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*Lindsey*
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| Posted: Jan 19 2012 at 10:25am | IP Logged
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We are gearing up for a move! We are waiting on the appraisal to come back on the new property, but are fairly confident it will be fine.
We have been living in our 2 bedroom, tiny home since we got married. (We planned to only live here for a year or two but then DH started his own construction business and financially we weren't in the place to do it.) As you can imagine, we have outgrown our current home considerably! We are so excited to be moving to a 3 bedroom home with a wonderful kitchen, 2 large barns, and 6 acres. It's our dream home, for sure.
Now, I am begging advice on how to pack. The only time I've packed to move was when I moved from my parents' house to here when we got married. That was SOOO easy compared to packing up a family of 9. I have no idea where to start, other than asking the store to save us boxes. I have no idea where to find the time. School generally only takes us about 2 hours in the morning, but the rest of the day is nursing, diapers, cooking, laundry, cleaning and...you know the drill.
Help!
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Lindsey
Mama to DS (11), DD(9), twin dds(7), DD (5), DS (4), DS (3), and 5 angels in heaven.
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ShannonJ
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| Posted: Jan 19 2012 at 11:34am | IP Logged
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How wonderful that you are able to move into your dream home! What a very exciting time for you and your family!
A lot of how I pack depends on how far we will be moving and whether we are moving ourselves or using a moving company. If you are using a moving company they tend to use a TON of boxes. I really prefer to have as little in volume to move as possible. This plays out mostly in bedrooms. If your drawers are removable from your dressers I would simply leave all clothes within the drawers rather than packing into boxes. All little knicknacks and such I wrap in socks and place in the middle of the drawers, and then I stuff them with additional clothing from closets until they still close, but are quite full! When moving day comes, remove your drawers and move the empty dressers onto the truck, then you can replace your drawers and bungee cord them to keep from sliding out during transit. It makes for so much less packing/unpacking!
Similarly for closets I utilize laundry baskets! And while ideally most of your laundry will be cleaned and put away for moving day I find no shame in packing my laundry hamper with any remaining dirty clothes straight into the truck!
For the kitchen, keep 2 or 3 boxes open for you to slowly pack those infrequently used items just after regular dinner cleanup. That way it isn't such a huge chore. It is also a wonderful time to pare down on any unused kitchen appliances!
I always invest in some plastic stretchy wrap from Walmart. Extremely useful in corralling wooden puzzles, keeping game boxes from opening, creating a quick and easy spill-proof top for toy bins, wrapping several books together for easy pack, protect the edges of furniture, keep pillows together, oh the uses are endless!!! In fact I think that packing wrap is my absolute favorite packing tool!
I do hope this gets you started on some packing ideas! Moving is a lot of work, but so exciting!
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~Shannon
Mom of dd 12, ds 9, & dd 5
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anitamarie
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| Posted: Jan 19 2012 at 11:46am | IP Logged
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Shannon gave great advice.
One way to keep things straight is to keep a list of boxes and the contents of each. Start a list, number each box and brief notes as to what is in each. That way you know exactly what is in each box, which ones need to be unpacked immediately and which can wait a bit.
Good luck.
Anita
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 19 2012 at 11:51am | IP Logged
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Well, I never succeeded in doing formal school while packing. My kids listened to books on cd, Jim Weiss, etc... as usual, but there weren't formal lessons.
You might consider getting one of the PackRat/POD type boxes. It was somewhat of a hassle to get the street cleared (we were in a row home in the city), and the ice was a nightmare, but in less awful winter conditions, I would do it again. It sat in front of our house for a week or two (though, city ordinances and space permitting, you could get it delivered tomorrow and keep it until you move!) so that we could gradually pack instead of having all the boxes sitting all over the house for weeks waiting for moving day.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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*Lindsey*
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| Posted: Jan 19 2012 at 12:01pm | IP Logged
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Great tips so far, thanks! We are moving ourselves, and only about 15 minutes from where we live now.
I also dread trying to take more time off school.  We've missed about 6 weeks already between having a new baby, and illness.
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Lindsey
Mama to DS (11), DD(9), twin dds(7), DD (5), DS (4), DS (3), and 5 angels in heaven.
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Jan 19 2012 at 12:41pm | IP Logged
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My most important packing tip:
Pack the kids' stuff LAST and unpack it FIRST. This will reduce their stress levels dramatically. Young children can't easily grasp the idea that once their toys disappear into a box, they will come back again at the new house.
But wait! There's more!
Ask friends who buy beer, wine, etc. to snag liquor boxes for you from their favorite store. The boxes are very sturdy and the dividers are perfect for packing glassware, knick-knacks, and other fragile items.
Pack the items you don't use often first (closets and cupboards, in other words) and weed out unwanted items as you go.
Packing garage items and sports gear takes a very long time because of the weight and shape of the items that most people keep in garages. A friend with a big truck could help move these odd-shaped items (bribe with pizza, babysitting, etc.); if you lay them in the truck bed carefully, you probably won't have to box/wrap too many items.
Eat down your food supplies now. This will save much hassle when it's time to move your fridge! Make soups and stews from items in your freezer and then keep the freezer empty (it is hard to do this!). Same for your fridge items.
