We put a contract on a house, nothing was packed.
Our house was appraised appropriately, nothing was packed.
Our house passed all inspections, nothing was packed.
Negotiations were finalized, nothing was packed.
We got the green light for closing two weeks early, nothing was packed.
I wouldn’t consider this procrastination; I simply didn’t believe it was going to happen. I continually felt like the rug was going to be pulled out from under us. There was no reason why I felt this way, and I wouldn’t normally consider myself as pessimistic as I sound right now. Subconsciously, I think, I was trying to protect my high expectations from disappointment. Such a silly coping tactic that left me with only 3 days to pack up our entire house before moving. Not a great idea, and extremely anxiety provoking. HOWEVER, with my frantic pleas for moving tips, you all were there with tons of advice. As much as I wish I was this brilliant, this is a compilation of moving tips that y’all gave me.
- Pack the vacuum last so that you can clean the apartment/house you are leaving. (from Meg)
- Lowe’s has great boxes. (from Joy)
- Place foam disposable plates between your dishes for packaging to prevent them from chipping. (from Meg)
- Pack a few books in every box so that you have medium weighted boxes as opposed to several insanely heavy boxes. This makes books easier to carry and no one gets hurt. (from Jessica)
- Make a basket for keys and wallets so they don’t get lost or accidentally packed. (from Meg)
- Have labels made of room names so that you can quickly stick them on boxes. This will help your movers know where to put boxes and ultimately help you unpack. (from Stephanie) Labels could include: kitchen, living, master, guest, master bath, bath two, garage, linen dining, heavy, fragile, storage, don’t know.
- Make a list of everything you put into a box and tape it to the house side, or write the contents directly on the side of the box so that you know what is inside (from Danie).
- Number your boxes so that you know how many boxes you should expect to move. It is also key to remember this number.
- If you’re moving yourself, you don’t have to pack your clothes. Leave them on the hangers and create a “clothes line” out of Ratchet straps. (from Rich & Lura) This is so genius!
- Do your laundry before you pack or move. When you get to your new home you will have tons of dusty things that will need to cleaned.
- Liquor and wine stores have tons of great boxes for packing. They are made perfectly to package kitchen items (i.e. glasses, vases, knives, etc.)
- Before moving, have new tags made for your pet. You want those on your pet as soon as they arrive at the new home. Also update microchip information for each pet.
- Everyone will ask for your new address, so before you even move have change of address cards made so that they can be sent out immediately upon arrival at your new home. (Please don’t be offended if you didn’t get a card from us; I’m a bit scattered brained with the move & the holidays. If I did miss you, please let me know so that I can drop one in the mail for you)
- To follow up with #four, 7-10 days before you move, have your mail officially forwarded so that you don’t miss any bills, fabulous magazines or awesome Christmas cards from friends and family. When you do this will have to depend on when the previous owners have left and when you actually get to move-in, so you will have to use your best judgment for timing.
- When you do get to your new home, go ahead and change all of your addresses as soon as possible. Don’t forget: banks, driver’s license and registration, voters registration, magazine subscriptions, student loans, bills, all online accounts where you subscribe.
- Timing IS everything. If you are moving to Texas: DO.NOT.MOVE.IN.THE. SUMMER. Just don’t do it. We have moved twice in the summer since living in Texas; it was two of the stupidest decisions we have ever made. Moving in December makes moving much more pleasant.
- If you have people coming to help you move, have plenty of water ready and offer to feed them after they move you.
- Humble yourself and ask for help. This will make your life easier and people who love you WANT to help. Let them! This is always so challenging for me because I feel guilty asking for help. Sometimes you just have to let go of that guilt so you can be showered with blessings. HUGE thank you for those who volunteered to help us move!
After a wonderful 3 week vacation I’m back at work today, refreshed and ready to go. Happy Monday friends!
