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Rachel May
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| Posted: Jan 13 2007 at 1:03pm | IP Logged
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What is your best tip for people who are moving Do IT Yourself, partial-DITY, or with professional movers?
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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MrsKey
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| Posted: Jan 13 2007 at 1:39pm | IP Logged
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Pack things in small boxes! They're lighter and less cumbersome to handle. And there's less stuff in each box so you can unpack it completely and feel a sense of accomplishment quicker! :D
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Carole
Wife to Tom since '94 and mom to Bree since '96
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mavmama
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| Posted: Jan 13 2007 at 1:56pm | IP Logged
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We just moved 1500 miles with a moving company 6 weeks ago.
The best thing I did was to pack bedding, towels, rags and rugs in dresser drawers so I could find them immediately upon arrival. I had a box of cleaning supplies in the van, since they wouldn't move some liquids anyway. Oh! Also, extension cords, screw gun, screws, small nails, and a hammer were in a place I could find them quickly.
I kept medical records in the car, along with safe-deposit box contents, and the basic hoemschool stuff.
Wow! Re-reading that it sounds like I was organised.......so why can't I find the rest of my shoes?!?!?
My requirement was that they pack us. It saved me from total chaos.
Good luck on your move. I hope you like your new place as much as we do ours 
Liz
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Martha
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Well, if I could afford it - we'd go the P.O.D.S. route in a heart beat. To be able to slowly pack everything up as you go and then having it delivered to the new house would be awesome.
But we won't be able to afford that, so we will be doing it all ourselves right up until the big day.
I find it best to go 1 room at a time. Start in the garage because that's where you will have to store all the boxes. Empty each room of everything you do not NEED on a daily basis, box and label the rest. Label it for what room it needs to be placed in the new house.
On moving day, load up all the furniture. Again 1 room at a time, in reverse of how you will need to unload it at the house. After all the furniture is loaded, then add boxes. It's easier to load boxes in cars and such, so I'd rather have a box that won't fit than a dresser.
Use towels and sheets to pack dishes and other fragile items. Small boxes are better.
Buy paper plates, cups, and plastic wear for the first week or weekend and plan on eating lots of sandwiches that first weekend.
All of my packing is done by the end of the first week we move. I could probably have us out of this house by the end of this week if I had to. Hard to explain. I've reached the point that I don't have to think about these things much, I just automaticly get it done. 
I'm not a fan of professional movers. In my expereince, they aren't worth the money unless you literally can't do it yourself.
Get the biggest truck you can. It may cost more, but it's well worth it in all the time and energy it saves.
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Martha
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JodieLyn
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I've moved so many times do it yourself.. the sheer physical effort makes professional movers VERY nice (got them for our last move) and I tell dh that moving expenses have to be included with a job if we move again so I get pro movers again 
labled boxes.. contents and room you want them to go to (or even room they came from if the configuration is going to change a good bit) makes sorting it out so much easier.
With professional movers it helps to get someone to help with the kids so that YOU can flit around watching the movers and that helps have some clue what they've done with things. Oh and pack the stuff you want to lay hands on quickly into your private vehicle before the movers get there (so that you don't "lose" it).
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Servant2theKing
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When we moved a couple years ago I took a cue from the oft suggested homeschooling tip of keeping like items together. When you pack up kitchen or bathroom items, think of how you will use those items and store them in their new home. It makes unpacking so much nicer when similar items are together, and you can put them away more quickly. A box of special snacks and drinks, along with disposable plates, cups and napkins is helpful. I packed a few boxes with items that I knew we would like to use right away...cleaning supplies, most needed kitchen items, outfits & bedding for the first couple days, medicines and first aid supplies...I also packed a "first days in the house care package"...washcloths and towels in baskets , along with extra toilet paper and new soap dispensers that I could set out as soon as we arrived. A special box of tools and picture hanging supplies accompanied the cleaning items. I had a box of freshly laundered and ironed doilies and linens (prepared during our lengthy real estate saga), so we could make everything more homey as we settled in. If you keep your designated boxes easily accessible, it makes feathering your new nest much more pleasant. Happy Moving!
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guitarnan
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I photograph every room right before the move, so I have a current record of all our big furniture, etc. I save all the records from all our moves. I don't have time to inventory all the books, so I do closeup photos of the bookcases. All the hardbounds really add up.
I have my son inventory software, DVDs and things like that.
