Kick stress to the curb during your move by organizing properly
You might not realize it, but one of the key components of moving is organizing. Optimizing moving organization weeks in advance makes the moving day much smoother—you won’t have to worry about where things go and whether you packed your belongings properly. Luckily, you can follow these 10 moving organization tips to make the big day much more manageable.
A few months before you move, go through your belongings, especially in less-used spaces like the basement, garage, and attic. Take all the items you don’t want or need and put them into piles for trash, donation, or to sell. That way, you won’t pack or pay for unnecessary items. With the cost of movers running between $900 and $2,530, you don’t want to add extra loading and unloading charges to your bill.
A moving checklist is one of the best organizational tools because it will help you make and stick to a timeline and keep everything orderly and on the right track. Whether your checklist is in a binder or an online app, it should include the following:
Research: Use online resources and word-of-mouth to find a moving company near you that fits your moving needs and budget.
Call utility companies: Make sure to start or transfer service for your electric, gas, water, internet, and cable at least two weeks before your move.
Appointments: Jot down any future meetings, such as walk-throughs or home showings. Call the movers and utility companies to re-confirm your moving day.
Make copies: Have copies of all receipts for things you bought for the move in case you need to return anything.
Organize belongings: Organize the contents of each room so you don’t end up packing dog toys with fine china.
Make meal plans: Try not to buy fresh groceries two weeks before your move. This way, you’ll force yourself to eat whatever’s in the pantry and fridge.
Label moving boxes: As you pack each box, give the box a number starting from 1, and write down all the contents inside that box. Keep an inventory list so you know the contents of each box.
Make a contact sheet: Help the movers by providing a contact sheet with your name, phone number, and the moving address.
Once you’ve decluttered and know how many items you have, you can start ordering supplies. If you hire movers, they typically come equipped with blankets, pads, dollies, hand trucks, and other heavy-lifting supplies. Other supplies include:
Packing tape
Permanent markers
Labels
Scissors
Box cutters
Cleaning supplies
Basic toolkit
You’ll want to place all your supplies in a caddy or basket and move the basket from room to room. This way, you’ll always have everything with you as you pack.
Whether you rent or own your home, you’ll have to perform a move-out cleaning. Plan to dust, vacuum, mop, wipe, scrub, and wash various surfaces to make your home spotless for its future occupants. One way to make this process easier is by making a cleaning caddy and filling it with disinfectant wipes, glass and whole-home cleaners, paper towels, rags, and scrub brushes. This way, as you pack up each room, you can wipe up surfaces and clean as you go—ensuring you won’t have a huge mess to clean up after you move out.
You want to start packing the least used items first and save your daily-use belongings for the end. So, a good place to start packing is in the garage, storage closets, the attic, or the basement. If you’re moving in the summer, you can easily pack away holiday decor and bulky winter gear first. Make sure not to mix items from different rooms, even if it’s tempting—it will make the unpacking process much less pleasant.
One of the best ways to make moving easier is to organize your belongings before moving into your new home. Think about it: While packing and taking everything out of closets and drawers, why not place your items in drawer inserts, containers, and bins? So when you unpack, everything is pre-organized. Buy universal-sized organizers, so you won’t have problems fitting into your new home.
Often, movers load and unload your moving boxes without keeping them in a specific order. So, to make things easier at your new home, it’s a good idea to assign a color to each room—kitchen, living room, bathrooms, basement, storage areas, and bathrooms. You can use labels, markers, or bright tape. Then, hang a color-coded piece of cardstock on the door to each room so everyone, including movers, friends, and family, know where each box goes.
If you want to go the extra step, you can use labels for moving boxes to break down the contents of each one. For example, instead of just using red labels for the kitchen, you can break each box down further by adding labels for utensils, pantry items, under-the-sink items, decorative kitchenware, and so on. This way, you can huddle all common boxes together, making it easier to unpack and organize.
You’ll want to keep certain items with you during the move, so keeping these items separate from the rest of your moving boxes is essential. Medications, paperwork, sentimental items, laptops and tablets, toiletries, a few days’ worth of clothes, and phone chargers are a few items you should keep cordoned off so they don’t get packed away by mistake.
Once you’ve got the organization bug, you’ll want to bring it with you to your new home. So, as you unpack your belongings, grab that cleaning caddy and start wiping surfaces, ensuring everything is nicely clean and disinfected. Next, start by unpacking one to two rooms a day—making sure to organize your belongings as you go. While you unpack, this would also be a great time to pull out your checklist and write down what new types of organization containers you need to keep your home organized and tidy.
