Share your best moving tips!

amother

Purple

Thu, Apr 27 2017, 7:09 am

I figure I'm a little early now, since most people won't be moving for another 2 or 3 months, but I may have forgotten by then-

I just figured out that empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls make great fillers in book boxes, when there's an inch or two of space in a corner because of different-sized books! Luckily I had a bunch on hand I'd been saving for summer projects with kids, but it's not too late to start collecting some if you're moving in the summer.

Please share any tips or insights you have on moving- packing, helping kids adjust, managing without a stove for a few days if the gas company is slow to send out a technician to hook it up, anything!

Also just remembered- packed chanukiot in the same box as sukkah decorations. The last time we moved I had stuck them in a "miscellaneous" box that hadn't been unpacked by Chanuka and spent ages hunting for them. This way I'm hoping I'll find them easily since I'll be opening the sukkah-decoration box 2 months before Chanuka.

amother

Pewter

Thu, Apr 27 2017, 10:06 am

1) Assign each room a number and label each box with that number. Then on moving day, hang up huge signs on each door so the movers know where to put each box.

2) On each box write down exactly what you put in there, down to the smallest detail. You'll thank me later.

3) First thing when you arrive to your new house, make the beds. (Roll up linen/blanket/pillows from bed, stuff into a garbage bag, so all you gotta do is unroll once in your new house.) It makes house feel like home and at bedtime, you may not have energy left to make them but you do want to sleep in them.

4) Plan now what you will eat/feed your kids the day of the move and the day after. If you're moving to a new neighborhood, you may not know yet where to buy ready-made food and you might not want to spend the time going out. I had 2-3 frozen one pan suppers that I was able to warm up in my toaster oven.

5) Put as much as you can into cardboard egg boxes. Even odd-shaped stuff. You can stack those boxes, and it helps streamline the moving/unpacking.

6) If you can, organize and de-clutter as you pack. At minimum, don't pack things you have never used or haven't used in the last 2-3 years. Dump or give away.

7) If you're moving at the end of the week, pack a Shabbas box of things you need for Shabbas such as white tablecloth, candles, besomim, challah board, blech, etc.

8) Start NOW saving all the mail you get, so that you have an easy list of all the companies you need to inform about the address change.

9) If you can talk to the phone company in advance, they might able to advise you about how to have phone service immediately. And, any handyman can hook up your oven to the gas pipe.

10) Don't panic even when it gets overwhelming. You'll get there. It'll happen, one way or another. Panicking doesn't help you think or make you work better.

FranticFrummie

Thu, Apr 27 2017, 11:35 am

Do NOT be tempted to let the movers do your packing, unless you are physically unable to do so. They will tell you that they can't insure the contents unless they have their own packers do the boxing up. This is a TRAP!

The packers will shove anything and everything willy-nilly, and label 90% of the boxes "misc". Shoes will be in with saucepans. DH's best hat will be under a pile of books. There will be one box, with ONE disposable aluminum pan in it, and it will be wrapped in a ton of paper. (Not making this up, it happened to me. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.) I know one family, where the packers boxed up a full bag of kitchen garbage. You can imagine how their lift smelled after 3 months in transit.

When things arrive broken, the movers will delay your claims as long as possible, until the time limit expires. Mad

Believe me, if things arrive broken, it's much easier psychologically if you can blame yourself, than to blame a bunch of strangers who don't care.

Start your own packing now, slowly, and carefully label everything. Obviously weeding out what you want to donate or throw away. Unless you are a super organized person, don't even think about a garage sale. The extra pressure won't be worth the money, if you make any money at all. It's better to donate to a place that will give you a receipt you can claim on your taxes, or find a family in need in your area.

When I made Aliyah, there was a woman in my community who was just about to convert. She did not have a kosher kitchen ready, and had very little money. I wasn't taking any electric appliances, so she got my Shabbos urn, toaster oven, microwave, mixers (meat and diary), blender, etc. plus a whole bunch of duplicates of pots and pans that I didn't need. She was all set, and just needed to buy plates and silverware. It felt amazing for me to be able to help her out this way, and I felt really blessed to be able to do it.

ra_mom

Thu, Apr 27 2017, 11:57 am

amother wrote:

I had to check if this was an old post that I had written. Smile

I agree with every word amother pewter. Tongue Out

OP, good luck!

