on if it’s in the moving truck.
-Make sure you have a useable bathroom for movers at both locations. Plenty of toilet paper, soap, and a way to dry hands. It will get used.
Good luck! Moving is exhausting but so exciting!
Brilliant list, Julie.
I’d add to it that you should decide which items get left behind in the event the moving van, etc., is filled to capacity. We knew we might have to leave behind our beloved wheelbarrow and some other items…and we did. We still miss that wheelbarrow.
Also, and if you do pack most things yourself, the general rule of thumb with marking boxes is to create a reference list that you keep to yourself. Identify each box by a number, color coded by room. The idea is to keep the contents vague/secret as to prevent theft. Since we packed and drove rental trucks ourselves (across six states in four days), we decided to forego this step.
As Julie advised, having “open first” boxes on the destination end of the move is very wise. We repurposed some Walmart plastic trunks (with wheels on one end and handle on the other) we had purchased for camping, and they worked perfectly. The latches on the trunks made it super easy to access items as needed. We had one designated for kitchen and bath, one with bed linens and towels, one with some food staples.
Anyone who has moved multiple times learns that no matter how organized and prepared you are, there are ALWAYS things that seem to make a last minute, frustrating appearance. You have to make fast decisions about what to find a place for, or dispose of. I’m pretty sure this happens to everyone.
Regardless, once you are in your new home the memory of the move will begin to fade away.
Best wishes for a smooth moving experience, Ardith
The key point here is that you should pack anything you want/need to be able to find quickly! So definitely a few boxes of kids toys, one box of linens (everything you need to sleep the first night, bathe & shower), probably also bottles and any special kid dishes.
Also, many moving companies won’t pack or move chemicals, so be aware of that for your cleaning stuff and garage stuff.
Also, you should have someone watch the kids the day of the move, because you really need both you and Jose to be in the house watching them as they pack. You won’t believe what kinds of questions will come up. Also, good for you to supplementally label the boxes.
Also, anything you can do to get things ready to move for electronics is helpful — get all cables unhooked and put near the computers, TVs. etc.
You should let them pack everything else. The efficiency is unbeatable. Just remember anything not nailed down will be packed including used soap and trash.
Remember, that any box you don’t open in 12 months should be thrown out (unless it is specifically sentimental items)
We let them pack just about everything. I was 8 months pregnant and still ended up feeling quite physically ill from exhaustion, so it’s not the same thing, obviously, but they were quick, efficient and did a great job. They spent maybe three or four hours packing in the morning, drove to our new place, unpacked for three hours or so, and said farewell. 3 guys at least one of whom was an ex-con. Money well-spent. Jonathan had us completely unpacked in a week without me lifting a finger.
Perhaps it’s a good time to purge, but we didn’t, and I don’t really regret it. We didn’t have a ton of stuff, though, since our old house was quite small. We had to continuously purge at our old place.