The moving season is upon us and here are my “professional organizer” moving tips that will make your move an easy project .
#1 Safety – Clear all walkways/hallways. Friends and family do not know your home like you. Keeping them safe means no accidents.
#2 – Physical preparations. Everyone should start with stretching exercises. No one needs pulled muscles. Stop and rest your body during the day. Remember the primary lifting rule BEND AT THE KNEES – KEEP YOU BACK STRAIGHT! Have bottled water & food available for all helpers. Take breaks!
#3 Create a working space in every room so you can work freely to group, purge and pack your items. Beds are also suitable for packing; just cover the top of the bed with a sheet of plastic in case items are dusty or dirty.
#4 Do the walk around – Arm someone with a garbage bag, clear bag, and blue bag. Garbage = obvious, clear = give aways, blue = recycling. Note: Kitchens & basements will usually be recycling treasure troves. Touch it once. A full bag goes to the car immediately = ready for Value Village or Goodwill on the way home.
#5 Boxes – forget the liquor stores! Buy 3-4 varied sized boxes that are uniformed. Buy lots. Movers refund the returns. Be safe; keep the weight down per box. Choose boxes with handles for obvious reasons. Uniform boxes look much neater when stacked especially during open house appointments. They also stack better in moving truck & storage space & PODS.
#6 Supplies – Keep all your moving supplies in one area of the house; this way everyone knows where they are and you can keep an eye of your levels.
#7 Get packing! Buy a tape gun and quality tape (3M, Scotch are my favorites). Trust me, better tools and products = less frustrations during the day.
Sharpies – black markers with chisel tips last longer & are inexpensive. Red markers for marking the weight (H= heavy weight, M= medium weight, L= light weight. This way the movers know how to quickly stack boxes in the truck.
Labels: print clearly the location and general category i.e. Kitchen / dishes
Help the movers! Label the top and two sides with details.
Note: Add to labels where the items came from helps people to quickly identify the contents.
#8 Colour Coordinate! Each room gets a colour i.e. yellow = kitchen. Same colour sticker on each box. Same sticker colour on the entranceway of room at the new house. Movers charge by the hour so beat them at their game! Add a “Boxes here” on the walls at the new house so it leaves room for furniture.
#9 Educate yourself with movers, cleaners, landscapers and organizers. Create a list and call to compare. Call the references! Anyone can create a website and have a truck but that does not constitute a moving company.
#10 Purge and contain. Do not take what you want, take what you need! Checking Kijiji or ebay will help you learn what has value. Use the moving opportunity to not clutter the new home. Still can’t give it up then have a reversed housewarming party. Instead of people bringing a house warming gift they choose one of your treasures & take it away with them!
Bonus tip – Organizer clothing gear – love cargo pants because you can carry items such as markers, small measuring tape, exacto knife and gloves. This way you can move freely around the house and tackle packing tasks with ease.
Wishing you and your family well in your moving endeavors & new beginnings!
