Moving to a new home is tough. You have to relocate everything you own in a very short time without losing or breaking anything, and ideally without carrying too many things to the wrong room. It’s stressful, it’s hectic, and it’s exhausting.
Fortunately, there are some hacks that anybody can use to simplify moving. These little tricks will reduce the difficulty of your move and help you get situated quickly and easily in your new place.
Don’t Want It? Don’t Move It!
You’ve probably heard other people talk about having a moving sale, so why not have one yourself? As you pack up, set aside the things that you haven’t used or worn in a year or two. After all, if you haven’t used them in that much time, you probably won’t.
Save yourself the hassle, work, and space of moving those items, and sell or donate them before you pack.
Help Your Help
A lot of us beg and plead with friends and relatives to con them into helping us move. When they’ve been nice enough to oblige, use their time wisely. Mark the rooms in your new place with numbers that correspond to the numbers placed on your boxes.
That way you don’t have to supervise every single box, and you don’t have to come up with a descriptive name for an empty room. All the #1 boxes go in Room #1. Problem solved!
Reduce the Repetition
There’s nothing more time-consuming than emptying a drawer, packing its contents, and putting them back in the drawer. Save time. Remove the drawer from the dresser, chest, or nightstand, then wrap it tightly with kitchen wrap.
Contents will stay put, the furniture itself will be lighter, and you will save a lot of time.
Box Wisely
The most likely things to break during a move are kitchen items like plates and serving bowls. We store them horizontally in the cabinet, but standing them up on edge when you box them up will keep each item’s weight off the others and reduce the chances of broken items.
Get Functional First!
If your move will take more than one day, plan for it. Get the absolute essentials moved first–beds, toiletries, the coffee maker–and have them set up so that you’ll be ready to start your day normally on the first morning in the new house.
This will save a lot of digging around and get you back to your moving work quickly.
Pack Jewelry Carefully
Necklaces and bracelets are notorious for getting tangled up in the jewelry box, and they are even more troublesome during a move. A great way to avoid this problem is to box up your jewelry in repurposed egg cartons.
They’re lightweight and cheap, and they have plenty of divided space to keep items from wrapping themselves together.
Moving is a lot of hard work, but it’s much easier if you plan to save time, space, and your valuables.