Marie Ricks is a professional organizer who has mapped out some ideas to make moving less of a headache.
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Prepare an “Organized For A Move” Binder to keep track of all the details of the move, timing, and information.
Prepare binder dividers:
Countdown
To Do Here
Packing
To Do There
Information
Begin gathering boxes.
Begin going through your closets and cupboards. Be ruthless. Give away, throw away, give away again!
Assign each room in your new home a color. For example: Kitchen = pink, Master bedroom = blue; Emma’s room = green, etc. On a large sheet of paper in each color, print the name of the room. Then make labels of matching colored paper about 3 or 4 inches square (memo cubes work great), index cards, Post-It notes or just colored paper cut to the right size). Mark the name of the room boldly across the top of the label. This is a great job for children who can write to help with.
Pack items which you want to keep but which are not necessary to your everyday living.
As you pack boxes, detail on the colored labels everything that is going into the box. When the box is full, tape it shut and attach the colored label with plastic packing tape on one end.
Make two more colored labels for the top and other side of the box with a shorter summary of the contents. Then, no matter how the boxes are stacked and stored, you will know what is inside.
When you are packing, label boxes on both ends and the top with “CAN STAY PACKED” if these items are of low importance and don’t need immediate attention.
Stack these packed boxes along a bedroom wall, in the garage, or in the basement (as in the clipart above).
Start all over again packing more things away, labeling boxes, and storing all over again.
Finally, for the third time, go through your house and pack away anything which you really, really don’t need.
Near the end, pack “Unpack Soon” boxes.
At the end, pack “Essentials” boxes (absolute necessities).
Additional hints:
Pack EVERYTHING possible in boxes, even if you are moving a short distance.
Pack as many items as possible in standardized boxes: small, medium and large.
Put heavy items in small boxes (for instance, books). Medium-weight items in mid-sized boxes (pans and kitchen utensils). Bulky items go in oversized boxes.
Pack each box as full as possible and then put crushed newspaper or scratch paper, or clothes and linens around the items until the box is completely full.
Hints for the move:
As soon as you arrive at your destination, post the large, colored signs with the room names in the doorways of each room in the new house with sturdy tape.
Position yourself inside the entry of your home before the moving van and all the help arrives. Then tell them where to put furniture, boxes, and appliances.
Leave the floor empty for the mattresses so you can get a good night’s sleep the first night. Leave the similar floor areas empty in other rooms.
You will direct helpers to the rooms: “Master bedroom (room with blue sign) – is down the hall, first door on the left.” Each box is to be put in the room where it will eventually be unpacked.
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