Moving Tips and Tricks
Our move from Ocala, Florida to Charlotte, North Carolina was our first “big” move. It’s wasn’t a cross-country or international move, but it was the first move Ryan and I have made as a married couple that took us eight hours from our previous home and involved moving from one house to another (rather than from one small apartment to the next).
Here are some tips and tricks we picked up along the way!
- Clearly Label Boxes… And Be Specific
This seems like a no-brainer, but simply labeling boxes “Kitchen” or “Master Bedroom” isn’t specific enough! When you’re dying to find a specific pan when you’re unpacking and there are a million boxes labeled “Kitchen,” you’re out of luck! Label things as specifically as possible (contents + room location) to make unpacking and finding important items right away a bit easier.
- If Possible, Leave Items In Drawers
Most dressers and desks have removable drawers. If possible, leave the contents from these drawers in them to save on packing and unpacking time. Just remove the drawers for the move to make the pieces of furniture lighter and then slide them back in once the furniture is placed in its permanent spot in your new home.
- Unpack The Kitchen First
I’ve always made unpacking the kitchen the top priority because it’s the room in the house we seem to use the most. Having a clean and organized kitchen soon after we moved in made me feel like we were on the right track and making headway even if the rest of the house was in shambles. The ability to prepare meals at home from the get-go was important to me.
- Clean Everything Before You Pack
This is one thing Ryan and I did before our last move, but we weren’t quite as good about it for this move and it definitely slowed down the unpacking process. We didn’t pack dirty dishes or anything, but there were a few things that came off the moving truck that were a little dusty (like the guest room bookcase) or had fingerprints all over them (like the glass top of our coffee table) that needed to be cleaned a bit before they were placed in their permanent spot in our new home.
- Try Your Best To Avoid Random Boxes Of Miscellaneous Junk
Oh the “junk” boxes! They are the worst! When you’re in a hurry and don’t have anywhere else to put something, it inevitably gets thrown into a “junk box” and becomes a moving nightmare. Junk boxes are the boxes that haunt my dreams because sometimes they’ll linger for months after we move into a new place. (Some of you may remember our “room of shit” that was basically filled with the contents of these type of boxes.) They’re filled with random things like extension cords, batteries, miscellaneous paperwork, random pens, etc. They’re a pain to unpack and sorting out the “junk” ahead of time and boxing it up with other similar things will save time and sanity during a move.
- Make a Donation Pile Before And After Your Move
Moving is a great opportunity to go through everything you own and determine what you do and do not need. Even though I thought we went through everything before we moved, once we started unpacking our stuff in our new house, more items popped up that we realized we no longer wanted/needed. Rather than make a spot for them, they immediately went into a large donation box.
- Use Your Suitcases, Trunks, Duffel Bags, Baskets, Etc. To Help You Cut Down On Boxes
By using your own suitcases, duffle bags, baskets, etc. to pack your belongings, you’ll cut down on the number of boxes you need, as well as the number of boxes you’ll need to get rid of at the end of the move. Let these items you already own work in your favor and fill them up!
- Take An Inventory Of The Boxes
I’m not sure how feasible this is with a moving company (if at all), but as someone who is missing two boxes, I would definitely encourage taking inventory of all boxes that are being moved. We aren’t sure how many boxes the movers packed into the truck and days after the move was over, we began noticing a few things were missing. It’s been a bit of a hassle going back and forth with the moving company about our missing boxes and having a list of boxes to check off would’ve made it immediately clear that things were missing. Since our moving truck had items from two houses in it (our house and another), it seems like it was an easy mistake to make and one we wish we would’ve prepared for on the front-end.
Questions of the Afternoon
- What is the farthest distance you have ever moved?
- Please share any tips and tricks you may have to make moving a little easier!
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Using your luggage to move your items is such a great trick. I love doing this because you are moving your suitcases and storage items anyway, why not fill them! And labeling makes your life so much easier when you arrive.
My sister taught me to put numbers on my box in terms of importance. One is a must open right away, two means get to it after a few days/weeks of living, and three means store and don’t even bother for now.
We recently moved into a high-rise apartment building, and we could not fit our couch in the elevator or stairwell! It was too long, and we tried every angle and direction to get that thing to fit. Sadly, we had to give it away and buy a smaller couch. I would definitely recommend measuring the elevator and stairwells of a new building before you move in!
