Packing Tricks

Just start packing! Pack little-used items first and LABEL every box with the general contents and the room it should go into at the new house (China/Dining room).
Professional packers/movers pack EVERYTHING! Even the garbage in the trash cans! lol
You could probably start with winter clothing, rarely used toys, games, bric-a-brac, etc.

Go to the market and ask for egg boxes--a great size b/c they are big enough to hold a lot but small enough so they won't be really heavy.
Good luck!

Start packing up stuff you don't use right now and put it in the garage if you can. One less thing to worry about if you can just open the garage and it's all ready to go.

Don't pack too heavy and start looking for boxes NOW. You'll be amazed how many you'll need and the sooner you start rounding them up the better.

Good luck!

I pack room by room, label the boxes by the room they belong, then put a brief description of what is in the box. I pack all the seasonal stuff, all my decorative items in the house, pictures and everything that I don't need to use day to day. When packing the truck I put all the bigger items in first then fit boxes around the bigger items. I don't worry about what is in the boxes because when I unpack the truck everything goes to the room it will be unpacked in, then I can find the items I need from the descriptions. I also declutter as I pack, if it is an item I haven't used in a year and won't ever use again I give it to Goodwill, American Red Cross store, or a non-profit organization. For the bigger items Goodwill or a non-profit organization might do pick up, if you call them they will tell you.

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The last time we moved I made a spreadsheet. Every box was numbered and then every number was on my spreadsheet of what was in it. That way if we had a MUCH needed item I could search for it easily. Otherwise the ONLY things I put on the box was KITCHEN, BEDRM #1, or FRAGILE. I think too much writing on the boxes is confusing. When you unload the truck, ask that every box gets put in the appropriate room right away! That will prevent you from stacking boxes in the garage or basement and leaving them there, unpacked. If something IS for the garage or basement, make sure it's labelled well and on your spreadsheet. Then you can always go back and label it more if it's going to STAY packed (like holiday decorations). Just make sure those boxes are packed well - keep all Halloween stuff together, Thanksgiving in another box so you don't have to dig and dig through 4 boxes of "holiday" decorations.

What do I pack first? - least needed items from storage like holiday decorations, off season clothes, etc. Things that go last? - most needed items like kids favorite toys, current clothes, etc. Use paper plates, plasticware, etc. the last two weeks, just so you don't have so much to clean/wash and worry about forgetting or needing to pack.

The last things to go in the truck should be your MOST used/needed items so they come out FIRST.

The bottom of the truck is the heavy and/or breakables like books, furniture, dishes, bedding and towels, etc. IF something has delicates in it, make sure you label it NOTHING ON TOP! to let people know not to stack stuff on top of it - we did this with our glass vases.

As far as things you don't want/need, maybe call Goodwill, AmVets, etc and see if someone can come several times over the next two months to do free pickups. That way you can schedule the dates now and systematically go through the rooms and know what you need to have out on your driveway or porch the night before - plus then you get the tax write off AND it goes to a good cause.

It sounds like you've got your plate full, but you can also post things on Freecycle.org. It allows someone to contact you to pick up your unwanted items. All you do is post what you have and your town. Someone will email you (they don't get your address, freecycle forwards the email to your acct), and you can reply back with "it's yours, here's our address and a good pick up time and date". It's a nice way to give unwanted items a 2nd chance with someone else - and THEY pick it up from you!

Best wishes on your move.

I always did it thinking "backwards". What is the absolutely most unnecessary items from now until I move? Storage. Keep your holiday decorations. Place your boxes in a central area. I usually started along the wall of the living room or dining room. Pack out of season stuff next (clothing, outdoor things like winter fun toys and grills, etc), then I pull all the pictures and decorations down from the walls, and work up to the bathroom and kitchen. Then a few days ahead of the move, I pack everything from there, but leave the boxes open for last minute raiding. The other thing I did was tell myself I will pack a minimum of 3 - 5 boxes per day. Then I made myself do it. Some nights I was SO tired and lazy feeling and didn't want to, and those were the nights that I would pack books, or something that didn't take as long, but I made myself hit that personally agreed upon minimum. The days that I was more motivated, I'd pack 2 or 3 times that amount. When Packing the truck, pack what you will need first thing when you arrive - last on the truck. Beds, with the box containing bedding, and the last packed kitchen and bathroom boxes. Boxes with the kids toys so they will be occupied while you move other stuff in. And label your boxes - not just "Kitchen" - but "skillets and saucepans". Or not just bathroom, but towels or cleaning supplies.

