House of Order: Moving Moments

Most of us are occasionally involved with moving ourselves or with helping someone else move. It is an intense experience when you are the one moving. It can be a time of service if you help others pack up. Sometimes the move is a happy surprise, sometimes it is an anticipated event that awaits the sale of your abode, and sometimes you are the emergency personnel called in because time and energy are of an essence.

If You Are Moving Right Away

When a move sneaks up on you, stay calm and do several hours of effective planning before you set the move into motion. Set up a Move Binder (A place for all move paperwork), begin sharing your good news and asking for help, and then do a whole house/garage/yard assessment to see how big the project is going to be.

First Day Boxes

One adult member of the family should be assigned to gather and then pack all items that will be needed during or right after the move. These will be called “First Day” boxes. They will be the last to go on the truck, the first to come off, and are packed with the intent to help you set up and function on the most basic level for the first week in your new abode.

Some of the items packed in these “First Day” boxes will include all paperwork needed now or right away after the move, all keys, and all toiletries necessary for the most basic of life’s functions. Additional “First Day” boxes might hold linens, towels, soaps, shampoos, and lotions.
Some smart movers put “First Day” items in suitcases because luggage doesn’t get easily confused with packing boxes.

Treasure Boxes

Children are terribly concerned during a move about retaining their treasures close by. Giving each child a “Treasure Box” to decorate and fill helps to alleviate much of the stress that will reside in their hearts. These “Treasure Boxes” are also kept aside to be the last on the truck and the first to come off.

Get Lots of Help

When there is a rush move, you need several helpers every day between now and the move. After you have set aside your “First Day” box items and put aside items that will be needed to clean the house up in preparation for the move, it is time to begin wholesale packing. Let others help pack up your items. It is useful to pack a box full with items from just one room and then to label it with that room’s name on both ends and the top. This will make it easier to place when it is unloaded.

If You Are Moving Eventually

If there is a chance you might move (but maybe not for a while), what do you do? This very circumstance happens to all of us from time to time. You put your house up for sale knowing that the market is volatile and it might be months, it might be weeks, or it might happen tomorrow.

And, in between times the pressures of this transition are many. You need to be ready to be out of a house in 30 days or less and yet you want to maintain a semblance of "ordinary living" in the meantime.

May I suggest a successful plan for pre-packing and living out of boxes that works very well?

Begin Gathering Boxes

They should be easy to open and close, stackable, and sturdy. My favorite sources are those found at copy centers (copy paper boxes which are sometimes free for the asking) and produce boxes (usually free if you’re friendly with your produce stocker at the local grocery store). Both of these boxes meet the requirements: easy to open and close, stackable, and sturdy.

If free boxes are not available, purchase the best you can afford. Try to keep them the same sizes, shape, and durability. This makes them easier to stack and store. It is better if these have easy-to-remove lids.

Go Through Your Closets and Cupboards

Discard and/or give away every possible item you really, really don't need. You will be surprised how much you will pack, move, unpack and then wonder why you went to all that trouble when you could have just given it away now instead of later. Be ruthless. Give away, give away, and give away!

Pack Up

After your grand giveaway is done (good job!), pack items that you want to keep but which are not necessary to your everyday living. These include trinkets, less-read books (which should be kept in the smaller boxes so they will be easy to lift and move), craft supplies, extra clothing, and unused toys. It is best to keep like with like. Don't mix books, toys, fabric, and papers in the same box because retrieving becomes more complicated.

If you pack someone's treasures, of course, there will be some mixing of items, but keep each person's items in separate boxes (even if some of the boxes aren't completely full yet).

Label the Boxes

Label containers using large letters with a permanent marking pen indicating the contents. It just might be you will need something before you actually move and you want to easily locate it.

Stack the Packed Boxes

Stack boxes along a bedroom wall, in the garage, or in the basement (if you are lucky enough to have one). Try to keep all these “packed” boxes together. This facilitates rummaging through them to find something you have packed. Stack the boxes one box deep along walls or two boxes deep elsewhere. This improves access. In other words, leave aisles so you can see and retrieve items from any box you have packed.

Start All Over Again

Start the packing process again. Put more things away. Once the first items are gone, you will still see many other things that really aren't necessary to your everyday functioning and could easily be stowed. Pack away, label boxes, and store.

Repeat a Third Time

Finally, for the third time, go through your house and pack away anything that you really, really don't need. This process makes your home look neater, bigger, and less cluttered. These are real benefits when persuading a potential buyer your house is just the right one. A neat, orderly house is very appealing and besides, with all this pre-packing you’ll have most of your packing done and far less housework in the meantime.

When the decision is made to move, begin packing right away. There will be enough stress making arrangements, renting a moving truck, and finding a new place to live. Don't let packing be part of the problem. Instead make it part of the solution.

If You Want to Help With a Move

When you get called to come and help, you can be very useful. But, come prepared with everything you will need to be useful by stocking yourself with items from your own home. Bring scissors, razors, moving tape, any extra boxes you can spare, plus all those shopping bags you have tucked away for packing material. Bring a clobber or waist apron to tie around your waist and store your supplies. And consider bringing rubber gloves, a bucket, and cleaning products to touch up clean the rooms as you finish packing them. Wear comfortable clothing that can get dirty and stained without worry and a sturdy pair of shoes.

Remember, you are helping at the time of greatest need and while you will take direction from the owners of the home, you can expedite packing by bringing your own tools (maybe labeled well) to help things along.

If you can’t contribute by packing and moving boxes, remember that a treat or easy-to-eat food (such as a tray of hot rolls, honey butter, and chilled milk), a card table and a couple of chairs are very useful during the last hours when the furniture is all packed up in the truck and it still seems there are hours of more work to be done.

Everyone can help during a move. Whether you are in charge, need to prepare for the eventuality or want to help out, remember to think ahead, plan well, and come armed with moving tools to make this move an event to remember!