That was a big fear of ours w/ our bed. We bought a king size bed in our last house and assembled it in the room… I was terrified we’d never be able to get it out!
Pivot!! Pivot!! Oh man… that stinks!
LOL – that’s exactly what I thought of when I read about the couch that was too large!! Pivot! Pivot!
love this! I’ve moved a bunch in the past few years and every time it is SUCH a pain. Fun, but still a pain 🙂 I like packing my own suitcases, that definitely cuts down on the need for boxes! I need to do a better job with the junk boxes; I’m terrible at throwing a whole bunch of stuff into one box! hah.
Me too! They are my nemesis!!
Gosh, my parents need this post! They are trying to move in just a couple of weeks! Lot’s of childhood junk around the house, haha. The biggest move I ever made was from London to LA… although, I didn’t have TOO much to pack since it was for University!
Whoa!!! That is definitely a serious move! Hope it went smoothly for you!
I am totally with you on labeling boxes! This is so helpful. When I have moved I have often been in a rush and skipped this step. It is such a hassle to sort through everything after you move!
I moved over the summer as well from NJ to Austin, TX andI found that sending some of my items was actually easier.
Agree with all of those tips!! My mum made a huge excel spreadsheet of what was in each box and it was a life saver when trying to find things that were in certain boxes. I moved from England to Chicago 7 years ago and 2 years ago made the move back. Since I was a teen during both of those, the boxes of random junk was endless. We still have boxes in our garage (we’re in a small rental house) and I swear every time I see something, I wonder what I was thinking at the moment I packed it because it’s all junk I’ll never use!
I thought most moving companies put numbered stickers on all the boxes as they’re loaded into the truck. That way when they’re taken off, someone can check off each box. You then have a record of if any boxes didn’t make it.
Both times my family moved the stickers were used and we didn’t lose anything. I’m in Canada though, maybe it’s a Canadian thing?
I WISH our moving company would’ve done this!!
I was going to make this same comment. I’ve made several big moves: WV to TX to OH to MA to NJ to IL. Every moving company I have used has always inventoried everything with colored numbered stickers, including boxes. If there were more than just my stuff on the truck, the other people’s items got a different color sticker. My job on move-in day was to cross off each number on the list as items and boxes were carried into the house.
I’ve only every moved across town, so I haven’t even had to leave the city! If possible, its nice to be able to leave clothes on the hanger, then you’re not folding them in a box, plus having to take up space for hangers (there is no good way to store hangers). I know they make boxes with a rod in it so you can leave things hanging up.
Junk boxes. They are the worst. And regardless of how much you hate it, I think everyone still ends up with a junk drawer/cabinet/closet/room. And the majority of it can probably just be thrown out!
The farthest I’ve ever had to move was 4 hours from college to back home… but I was able to give my sister all my furniture, so it wasn’t so bad. The most difficult move was last year. Our landlord was selling the apartment we rented and we had to move out with no place to go – so we bounced between 3 different placed (from SAINTS!!! The ladies I work with were amazing through our struggle!). We had to move everything into storage and take our own personal items (clothes, toilettries, etc) with us to 3 different places. When we finally moved to our new place, the set up was different and the furniture I wish we would have sold before we moved, now didn’t fit.
However, we did utulize all of the tips you listed above! Donating before our move (and then donating after) was the best thing ever… I physically feel lighter getting rid of all the junk! 🙂 Though box labeling we could definitely work on!
My best tip – don’t cheap out on movers. It will definitely make the day(s) sooooo much easier to get a professional who knows what they are doing! And of course, clean the new place before any boxes come in! We’ve definitely noticed that our level of clean, differs from previous tenants. 🙂
I just moved as well! And implemented a lot of the tips you noted above in my move. Another thing I did was wrapped my hanging clothes in garbage bags – similar to a wardrobe bag. Poked a hole at the top for the hangers and then put another garbage bag at the bottom and taped it in the middle. Then when you get to your new place all of your clothes are still on the hanger and can go right in the closet.
very smart! love this!