Having moved 3 times in the last 5 years, twice with 2 kids, the 3rd time being pregnant with my 3rd... I'm a semi-pro ;)

We got free boxes from the ABC store. They're small, but super durable. Start packing things you don't need... stuff on the walls, knick knacks, table lamps, extra plates/cooking utensils, movies, books, out of season clothes, etc. Leave out only the necessities. If you pack 10-20 small boxes per day before the move, it will make things much less overwhelming later!

The furniture you're not taking, post to craigslist for free and stick it outside. Do this 2 days before garbage day. If it's STILL out there, donate it to a consignment shop who picks up.

If you haven't used something in over a year, sell it/throw it out/donate it. Don't move stuff you don't need; this is your fresh start!

Good luck and best wishes!!

As far as the books go, you can donate them to somewhere like Good Will or the Salvation Army. You can donate the furniture as well. Call them and arrange for them to do a pickup at your house.

Pack things you use less often first. Make sure to label what is in each box and what room it belongs to in your new house. That will make it much easier when it comes to unpacking.

purge, purge, purge.....before you pack a single thing! This is your chance to downsize your possessions. In addition to Salvation Army & resale shops, I also donate to our local nursing homes & the Vets Home. They always appreciate books & craft items!

Labeling & inventory lists are so helpful....as is bubble wrap for prized possessions. I also used bath & beach towels for packing! Good Luck!

you got lots of great ideas here, basically use the opportunity to purge, pack according to room and need, label and number the boxes to correspond with a master list, and use your own towels/linens for packing material whenever possible. lift the boxes as you pack them to be sure they are manageable. liquor boxes and copy paper boxes are awesome, but be careful of creepy little hitch hikers in the cardboard. i would never use boxes from anyplace having anything to do with food. i will add one thing,,,, when we moved, we were literally sweeping up as i watched the truck turn the corner with all of our belongings inside when the phone rang. it was our lawyer telling us the people we bought our new home from werent leaving. hence, reroute the truck and everything into storage and we temporarily moved in with my parents till we worked everything out. but, i had no clothes/shoes for work, no coats, some basic items, etc.... a "just in case" box that goes with you is a good idea :) best of luck.

Hi Mamy-

Start saving newspapers for your fragile things...I also found that liquor boxes are a great size (and very sturdy) for heavier items...(thanks to my ex, we always had plenty of those on hand...and once I told the store who my ex was...I was in like flint!! lol)

I started with all things out of season...packed like a fiend. Put a general note on outside of box, then an 'inventory' sheet more specific on top inside (I had kiddos to help with that).

I saved kitchen items and bath towels for last.

I also planned a yard sale for two weeks before the move to get rid of stuff (again kiddos helped, and got to share in profits from items they sold). I had a sofa that we used to the end that a neighbor picked up on the move day.

If I think of more...I will let you know...

Best luck!
Michele/cat

Since I had a month to move and only moved an hour away I moved a car load every time I went to my new house. I also used milk crates. I know you can't get a ton of stuff in them, but they stack so nice and are super sterdy too! I would pack the things you can live without first? Do you really need that China or can it be packed away? Does you child(ren) really need 20 board games or can they live with 2 or 3? Summer clothing and fall clothing you could probaly pack away and just keep the winter clothing and maybe some spring things out too!

I would pack and take anything to the new home that you can live without for a few months.

Utilities for the new house: 1 -2 weeks before you move, call the phone, cable, and trash companies to establish service. These can sometimes take up to 2 weeks to activate.

Mail for your current house: 2 days prior to your move fill out the change of address online. Make sure that you mark the 'all occupants'.

Extra books/items: Donate them to GoodWill or a charity for a tax right off. They can send a truck to come get them.

Moving Day/Packing:
1a. Put a clean set of bedding for each bed and a towel for each person in a large clear tote. Put it in your car.

1b. Have a tote for the kitchen. Snack/breakfast items, silverware, plates. This should go in your car also.

2. Get large labels. Instead of just writing what is in it, write what room it goes to. Kitchen, Jenn's Room, Mike's room, Dining room, etc. Write the contents on 2 sides, not the top of the box!

3. Draw a rough map of the house layout and post it on the front door.

4. At hallways and stairs place directional arrows Mike's room ->,
<-- Dinning Room

5. On each bedroom, post the name of the room: Mike's room, Jenn's Room. If you don't want to use specific names, you can also use Master, Bed #2, Bed #3, etc....

