Moving Tips to Make Your Move Easier

When we made the decision that we were going to move earlier this year, I knew I had a ton of work on my hands. Packing up our entire house into cardboard boxes was an overwhelming thought for me. It was made a great deal easier by KonMari-ing our home prior to packing up, but it was obviously still a huge task ahead of me.

I thrive in organization and I wanted to make the moving process as organized and simple as possible. I’ve put together several moving tips that helped make our move run much more smoothly.

Moving Tips

1. Hire Movers

Everyone we had talked to who had hired movers in the past had said that it was 100% worth the money and that they would do it again in a heart beat. So we bit the bullet, shelled out the money, and hired movers. We’re not in college anymore. We have no desire to round up our friends and subject them to heavy labor in return for some pizza like we used to back 10 years ago. It was absolutely worth every penny, just as everyone says. We used Motivated Movers and they were very efficient, knew exactly how to pack the truck so that just about our entire house would fit perfectly (I call it packing Tetris), and moved quickly. They were understanding and accommodating when our closing got pushed back until Monday and we had to leave our stuff on the truck over the weekend. They also set up our beds, which was awesome! Highly recommend!

2. Create a color code

Grab a bunch of sticky notes from the Dollar Store and use them to color code your boxes. I even made little signs to go on the door so the movers knew which room was which. They appreciated the color code because they were able to easily navigate where everything needed to go without one of us standing there and having to direct traffic. Plus it made it much easier for us as we unpacked because all the boxes were already where they were supposed to go.

3. Label all boxes – room and contents

Be sure to label your boxes with the room it’s going to and what’s inside. Nothing’s worse than needing something and having to search through box after box to find it. Be sure to label fragile items as such in large letters.

4. Pack decor first and unpack it last

Wall and table decor is the easiest place to start because it’s not needed for every day life. Go ahead and get it packed away first and leave it to be unpacked last. It felt a little weird with nothing on the shelves or walls for a month, but it got me into the moving mindset. Once we got into our new home, I wanted to be sure everything was in it’s place and how I wanted it before I started to decorate my home. I will say though, once I had my decor as I wanted it, it finally started to feel like “home”.

5. Leave hanging clothes on hangers and pack in trash bags

This is one moving tip that was all over Pinterest and it helped so much. All i had to do was grab trash bags and hang the clothes in the closet. No taking them off the hangers, folding them up, taking them out of a suitcase, and hanging them back up again. So much less work to do it this way. It took a lot of space in our car, but it made it much easier.

6. Wrap console cords together and label

Most consoles have multiple cords – cable cord, power cord, HDMI, etc. As you’re packing up your consoles, take all of the cords from each individual console and wrap them up together. Be sure to label them so that they’re easy to find when unpacking.

7. String necklaces through straws to keep from tangling up

This made packing my necklaces so easy! After you have them through the straws, take a handful of them and wrap them in plastic wrap to keep them safe.

8. Make “essentials baskets” for quick grab items

Make baskets of essentials for items that you may need that first night in your new home

Bedroom – pillow, blanket, sleeping bag/bed sheets, change of clothes (or keep a small suitcase with a change of clothes for each person)

Bathroom – Toilet paper, towels, shampoo and soap, bath mat

General – Paper towels, essential cleaning supplies, packing tape, scissors, box cutter, screwdriver, trash bags, and disposable kitchen items for the pizza you’re inevitably going to order that evening (paper plates, napkins, plastic utensils, plastic cups).

9. Use Styrofoam plates in between plates and line the box with a blanket for padding

This will keep your plates padded and save on bubble wrap. Did you know bubble wrap is ridiculously expensive?!

10. Use stuffed animals as fillers/padding

For large, heavy items (such as kitchen appliances) you may need to use large boxes, but you don’t want to fill them to the brim because they will end up being too heavy. Pack with a few heavy items, then use stuffed animals to keep them from rattling around.

11. Wrap large mirrors/framed photos in blankets

Obviously cheaper than bubble wrap! Just wrap vertically and horizontally with packing tape so it doesn’t come undone.

These few things made unpacking SO much easier. Some take just a little bit of extra time, but in the end you’ll be happy you took the time to do them. I hope you find them useful with your next move. Do you have any packing tips you’d like to share? Drop them below!

Pin it for later!