I like to use the large lined post-it’s to write all of the contents of a box when I pack it so I know exactly where each item is. Then, if I have to open it and unpack only one or two items I just cross it off the list until the entire box is ready to be unpacked. I’ve done it a few times and it makes it so much easier.
I moved when I was in my 20’s from Rhode Island to Iowa. That was crazy!
More recently my boyfriend and I bought a house and I 100% agree with the “no junk boxes” tip! We still have a couple of them sitting around and it’s giving me anxiety!
I also tore the upstairs of the house apart trying to find my yoga block, only to find I had thrown it in a bin of wrapping paper. 🙂
Last month I helped my old roommate move from California to Wisconsin for a job. Because she doesn’t have a big car, and this is the first time she’s lived on her own since graduating from college earlier this year, she did most of her furniture buying here in CA and then loaded it onto the truck when her movers came. To help her stay organized, she made an excel spreadsheet with the contents of all her boxes/ bags (including furniture pieces) and assigned each one a number. She was able to quickly tell the movers which boxes belonged where (ex. Boxes 1-4 in the kitchen, 5-12 in the bedroom etc). When we arrived in Wisconsin to meet the movers, it was super easy for her to guarantee that all of her belongings made it safely into her new place just by checking the boxes against her list.
Looking forward to seeing more of your new home as it comes together! 🙂
Thank you SO much for the tip on taking inventory of the boxes. We’re preparing for a big move and I’m so nervous some of our stuff will go missing with the movers!
I thought that was standard, too! I’ve done two interstate moves & both times they used those inventory stickers. Then when they moved the stuff into our new place, they called out the numbers & we checked them off. I also had my own numbers for boxes that I checked off, so we were doubly sure we had all our stuff 😉
I made the move from Indiana to South Dakota in August, and in September my husband and I are moving from South Dakota to Washington state! I got rid of SO MUCH STUFF during the first move and plan to do the same for this one. One thing I’m so glad I did for the first move was packing a “things needed immediately” box. I put some clothes, chargers, computer, bathroom items, kindle, etc. in one big duffle bag so that I would have it before unpacking the millions of other boxes.
Congrats on the new house! We are in the process of buying a house in WA now and it is so stressful! There are a billion +1 steps haha.
I label boxes by what room they should end up in (Kitchen, Bedroom, etc.) and then numbered them and had an Excel spreadsheet to describe the contents (Kitchen 1 = plates and bowls, Kitchen 2 = utensils) — I like this method because you don’t advertise bring attention to more valuable boxes like “Electronics” but the movers still know where each box needs to go, and you can refer to the itemized Excel when you are looking for something specific, and you know if any boxes end up missing!
My other tip is to use Wardrobe Boxes with metal hanging bar for clothing and coats that get hung in a closet – no folding involved and you can pack and unpack in mere minutes!
Having moved 5 times in the last 6 years I definitely know these pains! Our movers always use stickers that are numbered and inventoried twice before they leave and once when they get to the new house. This ensures nothing is lost! Thank goodness!
Unpacking the kitchen is always first on the list! Definitely the easiest and most important room to tackle. Then we always get the master bedroom done. Because there is nothing worse than being exhausted and not being able to snuggle into your familiar bed!
Our biggest move was from Erie Pa to Kansas City. Pretty much a cross country trip!
I always number the boxes so that if one goes missing you can determine the box # and what the contents were.
A few years ago we moved from Arizona to Texas and before we knew it we found ourselves moving back to Arizona for work. The move out to Texas included us packing (and downsizing) and we used a budget truck. This time, we got married the weekend before we moved so we opted to use a moving company. While it took stress off of us up front, after our movers left, we realized they didn’t pack quite a few kitchen items. The moving company also decided to deliver our belongings while we were on our honeymoon, yikes! Needless to say, we went back and forth with the moving company, and the delivery date we requested was never written in the contract. So while I enjoyed less stress upfront, it’s important to make sure everything is in the moving company contract! Also, I learned that if there are certain things you wsnt packed a certain way, it’s just best to do it yourself 🙂
I love the idea of leaving stuff in drawers!! Great tip!
Great post! When Josh and I moved to Omaha we were moved with Mayflower. They were awesome and made a list of every box. This was my first big move so it was something I assumed all moving companies did. Now I’m extra glad we went with them! I hope you get your missing stuff!