Let the Magic School Bus DVDs and Jim Weiss help you with school. Your children are young enough so that this will be just fine...and Magic School Bus science DVDs are great.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Jan 19 2012 at 12:57pm | IP Logged
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oh with small kids in the house do NOT leave boxes open.. close up with tape even if you're not finished with the box.. open it again the next time you're there otherwise you may well find the box unpacked or things packed in that never should have been 
The extra tape is definately worth the time savings.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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ShannonJ
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| Posted: Jan 19 2012 at 2:25pm | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
oh with small kids in the house do NOT leave boxes open.. close up with tape even if you're not finished with the box.. open it again the next time you're there otherwise you may well find the box unpacked or things packed in that never should have been
The extra tape is definately worth the time savings. |
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 This reminds me that during our last move my son had gone into each room and removed the several of the stickers that let us know what each box was! Wow, that was fun trying to do our final inventory!
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~Shannon
Mom of dd 12, ds 9, & dd 5
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CatholicMommy
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| Posted: Jan 20 2012 at 7:32pm | IP Logged
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Two days before you move: pack your dishes and silverware.
Either use paperplates and plasticware; OR keep out one set of dishes for each person that is washed after every meal (think cheap plastic).
I'm not usually big on plastic, but with that big of a project, and all the kids.... Plastic it is!
Start now packing the stuff you won't need; just get it ready to go. A little bit every day. It will make a HUGE difference.
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: Jan 21 2012 at 1:02pm | IP Logged
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When we put our tiny condo on the market we did the 6 month rule. IF we weren't going to need it for the next 6 months it got packed. And most of that stuff was packed for way more than 6 months  There were a lot of DCO's(dust collecting objects).
Also, don't be afraid to pack. Just start, a little at a time. I remember the whole process looking so huge to me. I remember packing 2 boxes during each of ds's naps(which were very short) and after one week thinking I hadn't done a thing. Then 2 weeks later I saw the dent--and the boxes piling up in the living room.
Also, you can buy boxes at UHaul. Sometimes you can't collect enough. The grocery stores I shopped at when we lived in that little condo recycled them and would not save any for us. Another option for boxes is to find someone who has just moved. Ask if you can have any boxes they don't need. Boxes are like gold nowadays.
And watch the dog. Ours dug through a taped box for a bag of treats I had packed away. Argh....minus one box!!!
Many blessings to you in your new home and the adventure of moving!!
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Anne, married to dh 16 years!, ds,(97), Little One (02), and dd (02).
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kristinannie
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| Posted: Jan 21 2012 at 1:12pm | IP Logged
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We moved about a year ago and my biggest advice is don't pack things in boxes where they are now; pack them into boxes of where they will be at the new house. We also had a lot of misc boxes of stuff I didn't know what to do with. If you don't know where to put something, just get rid of it before you move! It is easy to get overwhelmed when you move. We were able to leave the clothes in the dressers so that helped. I unpacked a couple of boxes of toys and then got the kitchen done. Once I had my kitchen unpacked, I just felt more at home. Good luck!
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: Jan 23 2012 at 9:39am | IP Logged
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I pack the way Shannon suggested above. I use boxes as little as possible. When I have an overlap of a couple of weeks of having access to my new home and old one, I try to take car trips every evening with kitchen stuff (and other "cabinet" stuff) loaded into laundry baskets, padded by blankets and sheets. I stuff as much as possible into the car and don't even seal any boxes. If you have a friend that can bring her car one day and load it too and then the two of you unload and put everything directly away in the new house, that would be even better. If you take time in the evenings or load all the kids up during the day and listen to a book on tape while you're going, you can move a lot of stuff that way without taking a lot of time away from school.
I think the key when you have so many littles and are in such a small house now (with little room for piles of boxes) and are moving yourselves is to do it a little at a time, moving things directly from shelves/cabinets to their new homes.
Praying for a smooth transition and congratulations on the new house!!
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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*Lindsey*
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| Posted: Feb 03 2012 at 7:21am | IP Logged
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We're closing Monday!! Here's a picture:
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Lindsey
Mama to DS (11), DD(9), twin dds(7), DD (5), DS (4), DS (3), and 5 angels in heaven.
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Aagot
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| Posted: Feb 03 2012 at 7:44am | IP Logged
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Yay! So happy for you. It looks great.
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CrunchyMom
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Feb 03 2012 at 1:27pm | IP Logged
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Oh my goodness! It's beautiful!!! Congratulations!
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Theresa
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DominaCaeli
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Congrats!! Praying for an easy move for you all!
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Blessings,
Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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Kathryn
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| Posted: Feb 03 2012 at 10:45pm | IP Logged
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 Certainly looks bigger than a tiny 2 bedroom!!! Congratulations and happy moving.
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Kathryn in TX
(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
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Kathryn
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| Posted: Feb 03 2012 at 10:47pm | IP Logged
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I meant to say YAY...the new home certainly looks bigger than your previous home you mentioned was a tiny 2 bedroom. So happy for you all.
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Kathryn in TX
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Booksnbabes
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How lovely!!!  
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Wife to wonderful DH, mom to SIX beautiful gifts from God!
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Topic: Moving help--Closing Monday!!
