Moving to a new home can provide a wonderful sense of starting over. It is not difficult, however, for your relocation to turn into a mind-numbing experience of hassles, frustration, and mental fatigue. Below are some guidelines to follow to help make moving as simple an experience as possible.
Prepare to move
The old scouting adage is as good advice as ever before, “Be Prepared!” When moving, be sure to get a hold of a large black sharpie marker. This new best friend will help you mark boxes quickly and effectively. When marking boxes, be sure to write the contents of the box on multiple sides, as many boxes are jigsawed in place. This allows you to know the box contents, no matter where they are stored on the truck. Also, consider marking what room the box should go to. This will help the boxes be moved to the correct room on the first trip, and minimize “rogue” boxes.
While you can always buy your moving boxes, try asking around for them first. It is not uncommon for a friend of a friend to have leftover boxes or work for some company that throws boxes away daily. Get creative, and you might save yourself a few dollars.
Also, once you know your moving date, tell your friends immediately! Giving them plenty of advance notice will help them to save the date, and this can be a tremendous help to you in your move. A job that would take a couple of movers all day to finish can take a dozen people only an hour or less. If you have friends in the new area, or if you attend some sort of worship group, consider contacting them to see if they are available to help you move in. You never know until you ask.
Storing clothing
When you store your clothing, make sure that everything has been properly laundered and folded. Consider having a laundry day the week of moving to put away all the clothes that you won’t need until you get to your new home. This also would be a great time to store seasonal clothes that you won’t be wearing for a while. For the seasonal clothing, if you’re moving to an area that has moths, add some cedar balls to the boxes to repel moths from infesting and laying eggs in them.
Moving furniture
If the moving truck didn’t come standard with a dolly (also known as a hand-truck), this should be a priority item. This is a useful tool in home removals. It eases the moving of heavy objects, like washers and dryers. It is also very helpful during furniture removals.
Furniture removals are the most backbreaking part of the move. This is where all those friends you contacted in advance are going to be the most useful. Sometimes it is helpful to take the dimensions of each object and write them on post-it notes that are attached to each piece of furniture. Also, covering furniture items in blankets can help protect against scuffs and scrapes both whiles in the truck and when maneuvering around the house during furniture removals. Place the boxes in first, the furniture next, and then any miscellaneous objects on top. This rule of thumb should help prevent items from being crushed in transit.