Gather Little by Little

Our neighbors for the past 5 or so years moved last weekend. They wanted to be closer to their family. While we completely understood why they wanted and needed to move, we really hated to see them go. We had watched their son and twin daughters grow over the years and had become very close to them. We miss them already.

Moving is tough, both physically and emotionally. Here are 7 tips to make moving a little easier and make a stressful activity less stressful:

1 – Pack Early!

Avoid putting your packing off until the last minute. Packing is a very time consuming process. Not only are you trying to wrap everything up to keep it from getting broke, you are also trying to maximize box usage. Packing is also a good time to remove some stuff you no longer need. Make sure you have lots of different sized boxes, and specialty boxes for mirrors, clothes, etc. Get more boxes than you think you will need, trust me you’ll use them. Also, begin saving newspapers. They make great packing material. While using a professional to pack will be easier, packing yourself ensures you do the job right and will save you a considerable amount of money.

2 – Keep your valuables with you

Make sure you keep anything of high monetary or emotional value with you. This will keep the items from getting lost, damaged or stolen during the moving process. If you are moving long distance, than pack the items in your baggage, if moving locally just carry the box in your with you. Also, bring your important paperwork with you. Things like birth certificates, stocks, bank records, contact lists, etc.

3 – Keep the cleaning supplies out

Guilty as charged on this one. Don’t pack the vacuum cleaner and cleaning chemicals and supplies. You’ll need them right before you leave the house for good. After the movers (or you) have moved all of the furniture out, do a quick vacuum of the floors and carpet and do some a quick wipe down of the counter tops, floors and bathrooms. You wouldn’t want the house you’re moving into to be dirty, so don’t leave your dirt for the new owners.

4 – Turn off the water, adjust the hot water heater and the A/C or heat

Before you leave, turn off the water at the main cut-off switch. Since it may be a while before the new occupants move in, you don’t want to have to worry or deal with a major water leak while nobody is in the home. Also set the hot-water heater to vacation mode or turn it off all together. If in the summer, turn the A/C way up, say around 80 degrees. If winter, make sure you leave the heat on, set above freezing to avoid freezing the water pipes. Make sure you tell the real estate agent or new owners at closing that you’ve done these things, otherwise the new owners may get a surprise cold shower the morning after they move in.

5 – Prepare for the movers

If you are paying someone to move you, make sure you are ready for them the day they arrive. All of your packing should be complete, beds should be taken down, protect your mirrors and pictures and cover or bag furniture cushions. Make sure you keep some basic tools handy as well, like a socket set, couple of different sized screw drivers and a hammer. Never hurts to be prepared in case you need to take something apart.

6 – Get a neighbor or lawn service to mow after you leave and until you close

Depending on how long it will be before the house is occupied, you might want to consider asking a neighbor (or one of their children) or a lawn service to mow and trim once you have left. Your neighbors will appreciate it and so will the new occupants when they move in and don’t have traverse the amazon jungle to get in the front door.

7 – Use color coding

Color code each room in the new house and then color code the boxes using markers or colored stickers. Give the list to the movers so they know which rooms to put the boxes in. This is a great tip that makes things much more organized.

One more, and this one is important: Clean out the refrigerator! Nothing could be worse than the new occupants moving in and opening the refrigerator door only to find (and smell) a years supply of penicillin growing in your fridge! Clean the fridge completely out, and either use, throw away or give the contents to your neighbors. We received some milk, bacon and eggs from our neighbors before they left.