|
 The day you decide that it is time to start
looking for a new home is also the day you should start preparing
for the move. It is not unthinkable to start collecting those
packing boxes you will need. Also start sorting through the items
that you own by making keep, donate and toss piles.
In this video the gal is super organized! She starts her list,
creates a calendar, and does everything by schedule. Not everything
on her list will work for you, but it is a good staring place.
A Planner’s
Guide to Moving
As soon as you know where you are moving to and when, it is time to
research rental trucks or moving companies and choose one. It is
never too early to reserve the truck you will need if you are moving
on your own. Get the details of the rental agreement and make that
reservation for your moving day(s). Also be sure to consider what
size of truck you may need, and remember you or your spouse will
probably be the one driving it, so get something you are sure you
can handle.
For a long distance drive, you want a big truck for sure. It will
save you time and trips. For a shorter move, you may end up with a
smaller truck, but remember, you pay by the mile so extra trips
means extra money. Also consider how well the truck is going to fit
into the area you are moving from and to. If either street is
narrow, if there are a lot of trees, or if the space you need to
back up into to get to either house is tight, you need to take that
into consideration.
And, if you have friends and family with pick-up trucks, ask now.
Give them plenty of advance notice and you will be more likely to
get a yes when you ask for help.
Check on all the utilities at the new home and see what deposits you
will need to make. Also find out if you need to sign up for a new
account in person or can you do it over the phone or the internet.
In this day and age, often a husband cannot speak for a wife and
vice versa. Find out if you both need to be present in order to have
both names on a utility account.
Added costs to consider
Another thing that you should do ahead of time is plan your budget.
Figure out what your deposits will be for those utilities, and don’t
forget to call your insurance agent. Did you know the cost of your
vehicle insurance can change according to where you live? Estimate
the cost of that rental truck. Budget for extra cleaning supplies
and also take note of any quick repairs you will have to do to the
home you are leaving, as well as the home you are moving into. Those
small things add up quickly and if you have the ability to set aside
money early, you’ll have less stress later.
If you have homeowners insurance, check with your agent about the
coverage that may or may not be available during transit. Do the
same if you are currently buying renters insurance. Some companies
do offer coverage for property in transit or in storage, but the
agent must be notified.
Start packing early. Be a sorter first. Go room to room and take
inventory of what you have. Sort out everything in the room into
three categories - keep, donate, trash, and be honest with yourself.
If you’ve had it stuck in a box for a year and can’t even remember
where it came from ... donate it.
If you love it and know you will have room to set it out to be
appreciated in your new home, then keep it.
If it is worn out and worthless….then toss it. You’ll thank yourself
when it is time to unpack if you do your sorting before you move.
Look at the rooms in your house. How often do you utilize the room?
If it is not often, then get to work and pack that room up first.
Then move on to another. Home décor items throughout the house are
nice, but not necessary to daily living, so go ahead and pack those
up as well.
The rooms you live in are a bit more tricky. In the bed and bath,
chances are you need most of the things that are in those rooms on a
regular basis. You can sort through the closet and if you have a lot
of clothing and shoes, pick out a week's-worth of clothing to keep
accessible. Everything else, get packing!
Once you start packing, there are some good “hacks” and advice in
these two videos. Be sure to check them out!
12 moving
hacks you should know
Frugal Moving
Tips + Making Life Easier
A favorite pack-hack is to use garbage bags with draw string
closures. Group your clothing on the hanger, pull the bag up over
the clothing and use the drawstrings to secure the bag around the
neck of the hangars. Keep those bags in your closet until moving
day, then just grab the bunch by the hangar hooks and carry them out
to lay out nicely in the back of a vehicle.
In the kitchen, keep the basics that you use on a daily basis and
start boxing the rest. The large roasters, big pasta pots, and
probably the majority of your plates, glasses, cups, and other items
can be packed well ahead of the move.
In the last few days, don’t stress yourself preparing meals. Take
advantage of the ready-made foods that are available at every
grocer. While eating out on a daily basis is a lot of money, you can
stay within your budget with carefully selected items that can go in
the microwave or on a slice of bread.
In the bathroom another favorite hack is cling wrap! As the time to
move approaches, you have to pack up the jars and bottles in the
bathroom. To help keep them from leaking or spilling, remove the
caps, cover the opening of the jar or bottle with cling wrap, put
the cap back on.
Cling wrap, is a great way to keep your drawer organizers organized.
For example if you use a silverware tray for your flatware, wrap the
tray in two or three layers of cling wrap, drop them in the moving
box and when you unpack, cut off the wrap and shove your organizer
into its new drawer.
Start as soon as you know you are moving collecting those boxes.
While grocery stores are a great place to start asking for boxes,
there are other places as well. Check with local retailers about
what they do with their boxes and see if they will save you a few.
Also, offices. The boxes that reams of copy paper come in are great
for moving.