M.

My family and I have moved more times than I care to count. Here is how we did it:

1. Purge. Get rid of things that you are not using and do not see yourself using soon. (Be honest with this one! My husband thinks that we need to keep everything because we might use it some day.)
2. Start packing the things that you will not use between now and when you move... or you'll use so sporadically that it won't matter if they're packed. I'm thinking Christmas and other holiday decorations, extra sheets and towels, extra blankets, extra toys for the kids... things you'll want in the new place but are not really used all that much right now.
3. Label. Label everything. We used many Rubbermaid totes as, again, we've moved a ton. We also used diaper boxes as we had a bunch of those. Label everything in the same place so you know where to look on the box. (For example; we labeled the top AND both narrow ends of each box.)
4. When you pack the truck to move, make sure that you have the following with you: sheets, pillows, pillowcases, and blankets for your matresses. If at all possible, set your beds up first so that when you are exhausted from loading/unloading/packing/unpacking, your bed is ready and waiting for you.

Happy moving!

The least time we moved was from a 2 bedroom apartment to a 4 bedroom house but the apartment was in Illinois the house in Texas. We had a professional moving company driving the truck so...
Start purging first.
Don't do the change of address until about 2 weeks out. They forward for up to 6 months but they don't forward "junk mail".
As you discovered, book boxes are small for a reason, give away children's books to a hospital with a children's ward - they always appreciate books because they get well loved quickly. As far as other books, either donate them or see if you can find a second hand book store- we have Half Price Books here, they buy them for cash - not always a ton but I get rid of them and know they're not going to end up in a landfill also many "friends of the library" type organizations will take them as donations for their book sales.
Don't leave furniture outside unless that is your city's policy. Many have certain pick up times etc and many have ticketing policies for doing so any other time. If it's still in reasonably good shape - Goodwill will take it but you have to drop it off.
Whatever was in plastic containers under beds etc stayed in plastic containers but the lids all got taped shut. I didn't buy any other plastic containers for anything.
Invest in a couple dish pack boxes from a home improvement store because they are awesome and you don't have to wrap everything then - they stack the plates and bowls nicely. Wrap any ultra fragile items in bubble wrap, other fragile items in several layers of paper. Just a note on newspaper - it will leave ink on things so watch what you use it on.
It might seem counter intuitive but go with smaller easier to handle boxes instead of large boxes, again it's a weight thing (and most large moving companies load their trucks by weight estimate not box count.)
Then start with out of season items, suitcases work nicely for clothes then move on to boxes - you've got to move the suitcases anyway.
Don't forget about holiday stuff that may not be packed in boxes and get that packed up too.
Next, especially if you're showing your house and haven't already, pack away anything that makes it personal - pictures, knick knacks and general clutter.
As far as toys, pack up what you know doesn't get played with in it's own box, move it with you but keep it closed up and after a month or so if it hasn't been asked for it's probably a pretty good indication it's ok to donate.
Number each box as you pack it, label what room it goes in and put a general description on it - like: "1, front hall, hats/mittens/scarves" "2, living room, picture frames and vases" and make a running list - keep it in a notebook or on a legal pad and have a specific place for it so it's easy to find.

Those vacuum space bags are great for clothing and bedding. Cuts the space way down and you can pile them on your boxes. I have my daughters toys already in plastic containers with lids, so that would make it easy to move.

You could contact a local Salvation Army, Church, or Goodwill to give the stuff away you are not taking. Yard sales are always good too and gives you extra cash while moving.

You could donate the books to the library, they're always doing those used books sales. Also, call GoodWill or a church in your area to see if they could use the big furniture.

get plastic tubs for your breakables. wrap everything in sheets blankets clothes wash cloths dish towels etc. use laundry soap boxes for the books it will still be heavy but not ungodly heavy. put anything you are going to need the first day or two in suitcases. label all boxes kitchen, what nots, bath etc. also i put breakables in my clothes hampers for better protection or trash cans. you will need all your personal hygiene and clothes in the truck. get rid of all your food if your going a long way and buy new when you get there. use your ice chest for sandwich stuff water and other things like that. when you first get into your new home paper plates cups and silver ware. buy lots of heat and eats and sandwich stuff for the first at least 4 days if not longer. give the books away and call sal army or whoever you have in your town to pick up furniture. leave the door unlocked and have them lock it on thier way out. more than likely if you put it in the garbage someone will steal it it is obviously unwanted and if they need it they will take it. but technically it is not stealing. happy moving better you than me