I lock valuables and my purse in the car. So far we've been lucky and haven't had much stolen (except about 6 kilos of excellent parmesan cheese, grr!). Damage is another story. You really, really have to watch packers or they will just upend drawers into boxes when you're not looking. My poor s-i-l caught her movers turning her glass topped patio furniture upside down onto her textured concrete patio to wrap it. They also cracked the top of her baby grand piano. (They wanted to disassemble it but told her they would have no idea how to put it back together!!!)
I have drinks and sandwiches for the movers. They appreciate it and they don't waste a bunch of your time leaving to look for food.
If you have professional movers, good documentation is really important so you can prove what you have as the move starts. We've had water damage, rope damage, etc. and the fact that I can produce photos and lists that go back 20 years really helps.
I do wrap all my own dishes, china, crystal, etc. There is no way they would spend the time that I do, or use the bubble wrap and foam that I use. They have never given me a bad time about this (10 moves so far!), because they can inspect it all before they seal the boxes.
We keep an eye on dh's tools (they are nice), and we move them ourselves when we can. (Also, we like to keep them out so we can assemble the kids' beds first thing. Movers never seem to have socket wrenches!)
Just don't ask me about UNpacking...
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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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doris
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| Posted: Jan 13 2007 at 6:16pm | IP Logged
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I would say get someone to pack for you. They are sooo much faster -- ie they don't look at every old book, photograph album etc before packing it, put something aside so it can be put in the right place, etc. They are just automatons. Which is good, in the context.
However, if you do go down this route, don't credit them with any foresight. Our packers packed up our steam iron in with a load of paperwork. When we came to unpack that box a couple of weeks later... mouldy papers because they hadn't thought to empty out the water. One of our most precious ornaments (a French statue of Our Lady) was also slightly damaged because they'd just wrapped one tiny bit of bubble wrap round it. Sigh. We were lucky not to have more breakages really. So next time I would pack all the precious stuff myself.
If you do do it yourself, be sure to get the right packing materials etc. Sounds obvious, but for example the cardboard hanging boxes for your wardrobe stuff save a lot of time.
Taking photographs is also a great idea, for example of furniture that has to be disassembled. Even if the movers do it, because someone else might have to put the piece together again.
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Paula in MN
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I'm to (I don't even know what word to use!) to let anyone else pack or move me. I actually label the boxes with numbers, and then I have a notebook that details each box number, where it goes, and specifically what is in the box. I also try to use all the same size boxes, preferably fruit box ones.
And I always, always, always have my mom put my new kitchen together!
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 Paula
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Jan 13 2007 at 6:36pm | IP Logged
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Ha ha, we had our first movers (1986) pack all our trash...yum.
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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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MrsKey
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Oh yeah ... And shredded paper. All the paperwork you don't want to keep/move? Shred it and use it to cushion breakables.
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Carole
Wife to Tom since '94 and mom to Bree since '96
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ALmom
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If you do need to do it yourself, the best boxes for packing kitchen stuff is free at the liquor store! They have all those glass dividers in them.
If you have paid movers - be sure to empty your trash before they come. On our cross country move, the movers actually packed our trashcans - trash included!!!! There is more pressure to unpack at the other end as you have a time limit of when they will replace or take care of damaged or missing items.
If you pack yourself, then you can take your time unpacking - especially if you label boxes of absolute essentials and what is toys and extra. Also throw away as you box - and again as you unbox the stuff that you haven't scrounged through in months - and were able to leave for months just sitting in the garage waiting till you got to it.
If you do it yourself, you can sometimes hire a professional for just certain items - but unhook everything and know exactly where you want it so you use a minimum of his time - they will kindly do everything you ask but charge by the hour. Also already have a path cleared for them. We hired someone to move our piano, washer, dryer,freezer and refrig.(ours was an old one that we keep repairing because it is big and the new ones are too small) as these were very heavy and the only way in or out of our house was through billions of stairs. If it had been level, we may have just gotten a piano mover. (The piano mover does move other stuff as well usually  so it was all one person).
Find friends who are also moving and help each other out! A rental truck saves trips but you need an organizer who knows how to pack it right!
Plan on mom mostly directing traffic before and after and don't plan to cook on moving day!
I second having extra hands and eyes watching the toddlers - ours kept wanting to ride their tricycles up and down the moving van ramp - not cool when someone is carrying heavy furniture and so glad my mom was around and a few friends to help us make sure the bike did not go up the ramp with child on it!
Have plenty of your own old blankets, etc. to wrap around furniture in the moving van - not nearly enough comes with the van rental!
Janet
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Best of....Moving
