STEP ONE: DOWNSIZE
Now is the time to be selective. Plan to bring only the items you really want in your new space.
- Do I love it or need it? Consider your space and purge enough so that all your items have a place in your new home.
- Determining what to do with all of your purged items in advance and save time. Donate, give to family and friends, trash or sell.
- Check your local donation outlets to see what they take and if they pick up.
- Be sure to ask family and friends before giving them any of your items. You don’t want to fill their house with your unwanted stuff.
- Check with your county waste to see if there are items that cannot go into the regular garbage.
- Research the value of an item. Send a photo to an auction house for a quick response. Other avenues for selling items: yard sales, ebay, letgo, Craig’s List and consignment shops.
- Give yourself permission to let go of sentimental items. It’s okay to let go of items you don’t want or love.
STEP TWO: PACK
Packing Paper vs. Bubble Wrap
- Paper for dishes, mirrors and small fragile items. It takes up less space than bubble and allows for stacking items, like dishes.
- Bubble wrap for larger items like appliances and lamps.
It adds a layer of air cushion.
Packing Boxes vs. Plastic Tubs:
Packing boxes:
- Easy to stack and store flush in a moving truck
- Recyclable & easy store when they are broken down
- Come in standard sizes for easy moving
- Made to protect household goods
Plastic tubs:
- Great for storing items in your new home
- Inefficient and cost more to move because they cannot be stacked edge to edge
- Vulnerable to cracking and collapsing during a move
- Keep items dry
Best Labeling Practices:
- Label on the top and side of the box
- Use permanent marker
- Put your name on the box – first
- Put the name of the room on the box – second
- List the items in the box – third
- Share your floor plan
- Label the rooms in your new home
STEP THREE: UNPACK
- Put on some great dance music
- Set up bedroom and bathroom first
- Reclaim packing materials. Many moving companies will pick up moving materials and recycle them after the move.
- Avoid clutter as you unpack by giving all items in your new home a place to live. An item that does not have a home will be put down in any available space.
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