Here’s a local tip for you as well. Lincoln City
Clerk Peggy Bateman says that they get big boxes and they have them
tucked away in a store room, so stop in there for sure.
[to top of second column] |
Packing materials are sometimes a big challenge. In
this day and age, there are fewer newspapers, so grabbing up those
products has gotten a bit more difficult.
So, here’s a hack from your linen closets. How many
towels do you actually need? Keep out what is necessary and the rest
of those towels use to wrap up your delicate items such as glassware
and dishes.
You can do the same thing with spare pillowcases, sheets, and
blankets. The larger pieces are good for covering and cushioning
furniture during the move.
If you are moving from a smaller place to a larger one, then you
have the advantage when it comes to the days following the move. As
you move, bring in your furniture and put it where it will live for
the foreseeable future. But, for example, don’t set up the spare
bedrooms. Leave the furniture tucked along your walls, and as you
come into the house with all those boxes, you can take a good number
of them directly to those spare rooms. Take your kitchen boxes to
the kitchen, bath to bath, and of course the essential items you
need in the bedrooms or home office area. The rest of it, keeping
out of sight is much nicer for the unpacking process.
Remember, unpacking is a chore and it takes time. Having your new
house messed up with boxes and bags is going to make it harder for
you to envision where you want to put things, and increases stress.
Decorating your home is like creating a painting, you are much
better off to start with a blank canvas. In addition, you’re going
to have friends, family, and new neighbors who are anxious to visit
your new digs. You will give a better impression if you don’t have
rooms full of clutter!
Also, another really good tip…label those boxes with a marker,
everywhere! First, don’t use self-adhesive stickers. On those damp
days those puppies can come off then you have done nothing but waste
your time and money. A magic marker is a great thing. Secondly,
label each box in multiple locations. If you have help coming for
the move it is not reasonable for you to ask them to make sure every
label is facing outward. If you label all four sides of your box
PLUS the top of the box, you’ll be much happier in the end.
When you arrive at the new house, be prepared to be the ‘director.’
When a friend or relative is standing in the door holding the large
television, or a group is coming in with boxes. They don’t want to
stand there holding things while you decide where they should go.
Have your plan in mind. Go visit your new home, and lay it out in
your mind to a certain degree at least. And, another thing that is
very important. You and your helpers are all going to get tired
before the day is out. Remember to be nice, and say thank you. It
will go a long way toward keeping temperaments in check.
Be prepared to clean! A new home means that you are probably moving
into something that is nice and neat, considered move-in ready, but
it still needs to be cleaned. Make sure you keep those cleaning
supplies handy so you can clean up the kitchen and bathroom in
particular early in the move.
Also you will need to do cleaning at the old place. Here’s a
warning, if you are moving your cooking stove, be prepared for
grossness! No matter how neat and tidy you are in the kitchen, when
you pull that stove out from between the cabinets you will be
shocked! Be sure to do that at least a couple days before your move,
and then get some extra strength cleaner to cut through the muck.
The same could also be true with your refrigerator if it is located
close to the stove.
If you don’t have rugs, buy some. Don’t go overboard, you can find
good used rugs at thrift stores everywhere. If you have a wet moving
day, laying rugs in the high traffic areas as you come into your new
home will help save carpeting and even hard surface floors from
unnecessary soiling.
On the wet days, rugs are better than plastic because with wet feet,
the plastic becomes a slip and slide! Not good when you are carrying
grandma’s antique table lamp into the house!
And, if by chance you are downsizing, you are at the disadvantage
because you’re going to be trying to fit a big house worth of stuff
into a smaller home. This is when the sorting ahead of time really
pays off. Just move what you plan to keep and use.
A couple of years ago, local real estate agent Glenda Allison was
the guest speaker at a 'Lunch and Learn' at Christian Village. She
was talking to three couples who were moving from their larger homes
to smaller apartments at the CV. She told the group not to expect
that their children were going to swoop in and take all their extra
stuff, because the fact is the kids probably don’t want it. Sure,
there will be a few exceptions, but don’t think that you’ll be able
to pawn off on the kiddos all the stuff you no longer have room for.
Be objective when you sort, and come to the realization that
downsizing means downsizing everything, not just the size of the
house!
Be sure to plan ahead and get as much as possible done early. The
night before the big move you DO NOT want to be up all night packing
last minute items. Get it all done to the best of your ability, and
then get a good night’s rest. You may be too nervous and excited to
sleep, but just the act of lying quietly can rest your body and your
brain.
On the day of the big move also remember to take breaks. Yes, you
want to get it done, but give yourself and your helpers time for
rest. Have plenty of beverages on hand, and remember to break for
lunch.
So, if you’re getting ready to move, will it be stress free thanks
to this article? Probably not. But hopefully if you follow of few of
these tips, it will go smoothly and before you know it you’ll be
settled in nicely at your new place. Good Luck!
[Nila Smith]
|
