Moving House Tips

[madasacutsnake]

I have to move house. I like my new house. But the thought of getting all my stuff from the old house to the new house is making me sweat. Does any-one have any good tips? Like where to start? I have about 6 weeks until the big day.

Husband won't help BTW. If past experience is anything to go by, on moving day he will throw his rubbish into about 20 boxes and we will move it all for the sixth time in our combined history. The rest of it happens by Lizzie-magic. So ze-monkeys, chuck some ze moving magic my way...........

[Gatsby]

Okay, I'm a moving PRO. I've been in college/grad school for the last six years nonstop, and I've moved every 6mos - year (different dorm rooms, different sorority rooms, different apartments, different roommates, different towns - ARGHHHH).

Work from the small to the large. Do drawers first. Label everything. Put everything in boxes and SHUT THE BOXES, don't overfill them and leave them open - it's sooooo much easier when everything's stackable. Label everything.

And my #1 tip, the most useful thing I've learned, is in the closet: Don't take down all your hanging clothes off the hangers. Do this instead:

1. Take a section of clothes about one foot wide and separate them from the clothes hanging on either side.

2. Take a plastic garbage bag, drawstring type. Open it. Poke a hole in the center of the closed bottom.

3. Take the hangers (10 or so at a time) with the clothes still hanging, take them off the rack, and poke them through the hole you've made (just like a dry cleaner does). Hang them back up.

4. Pull the garbage bag down over the still-hanging clothes (just like a dry cleaner) and pull the drawstring shut at the bottom. Go around your entire closet doing this in sections. When finished, you will have about 20 garbage bags hanging from your closet, full of clothes.

5. When you move, take the bags down and stack them in order - when you get to your new house, hang them back up in reverse order. Pull off the garbage bags, and viola!

Be sure you get the drawstring kind, or you tie the bags in some way at the bottom, because stuff will fall off the hangers in the process of moving and if the bag's not closed, you'll have clothes strewn all over your lawn, stairs, etc.!

Also, I keep the following stuff in a box that is the first thing to go in:

1. Phone book
2. Telephone
3. Toilet paper
4. General cleaning supplies
5. Air freshener (so it smells like my own place right away)
6. Scissors/box knife for opening boxes
7. Cat

The only other thing is the POWER OF LABELING. Be specific! It'll help you when you're still unpacking on the third or fourth day and you've lost something essential. Specific labeling helps jog the memory as to where things are.

Also, here's a little spiritual stuff: Native Americans (and others) use sage as a cleansing herb. I like to buy a bundle of dried sage, and before I move a single thing into the house, I light it and walk around letting the smoke fill all four corners of each room to cleanse the house spiritually, so it will be fresh for new memories. But that, of course, is entirely optional.

Good luck!

[nycwriters]

Ugh, I hate moving. Just did it.

The only advice I can say: Don't drive a U-Haul through the Lincoln Tunnel -- those wide side mirrors make startling loud shatter-crashing noises when they hit the walls.

[Gatsby]

LOL!!!!

I had a moving disaster once that involved a big desk with a tall hutch standing upright in the back of a truck, and a low clearance driveway entry.

*sob* I miss that desk...

[priceyfatprude]

Do they have rummage/garage/yard sales in Oz?

[madasacutsnake]

Do they have rummage/garage/yard sales in Oz?

Yes - you wanna come to mine?

Don't drive a U-Haul through the Lincoln Tunnel

OK, Lincoln Tunnel. Avoid. Check.

[madasacutsnake]

Ta Gatsby!! Big help so far. OK, I need more!

[priceyfatprude]

Originally posted by madasacutsnake
Does any-one have any good tips? Like where to start?

Don't start this early, you will for SURE need something once you pack it. Start in a few weeks, packing stuff you don't use everyday, starting w/linen closets, basement, videotapes, DVD's, etc.

I can't add a whole lot to what GatsbyGirl has said, but I'll give it a go.


My biggest worry has always been moving into the place. I like to arrive a day early dressed all in white & bleach the sh!t out of everything.

Yes, I realize the landlord has cleaned the place. But not to my standards.

I bring a sponge w/a scrubby side, a bottle of Clorox clean up or Lysol all purpose cleaner with bleach, and some paper towels.

I wipe down every surface available. If I remember, I'll bring Windex & do the mirrors too.

If you are having people help you move, remember, they are not there to help you pack. Have everything ready to go when they get there. Pay them in beer & pizza, it's the American way. Wait, what is the standard payment in Oz for this?

Everything in GatsbyGirl's box is a good idea, I would add some tampons. If you don't have these easily accessible, it will happen. That's just the way life works.

Make sure you don't pack all the heavy books in 5 boxes, disperse them.

edited b/c i am dumb.

[Aphrodite]

I have mentioned it before...I am very good at moving. Try this.
I am 39. I have lived in 30 houses. My one sister is on house 32 and the other on house 27. we move lots.

use all pillowcases and sheets, towels, faceclothes etc, in place of packing material. All dresser drawers are little boxes just put pillow cases on the top of the drawer contents. Slide the drawers back into the dresser and you are good to go.

Some glass or knick knack stuff can go into those drawers and among your clothes.

Remember to remove all the shelves from the fridge. (especially glass ones)

Liquor stores and grocery stores have the best moving boxes.

Favourite possessions go in the car with you!!! (ie. picture or bell collection or something)

Keep the coffee maker handy it can not only make coffee but it can make soup, spaghetti, tea, hot dogs, instant potatoes etc.

Keep that one box in your car with the first stuff in it. Cleaning stuff, sugar, tp, light bulbs, hammer, screwdrivers, j cloths.

Buy a new broom for the new house.

[sparticle]

Here is how I used to move: Leave everything behind but the cat and a large suitcase full of necessities.

Of course, this also used to require a note on the kitchen table and a stealthy taxi ride at 3 a.m.

If you're taking the spouse, they might demand a more thorough packing job. Plus, you have to take them too. But at least they can help pack.

[Magpie]

I swear I do best under pressure... work faster, throw more out and get more done when I've packed at the last minute... go figure.

[sparticle]

Originally posted by Magpie
I swear I do best under pressure... work faster, throw more out and get more done when I've packed at the last minute... go figure.

That's one GREAT moving hint I can add in all seriousness. Know all that stuff you're not sure about? Thow it the hell out! Give stuff away to charity or friends, throw it in the rubbish, whatever. It's amazing how little you will ever actually regret having got rid of, and it's also astonishing how stuff can take on a life of its own and take up time, space and energy.

Less stuff=more room=more enjoyment of your brand-new space. You can be happy with less if you will only find it within yourself to get rid of the extra stuff!

If I ever move again, all I am taking is the barest of essentials.

[madasacutsnake]

Pay them in beer & pizza, it's the American way. Wait, what is the standard payment in Oz for this?

Beer. No pizza.

[funkytuba]

Books are worse than bricks... because if they were bricks, you'd realize you don't want a big box full of them.

The correct size box for paperback books is about the size a hard drive comes in. If you have any geek friends who build servers, hit them up for small boxes for books.

Think 2/3 the size of a paper box.

[Avalon]

I am a notoriously bad mover; like Magpie, I work best under pressure I am sorry..I am of noooo help here.

But I give you points for bravery and being married to someone who is as little help as my hsb. would be

Congrats on your new place!