15 of the Best Moving Tips We’ve Found: The Ultimate Guide
There is a lot of information online about any topic you can imagine. We live in an age where you can learn almost anything you want from the comfort of your home as long as you have a laptop. This doesn’t mean, however, that it’s easy to separate the good from the bad – the useful from the useless. This is especially true when it comes to moving tips – there is an abundance of information, but not all of it is helpful. It can be tough to weed out the bad advice from the good. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy for us to ascertain good advice – we have years of experience, and help countless families across the Denver metro area successfully move all over the nation. We scoured Pinterest and the web, and found 15 of the best moving tips we found to pass on to you!
15 of the Best Moving Tips
1. Use Soft Goods to Pad Your Boxes
You can spend a lot of money on packing materials, but you end up just packing away perfectly good, soft items like blankets anyway. Why not use pillows, stuffed animals, towels, sheets, mattress pads, and other soft items to protect your breakable goods? You’ll likely still have to purchase packing material, but it will be much less.
2. Pack Within Items
The same thing goes for packing up items that could hold other things. For example, fill your luggage with heavier items that would be much easier to roll than life (think books!). You have to pack them both – why buy a box to do it?
3. Pack a First Night Box
Nothing is worse than trying to get to sleep after moving day if you don’t know where anything is. Forget trying to find your toothbrush, clean clothes, and pillow in the mess without planning ahead. Instead, pack a first night box with all the essentials.
4. Label Everything
Labeling is the most important thing. You may think that a quick jot of what room things came from will be enough when it comes to unpack. This isn’t the case. You’ll quickly forget exactly what is in each box within a few days. Label, label, label.
5. Invest in Good Packing Material
Don’t skimp on materials – invest in good cardboard boxes, packing tape, labels, and paper. Cheap boxes break, inexpensive tape splits, and before you know it – your valuables are broken all over the floor. It’s worth it to invest in good materials.
6. Use Color-Coding
Color-coding is exceptionally useful and valuable on moving day. Use different color labels for each room in the house. That way, the movers or friends and family who help will know at a glance which room each box belongs in.
7. Take a Deep Breath
It’s easy to get uptight on moving day. Nothing good comes from unnecessary stress, however. Take a deep breath, plan ahead, and go with the flow. Having a good sense of humor will lift your spirits if there are any issues.
8. Pre-Clean Your New Home
Think about it: When will your home be completely free of furniture, clothing, boxes, and clutter? Before moving day, of course! Take this time to clean your house from top to bottom, so that when you move in, you don’t unpack in a dirty house.
9. Don’t Forget the Shower Curtain
After a long day of moving, you’ll want to take a long, hot shower. If you forget a shower curtain and rod, you’ll be out of luck. Most people take shower curtains with them when they move – be sure you pick up a new one before moving day!
10. De-Clutter Beforehand
This is an important one: Don’t move things you never use, and never will use in the future. Just because you’ve had it forever doesn’t mean you should donate or toss an item if you’re never going to use it. De-cluttering will save you lots of time when it comes to packing, moving, and unpacking.
11. Keep Boxes Uniform
Investing in boxes will help with another aspect of moving: Keeping boxes uniform. This will make packing up the truck much easier!
12. Garbage Bags for Clothes
This tip works especially well if you’re only moving a short distance: Put a garbage bag around clothes hanging in your closet. Tighten them around the hangers at the top, and on moving day, all you have to do is put them in the truck.
13. Fuel Your Move
It takes a lot of energy to move. Fuel your move by having plenty of bottled water, snacks, and easy meals (think takeout or pizza) on-hand. You’ll feel much better if you’re not hangry!
14. Forward Mail
Don’t forget to forward your mail: Lost bills can add unnecessary headaches to your post-move unpacking and settling.
15. Hire a Good Moving Company
You can spend a lot of time packing carefully, but if hire a bad moving company that mishandles your belongings, you’ll end up with broken furniture and missing boxes. Don’t skimp on moving – hire someone who has the reviews and track record you want.