Hi! My husband and I moved from Orlando to San Francisco two years ago and that was incredibly challenging. We had to box our stuff up and send it two weeks before we left Florida. Then it was two weeks delayed, so we went one month without all of our stuff. We had to sell much of our furniture to fit into a small city apartment, but we kept all the important stuff. Moving to a big city has taught me NOT to buy things I don’t need and NOT to save things I don’t use anymore. We donate stuff all the time now.
Don’t throw away your moving boxes — list those suckers on Craigslist. We got rid of all of ours (for a 3/2.5 house) in one fell swoop AND made $150.
Great tips!! I searched online for moving tips before we moved from FL to MI and a big one was being overly specific on boxes and what’s in them. That helps so much! That’s weird your moving company didn’t have inventory stickers. Hope your stuff turns up!
All wonderful tips I can’t wait to put to use when I move to college, although I don’t think I’d have the luxury to bring all that i want with me.
My husband was a mover for two years, and his biggest trick was the part about leaving things in drawers and then just wrapping the drawers shut! It’s a great time-saver!
This is so helpful! Thanks!
What kind of moving company did you use – just traditional movers? I’ve heard that the services where you rent a storage unit to pack it up and then ship it are pretty affordable, but don’t know much more about them. I think they’ll even hold it for you until you’re ready to unpack!
OK this is probably a no-brainer, but pack a suitcase of all essentials you’ll need immediately: contact solution, toilet paper, etc. Although I am an incredibly organized person, we didn’t do this, and had to go hunt around in numerous boxes to get the stuff we needed that night and the next day. Definitely wished we had thought to pack a box of essential items!
Number each box and make a spreadsheet with each box number and contents. Not a great idea to detail the contents on the side of the box when boxes will be out of your control for long periods (e.g. Cross country move). Print copies of your numbered list and take photos of each box (opened) so you can see the contents and have a record of it when a box goes missing. A MUST when using movers!
We moved from Texas to Illinois..18 hours! Biggest move for me..ever! Great tips! We packed our own stuff in a u-haul..your Tetris skills come in handy!
These are great tips…the only thing I would change/add is to set up the bed first thing. After a long day of moving and unpacking the last thing you want to do when you are exhausted and ready to call it a day is spend another 30 plus minutes trying to find all the nuts/bolts for the bed frame or the boxes with the sheets and pillows. When you set up the bed first it will be a nice relaxing reward at the end of the day 🙂
These are some great tips, Julie! Fingers crossed you find your two missing boxes!!
We moved from Pittsburgh to Richmond a little over a year ago. We definitely used some of the tips you mentioned above. We donated many, many things to Goodwill to make our travel load lighter. Those junk boxes are the worst. It is soo hard to find anything when you go through it, and then you likely realize you don’t need any of it!
Another good tip: get all of the men in your family to help if possible! My uncle, brother, dad, cousin and my fiance moved us into our apartment and it took about a 1/3 of the time it would have taken us if it was the two of us!
We just moved today(hurray for new home ownership!), and our movers let us leave everything IN the dresser drawers and then just wrapped the dressers in blankets. It’s the second moving company that has done this, and it is SO nice to realize that all my folded clothes are already put away!
Re: the numbered stickers on the boxes, when we moved from PA to MA they used them, but the local movers we used today did not.
When Cody and I graduate this May, we will be moving from the east coast back home to the north-west mountains. It is a 36 hour drive, which we will be doing with his truck and my car. NOT EXCITED. Thanks for the tips!
I moved as a singleton from Australia to London, after 4 years in Lomdon I moved with work to Amsterdam, met my British husband there & we moved back to London together after a couple of years, got married in Italy then we moved back yo Brisbane (Australia), we were there for 4 years, had 2 kids, had just bought a house on the Gold Coast (in Qld, Aus) then we moved to Singapore with my husband’s job. We’ve been here for 7 years now, had 2 more kids, my elder 2 now speak fluent Mandarin (they’ve been in local schools as opposed to international schools as most expats do) looking at moving back to Australia next year. We’ve sure got this moving thing down pat! We’ve also moved houses 3 times in the 7 years we’ve been in Singapore! I use it as an opportunity to cull!!!!
My tips:
Use towels/washcloths, quilts to wrap breakables in.
