Moving home can be one of life’s most stressful experiences. If you have not moved lately, you may have forgotten just how stressful it can be. There are a million and six things to do, usually all at the same time. There is one thing that you can count on as a given… moving is messy and disorderly. Even when the move is well-organized and you employ the services of a removal company, moving wreaks havoc. There are, however, steps that you can take to decrease some of the madness and make moving your home and family a little less stressful. Follow these simple moving tips and spare yourself some moving day agony.
- Plan your packing
- Material gathering
- Prepare furniture
- Colour coding
- Organizing room
Plan your Packing
Like anything else in life, a proper plan assures that you move will flow far smoother than a hap-hazard effort. Write out your intentions and assign packing projects for each member of the family. Even the children or elderly members of the family can handle smaller projects, (linens, towels, and sheets for example) which will help make the overall project easier. Planning a move in stages allows each member of the family to not only have a task, but to help others when their tasks are complete, making your move a strategic, all in success.
Gather Materials before you Begin
One of the major reasons a move grinds to a halt is the lack of boxes and packing material. Unless you want to start and stop, and arrive at your new home with broken items that were improperly buffered when packed, gather all of the needed material beforehand. If you’re using a house removal company, then check if they can provide you with the boxes and packaging you need as part of the deal. Once a project such as moving stops, it is incredibly hard to get the ball rolling smoothly again.
Colour Coding as Part of your Strategy
Investing in a pack of multicoloured magic markers can increase the efficiency of your move, making unpacking that much easier. A colour-coding system allows you to use different colours for breakables or room assignments on the outside of boxes so that they are more organized and you have less breakage in fragile boxes. Colour assignments can include…
- Different colours for various rooms
- A colour for each member of the family (Assignments)
- Separating cloth from books from breakables
- A variety of options according to your strategy
Duct tape is even more inexpensive as packing tape or, if you are using plastic bins, they also come in a variety of colours. Remember, the more organized your move is, the smoother it will flow. If your boxes are marked with the name of the room they are destined to be moved to, this will make it easier for the removal company team to place your stuff exactly where you want it to go.
Organize your Move by Room
Once each room has been packed up, separate the boxes in piles so that each pile can be moved together. An example of this can be a stack of packed clothes, a stack for breakable possessions, and a stack for bedding and curtains. Separating your boxes or bins allows for easier loading onto the truck, moving van, or trailer and makes unloading even easier as like items stay with like items. It also allows for uniform colour coding from room to room for an overall easier move.
Prepare Furniture before Moving
Removing drawers from dressers and movable cabinets makes these items lighter and easier to move. Many people use tape and cardboard to secure the drawer tops, leaving each drawer full of whatever is in it. Doing this saves on boxes, time in packing, and allows the entire dresser or cabinet to be moved together without emptying drawers. Remember to retrieve anything you need from drawers before you seal them.
The use of sliders or cardboard and tape to secure legs on furniture ensures that they do not scratch or otherwise damage floors and carpets. This is imperative if you are renting your home and need your security deposit back from the previous landlord.
Any furniture that can be disassembled should be and then reassembled in the new location. This may take a bit more time, but it makes up for it by saving space in moving vehicles, reducing the number of trips or allowing for more items to be loaded. As you disassemble each piece, make sure you have a Ziploc bag ready to pop the screws and fixings into, then seal it and tape it to the piece of furniture. Wrap glass doors well to prevent breakage during moving using the tape colour indicated for extremely fragile items. Glass cabinet doors, especially etched glass is harder to replace than ordinary window glass.
Enjoy Your New Home
Following these tips will help you to move in a more organized fashion, making it faster and far easier. A solid effort and a plan of attack are always better than the alternative. Whether you are moving across town or cross country, if you have a strategy and stick to you, moving day becomes far less stressful and your treasured items stand a far greater chance of reaching their destination unscathed.
Final Tip: Keep all important papers and identification such as birth certificates and medical records with you. If anything happens to your other possessions, they are replaceable but it is far more difficult to replace vital paperwork. If you’re using a removal company, such as removals to Australia or abroad, then make sure your important paperwork doesn’t get packed – take it on the journey with you in your car. Stay focused and positive and you will enjoy your moving experience and revel in the excitement of unpacking in your new home.
