Are you planning for an upcoming move across town or across the country? If so, check out these 12 tips shared by I Love Moving Reviews to get you and your family packing and moving like a pro! My family has moved five times in the last 8 years, and so today I’m sharing some of my favorite tips with you.
TIP #1: Have a yard sale or garage sale and get rid of unused or unwanted items.
This is my favorite way to purge items that I no longer need. And at the end, I donate the things that don’t sell. The less items you have to move, the easier and less expensive the move will be! I have to keep telling myself this as I tend to hold onto my kids’ stuff.
Tip #2: Assign a different color duct tape to each room so the boxes are easier to identify.
Throughout this last move, I really focused on being more organized – the colored duct tape can be a great timesaver during the unloading process as you can quickly identify into which room each box should be placed.
Tip #3: Pack a clear “First Day Essentials” bin filled with the things you’ll need most as soon as you arrive at your new home.
As an example, I filled this bin with trash bags, box cutters, scissors, disinfectant wipes, paper towels, toilet paper, paper plates, paper cups, disposable silverware, hand soap and dish soap. I also fit my Keurig and K cups in here for coffee the first morning . I made sure to place this bin in in my car so there was no chance of it getting lost amongst the boxes.
Tip #4: Use plastic wrap or paper and tape to wrap silverware trays. This keeps all your flatware together and makes unpacking a breeze!
Tip #5: Use large Ziploc bags to keep kitchen and bathroom drawer things together. It’s so much easier to unpack when all the small drawer items are together!
Tip #6: Pack spices in a large slow cooker or pot to save space. This tip can really be applied towards any large item like baskets, trash cans, etc. Fill up their empty space with smaller items.
Tip #7: Use cardboard dish pack partitions to pack breakables. They are perfect to insert inside moving boxes and protect glass cups and dishes from breaking. Find these at your local U-Haul, Staples.com. or even sometimes on Craigslist.
Tip #8: If you already have items organized in bins like these toys, just use plastic wrap to secure them before packing. Then you don’t have to reorganize when you unpack.
Tip #6: Pack spices in a large slow cooker or pot to save space. This tip can really be applied towards any large item like baskets, trash cans, etc. Fill up their empty space with smaller items.
Tip #7: Use cardboard dish pack partitions to pack breakables. They are perfect to insert inside moving boxes and protect glass cups and dishes from breaking. Find these at your local U-Haul, Staples.com. or even sometimes on Craigslist.
Tip #8: If you already have items organized in bins like these toys, just use plastic wrap to secure them before packing. Then you don’t have to reorganize when you unpack.
Tip #9: Tape off all items that can spill like shampoo, cleaners, cooking oils, etc.
Tip #10: Use a trash bag to quickly pack hanging clothing. I used this method to pack my kid’s clothes and they were a breeze to unpack.
Tip #11: Get to know stretch wrap – it is by far one of my favorite packing tools! Stretch Wrap is a giant plastic wrap that allows you to group things together like garden tools, or a stack of smaller boxes. Of course, you can also use it to wrap blankets over your furniture.
Tip #12: Buy and re-sell boxes and packing material on Craigslist. There are many places to buy new boxes like U-Haul, and Home Depot. Before you purchase new boxes, I encourage you to try collecting as many boxes as you can by asking friends to save boxes and asking stores if they have excess boxes that they need to dispose of. Then try looking on websites like Craigslist for free or inexpensive moving boxes and material. Don’t forget to break down and resell boxes and packing materials after your move.
Tip #11: Get to know stretch wrap – it is by far one of my favorite packing tools! Stretch Wrap is a giant plastic wrap that allows you to group things together like garden tools, or a stack of smaller boxes. Of course, you can also use it to wrap blankets over your furniture.
Tip #12: Buy and re-sell boxes and packing material on Craigslist. There are many places to buy new boxes like U-Haul, and Home Depot. Before you purchase new boxes, I encourage you to try collecting as many boxes as you can by asking friends to save boxes and asking stores if they have excess boxes that they need to dispose of. Then try looking on websites like Craigslist for free or inexpensive moving boxes and material. Don’t forget to break down and resell boxes and packing materials after your move.