Pack one or two boxes with whatever you need to make the bed(s) in the new house. Include towels, maybe the coffee pot, mugs, and whatever you need on the first morning. Mark every side of this box with huge stars so it can be spotted anywhere it is. This way, if it’s late when you get in the new house, you can easily find stuff to make the bed, take a shower and get a good night’s sleep. And be ready for coffee in the morning.
The next time we move, I’m hiring movers! I love your idea about leaving things in drawers if possible. It’s very time consuming to unpack and repack everything back into your drawers for sure!
Awww, I hated reading about you leaving your passport at home!
You are not alone! Back in the stone age before tickets were electronic and you had to have a paper ticket, I left mine at home. I traveled over an hour to the airport and was in line to check in before I realized I left it on the kitchen table at the friend’s house were I was staying. I couldn’t check in!!! I was panicked! At the time I was a teacher and I was coming home from spring break. Therefore, I would not be allowed an additional day off. Plus, as head swim coach, swim practice was at 6 AM the next morning. I had to get home! Luckily, the airline worked with me and got me on a later flight, that unfortunately had a layover. I didn’t get home until 1 AM. That 6 AM swim practice was brutal!
I learned from that mistake. I carry my passport every time I travel now. That way I always have it. Additionally, I lost my driver’s license on vacation once. Since I had my passport with me, I still had a Federally issued ID to get back on the plane at the end of my vacation.
I love the ideas about labeling! Ive definitely thought I labeled my boxes in the past, but it’s never specific enough!!
I love all these ideas! In addition to labeling boxes clearly, we have always had an “OPEN FIRST” box. This is usually filled with important kitchen items, toiletries, etc. that we will need within the first 24 hours…just in case we don’t get around to unpacking everything right away.
Plastic wrap is your friend! When you take drawers out of your dresser, wrap them in plastic wrap so the contents don’t fall out. I did this with the silverware organizer last time I moved too.
For one of our cross-country moves, the moving company put a numbered sticker on each box. And, on an inventory sheet wrote down which room the box came from next to the number. So, we knew exactly if a box was missing and which room it came from. Thankfully none were missing. But, it was easy to keep track of with everything numbered. That’s something anyone could do whether moving themselves or using a moving company. It’s helpful to have that peace of mind though if someone else is moving your stuff across the country.
My husband and I moved from Los Angeles to Washington, DC this last winter. This tips are great but one that I really think is helpful is to use blankets, pillows, sheets, etc to help cushion items in boxes. It works way better than peanuts or bubble wrap. Also, you can get free boxes from stores like Best Buy for your larger electronics. And, for the kitchen, we packed one box that we called, “Emergency Kitchen” that had the essentials: one large pot and lid, coffee maker, 2 plates, 2 bowls, and some silverware. It made living in our new home easier right off the bat.
I recently moved too, and the best tip I have would be to start packing very early! I started months before we moved by packing up seasonal items and things we definitely wouldn’t use until after. It helped a lot and I was less-stressed when it came to packing the rest! Also, Pinterest is awesome for tips on packing, especially the one where you slip a giant trash bag over your hanging clothes and tie it at the neck of the hangers. That helped us a LOT!
brilliant tips – we definitely had a room of shit for like 9 months after we moved, oops. those junk boxes will get you!
I moved from Iowa to Arlington, VA six years ago for a job. It was the only time I have had professional movers, work paid which was awesome. I knew at the time having my moving expenses paid was a good deal, however, only now do I know how lucky I was.
Since moving to the D.C. area I have moved a few times. When we moved last year, we packed the kitchen about a week or so before we moved. It was the best decision. We left a few things out so we could make it through the week without just getting takeout. Waiting till the end to pack the kitchen leaves you with so much work when you are running low on energy.
my favorite tip is to pack your bed linens and pillows into an easy to find bag and keep it in the car with you. that way you can at least sleep comfortably your first night!
My parents are moving from their house of 35 years in upstate NY to Florida (New Smyrna Beach!) and it has been crazy hearing about all their cleaning out and packing. They had a basement, two attics, and a barn full of stuff to go through. They had a ton of sales and made about $4K though! We had to go up last week and go through any childhood stuff. My mom said she wasn’t moving it so we had to take it or it was getting trashed!