Making the Moving Process Easy

So, you've bought a new house. Congratulations! We know the choked throat feeling as you hold the keys to your new house. We know the joy as you enter it for the first time since signing the papers. We don't want to see the joy fade from those proud smiles, but when will you begin to pack out your old house or apartment? Have you got lots of tips and hacks for smoothly packing and storing your things?

Moving is a daunting task. The only fun part to moving is the glass of wine at the new house when the movers' truck is pulling out of the drive. It doesn't have to be the end of the world, though. Families and moving companies have gathered up tips and hacks over the years to help you make your next move easier. Thanks to them all, we can pass on to you plenty of tips to make the moving process easy.

1. A Master List Is A Must

Moving is stressful. You'll forget something, so writing it down on a master list is vital. You can use an app on your smart phone, or you can use a notebook or yellow legal pad.

You'll need three sections. One will be for weeks out from the moving date. You'll note when to hire a moving company, when to notify the utilities of the move, when to donate your things or sell them, and when to begin packing. The second will be a numbered list of boxes, what's inside them, and which room in the new house they'll go into. The third will be a list of people to notify, from keeping the dog while you move to notifying the banks, credit card people, and insurance people, to name a few.

2. Hire A Moving Company

Depending on the time of year, a moving company is a good idea. It will leave you free to pack, notify people, and otherwise get ready for moving day. Most people move during spring and summer, so fall and winter find moving companies with nothing to do but wash their trucks. You'll need to book your moving company eight weeks from moving day and re-confirm two weeks from moving day.

3. Storage Units

If you're moving locally, consider a storage unit for some of your things. Staging your home requires almost no furniture at all, added to the fact that you don't want a room full of packed boxes to turn off potential buyers. When home shoppers see an almost empty house, they can more easily picture their own things in your home. That's when they sign on the dotted line. It's also good to have a storage unit just in case your move doesn't go off as scheduled. Your things will be safe until you get your move back on schedule.

4. Important Papers

Most stores carry expanding file folders. Make copies of important papers, from driving licenses to your will to insurance policies. If the originals get lost in moving, then you'll have something with which to work. Also, copy anything in your safe deposit box, and keep it with your important papers. These you'll keep in the car with you.

5. Keep Valuables Safe

Almost everyone has something precious from grandparents, their parents, or other loved ones. Keep precious items safe by taking them in the car with you. If the car is jammed and not one more item will fit, then place the items deep in a box marked “miscellaneous upstairs bathroom items-female” under something else to keep them safe.

6. Pack A Moving Day Box

Since everything will be chaos at the new house, packing a “moving day” box makes sense. In this box will go a change of clothes, personal toiletries, toothpaste and toothbrushes, hair brushes and combs, shampoo and bath soap, towels, toilet paper, paper towels, razors, paper plates and cups, plastic utensils, snacks for the ride to the new house, and food for when you get there. If you have room in the car for the dog, remember her food.

7. You'll Need Food

Whether you hire a moving company or help on moving day, you'll need sustenance. Pizza is a favorite moving food. The local chicken place will make you a party size platter of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, and cole slaw. Remember to ask them for paper plates and plastic utensils. Burger places will be happy to make a platter for you, too. You need energy to move all that heavy furniture and boxes, so get that energy from your food.

8. A Word About Boxes

There's no getting around the fact that you'll need packing tape, stickers, markers, bubble wrap, and boxes. To save yourself some money, go around to pizza places (their cheese boxes make the perfect book-packing boxes,) supermarkets, and department stores. You can get pretty much any size and shape boxes you'll need. And it didn't cost you a penny.