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Saying this past week was rough would be an understatement. I recently just moved with my husband, our three kids, and our dogs. Trying to find a place with 3 bedrooms, a washer and dryer and some place that allowed dogs, that was under $2k a month, was a nightmare. Our biggest obstacle were the dogs. We have 2 large German shepherds and I was unaware but apparently, they’re fur covered demons from the way people turned us down.
We luckily found a place with 5 days to spare before being homeless and hopefully the empty bank account every month is worth it. Packing, moving, unpacking and settling in is chaotic and stressful. We all know the basics of moving; like changing your address with the post office, calling creditors, calling utilities and setting up new accounts, etc., but things tend to slip our minds when we’re stressed. I luckily picked up a few moving hacks that made things a tad more simple. For anyone else planning on moving soon hopefully, they can be of some help. Pack all clothes away at least a week before and leave out only a few days worth of clothes. Something that can easily be thrown in an overnight bag. Same with your toiletries and makeup.
Call all utilities about 7 days prior and notify them of the moving date and new address. If you know for certain you will be moving to a new address, fill out the change of address form with the post office however early in advance you feel like. They have a “Start Forward Date” on there so filling that out early and getting that out of the way takes away an added stress.
If you are tight on money like we are, ask the family to help pack and load your moving truck. We were lucky enough to have family members who let us borrow their trailer and who came out to help us load it up. We didn’t move too far so making a couple trips with a trailer was cheaper than renting a large u-haul.
Prior to moving, if there are things you no longer need or want, consider selling or donating. Fewer things to pack and a little extra cash or helping others out is always a good thing. If multiple trips is not an option or if you don’t own a truck or trailer, pick your moving company early on. Make sure they have all the details and everything is booked. Make sure you read their fine print. Some moving companies have odd rules and regulations. Packing strategy. You don’t need expensive fancy packing equipment. Chances are, you’re going to throw it all away once you unpack, why waste all that money? You can go to local grocery stores or clothing stores and ask if they have any boxes. 9 times out of 10 you’ll score decent size boxes. You could also substitute bubble wrap for some newspaper to save money. We also used towels to wrap glass, bake-ware, dishes, vases. We need to pack the towels, why not use them for something?
Make sure as you pack, you label your boxes! A black sharpie goes a long way. Big bold letters and room coordination on the boxes makes moving day much simpler.
Pack your belongings in things you need to pack. I used all of our suitcases to hold as many clothes as I could as well as our hampers. I also have a ton of those reusable shopping bags that came in handy for all my little accessories like phone chargers, extension cords, cables, etc.
Make sure you pack a box specifically for the first couple days after your move. You might find it’s extremely convenient to have toilet paper, clothes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc., all at hand.
Be mindful of your valuables. I packed my truck with everything that could have easily been broken or misplaced on the move. My televisions, my jewelry, my important documents… Have large mirrors or picture frames? We took our heavy blankets and wrapped our mirrors in them and finished them off by wrapping them in stretch wrap. Bolts, nails, washers, allen keys; keep all items for all individual hardware like your curtain rods, furniture, table all in separate baggies labeled. If you’re renting, make sure you do a walk through and take pictures of the new place before you put all your things in. This will make your life so much easier when you're moving out. If there is a scratch or dent on the wall that was there BEFORE you moved in, your landlord cannot claim you did it.