Iymnok

Thu, Apr 27 2017, 12:00 pm

Start now!
Winter stuff and pesach stuff should get packed and labeled now. Other Y"T paraphernalia too, labeled for the chag.
Try to do a box of books or toys a day.
In the last month, as you do laundry, you can fold it directly into a box.
If you know the storage situation there, label which drawer/shelf/closet/cabinet.
I second the detailed label fir each box. Even the sefarim. Dh will want to know if it has the Gemara, chumashim, or Halacha.
Sharpies are great for this.
(I had a box of girls clothing that I tossed a doorstop into. I was very happy not to even have to think about it since it was announced on the side of the box.
This is especially important is you use a towel or blanket to pad your delicate machines and appliances.

Get invited out for the shabbos or two before you leave and the shabbos or two after you move.

amother

Babyblue

Thu, Apr 27 2017, 12:00 pm

If you like your books organized in a certain way, take pictures of your bookshelves now so you can reconstruct them.

Get rid of as much as you can. The less you move, the less you will have to unpack, and the neater your new house will be.

I agree with most of the suggestions above, although unlike FF, I loved having the movers pack. It took them a day to do what would have taken me three weeks, and only one small dish broke.

If your move is driving distance, take your valuables with you in the car. Otherwise, in your carry on luggage.

You will need more tape, markers and scissors than you think. Be sure to have scissors or a knife available when you get to the new house so you can open boxes.

Hopefully unrelated...have Band-Aids and other basic first aid stuff on hand.

Good luck with the move.

amother

Pewter

Thu, Apr 27 2017, 12:05 pm

ra_mom wrote:

I had to check if this was an old post that I had written. Smile

I agree with every word amother pewter. Tongue Out

OP, good luck!

I recently moved. I did a ton of research online and on imamother to gain tips, especially because I was moving with a newborn. I posted what worked for me. But it's very possible that some, if not most, of the tips I posted actually originate from you. Smile

amother

Purple

Thu, Apr 27 2017, 12:22 pm

We may not have the gas hooked up for a day or two because it's a little more complicated- we're moving into a new place (renting) And the landlord said the gas company wouldn't send someone to install a valve in the kitchen until there's an oven in place. (Right now it's shut off from the downstairs valve, I guess, unconnected pipe in the kitchen with no valve.) I'm assuming this is for safety, so they can check right away for leaks. We can manage with cheese and vegetable sandwiches, or tuna, for a couple of days if need be.

What would you do about making sure a toddler get their nap in the day of the move? Toddler may or may not nap in the car, depending on what hour the movers finish packing the truck and we hit the road.

On movers- get recommendations! We're using amazing movers who are reasonably efficient and haven't broken anything- moved with them twice in the last 5 years. Even so, for sure pack whatever you can yourself!

Hashem_Yaazor

Thu, Apr 27 2017, 5:08 pm

amother wrote:

Assign each room a color. Buy sharpies in the different colors (preferably a full set for each packer). Have them slash with the sharpie ALL FOUR sides AND the top of the box with the appropriate color. Nothing worse than having to turn a box to figure out where its supposed to go.

I bought a 12 color pack of electrical tape from Amazon and just ripped of pieces to mark the boxes.

amother

Cerulean

Sat, Apr 29 2017, 4:42 pm

Label every box very specifically - not just with the room, but with the location in the room (e.g. living room bookshelf, living room under couch, girls' bedroom cubbies, girl's bed room top of closet, girls's bedroom bottom of closet, bathrroom linen closet, bathroom medicing cabinet, etc.) Packing and unpacking things by location made it much easier.

Also, pay people to pack you up and unpack you - our movers supplied people for this (at extra cost), and it helped that it was the same people packing and unpacking.. This was the most helpful for us! Worth every penny, I would have even paid double.

lizard8

Sun, Apr 30 2017, 1:10 am

There are great tips posted here.
I just want to highlight the organizing before packing. It is so much easier to use your time now to clean out your existing home, than to live with boxes. Once you get rid of everything you don't need, put away old clothing, put all items into correct places...it will be so much easier to pack. Once you are ready to pack, it will go 1-2-3. The only extra effort will be used to pack delicate items.

Try to keep kids out of the way on moving day. It will be very overwhelming for everyone.

If you can, take off a few days after the move to unpack. It is hard work to unpack, but so worth doing it all right away. The sooner there is order in the house, the sooner it can become a home. I unpacked my kids rooms and toys one of the first, so that they would feel calm in the chaos.