5 WAYS TO MAKE PACKING EASIER

I am back!

I have reached the “other side” and life is once again fairly normal.  Thank goodness for that!  A regular schedule and an unpacked life are just what this girl needed.  Too many days of staring at a moving mess was wearing on me!

Moving is always a challenge, whether you move in town or across the country.  I have “5 ways to make packing easier” to share with you, and I think these are good for either one of those scenarios.  Anything that streamlines the process is a plus!

***My number one tip is simple, but for some it will be the hardest thing to do: GET RID OF STUFF.  My daughter and I moved from a 3,200 square foot house to a 1,050 square foot house, so downsizing our goods was not an option for us.  Since I was forced to go through every single item we owned, this was not an added step.  If I hadn’t used something within one year, it went out (this meant that I gave away quite a bit of my clothes closet).  I got rid of at least 75% of my garage, and even my kitchen was pared down a lot.  I sent items to the thrift store, held two garage sales and threw stuff in the trash.  You would be surprised what you can accumulate after living for 18 years in the same place.  Initially the throwing away was hard, but it has grown on me.  My daughter and I have been in our house for less that one week and I have taken two boxes of goods to the thrift store, and one more box is ready to go.I may or may not be addicted to giving things away!

***Number two is LABEL.  Label, label, label.  I wrote on every single box that we packed.  I wrote the name of the room and sometimes I added what was in the box.  I wish I had done it every time.  It’s takes just a couple of seconds to write “Randi’s Bedroom-Camera Tripod and Lenses”.  Just writing “Randi’s Bedroom” is good, but you may be surprised at how many things you will specifically look for as soon as you move in.  This is one step that I will definitely do better on next time!  This also helps if you have friends help you pack.  One friend of mine packed a lot of my kitchen and she labeled like crazy…and it sure made it easy to unpack important boxes first.

***Number three is USE LOTS OF ZIPLOC BAGS AND TAPE.  Anything that needs to be taken apart before moving will need to be put back together after moving.  Putting screws and other small items in bags and taping that to the item they were removed from is extremely helpful.  It also helps to take a picture of how something looks when it’s assembled

***Number four also involves TAPE.  Use it liberally.  Tape boxes shut like crazy!  You will be surprised how easy it is for a box to break out the bottom, which leads to it’s contents being all over the place.  I used six rolls of packing tape and I am glad I did.  Sure, it meant that I had to use a utility knife to open boxes, but everything stayed boxed up while moving from one house to the other.

***Number five is to pack a few “OPEN RIGHT AWAY” boxes.  Having one bathroom and kitchen box packed with things you will use right away is great once you reach your new home.  The kitchen box might contain plastic plates and forks along with some simple snacks, while the bathroom box will need toilet paper and soap.

There you have it.  My 5 ways to make packing easier.

Moving is never easy, but it can go smoothly with a little bit of planning and preparation.

Have a lovely day, friends!