Tips on Packing and Moving to Your New Home

So you've sold your house, or your lease is up, and now you have to move. You look around at all your stuff and begin to panic. How can you possibly pack all of this mess, and be out by the deadline? Well have no fear. Having moved thirteen times myself, let me teach you the steps to packing and moving your worldly possessions while at the same time keeping your sanity.

First, you should decide that you are going to be honest with yourself. Start with your closets. You know, those places where we put things we're not sure what to do with? Those spaces whose doors hold in things that otherwise would spill out onto the floor? Start there. Have several large garbage bags handy and get honest. Have you used the thing in the last year? Do you even know what it is used for? Trust me, eight track tapes are not coming back. Get rid of the old stereo. Some things even Good Will cannot use.

So have a bag for trash and a bag for donations. Work your way through each closet in the house. When it comes to your clothes closets be super honest here. You're not probably going to get into your skinny jeans again. And let's all hope shoulder pads do not come back in style. As a general rule if you've not worn it in a year it's time to let it go. Generally, I try to get rid of the same number of things I buy. Then my closets are usually not overcrowded.

Make frequent trips to the donation centers and accept the receipts they give you. Donations are great tax deductions. You can even go online at tax time, key the items in, and find out what they are worth in deductions. You'll be surprised at how quickly it adds up.

Next, go through all the drawers in the house and repeat the process. Clear out junk drawers and dresser drawers. Get rid of those holey underwear, and I'm not talking about the kind you wear on Sundays. Go ahead and throw away the entire collection of single socks. Their mates are gone forever, its time to move on. Go buy new socks. After you move.

Go through your collection of magazines and books. Have you read them all already? If so, get rid of them. Donate them to a local doctor's office, or hospital waiting room. Goodness knows they need them. Go through your personal records, shred any paperwork older than three years or anything from a closed account. Shredded paper is great for packing.

Move on to the kitchen. Donate all those kitchen gadgets that sounded good at the time, but are gathering dust in the cabinet. Throw away all those plastic cups your kids brought home from the local restaurants. And what about all those mugs? How many travel mugs does one person need?

Move on to the garage. I know it seems overwhelming, but grab an extra hand or two and tackle it on a Saturday. If you're garage is like ours, folks will start stopping because they are sure you're having a yard sale. No kidding. Keep in mind everything you give or throw away is one less thing you'll have to pack and move. And unpack.

Now that you've cleaned out the garbage and the donation items, it's time to pack what's left. Many people will tell you to go by your local grocery store or liquor store and pick up random boxes for free. Okay, you could do that, but I suggest ordering your boxes online from a packing company like U-line. They sell sturdy boxes that are uniform in size and make for easier, quicker packing and placement on the moving truck. When you are paying by the hour, you want things to go quickly. Go ahead and buy wardrobe boxes, too. They are a bit more, but it is worth the money to not have to take down and fold up all of your clothing only to have to unpack and re-hang it all at the new house.

Buy small boxes for books and heavier things, and large boxes for linens and towels. Medium sized boxes are good for shoes, toys, and kitchen wares. Buy several rolls of packing tape and invest in a couple of packing tape dispensers. Buy a couple of boxes of white wrapping paper. Do not use newspaper. The print on the newspaper will not come off of everything, and your hands will be covered in it.

Pack boxes completely but do not over fill. The top should be flat and not be raised or sunken. This will protect the contents and make the boxes stack better on the truck. Fill in extra space in boxes with paper wads. Label all the boxes with what room they will go to in the new house and with some of the contents. This will help greatly with unpacking. Start packing the items you use the least or will not need before the move at all. Out of season clothes, extra linens, pictures, and nicnacs.

The final week before the move, buy paper products and pack up your dishes. Plan to eat out for a few days and pack up your pots and pans, too. This is the best part of the move for me. No cooking!

Make packing the house a family affair. My oldest boys were ten and twelve when we moved last, and they packed their own rooms, completely. They even did their own pre-packing sorting of items to throw out and donate. They actually got rid of more things than I would have without them.

Now just a couple of tips for moving day and teh days after. If you have hired movers, make sure you do the walk through and inspection of your furniture. If you pass on this, and your furniture is damaged in the move, you are without a leg to stand on. Take pictures of your furniture just prior to the move, and if possible have the date appear on the photo. Try to establish a payment based on the entire job than rather by the hour.

After everything is moved and you are in your new home, if you have kids, get their rooms set up first. Chaos is unsettling to kids and we have found if we get their rooms in order asap they do better. Also, it gives them somewhere to be while the rest of the house is in disarray.

The most important thing is to pace yourself. Set goals for both packing and unpacking and schedule some breaks for yourself. Get away from it for a while. Moving can be an exciting time, but it is always a stressful time. Careful planning will help decrease the stress involved and make your move as smooth as it can be.