Packing | Imamother

southernbubby

Mon, Nov 12 2018, 5:43 pm

amother wrote:

Looking for tips on how to pack- what u wished you knew before u moved - tips on how to transition smoothly. basically any tips welcomed

We packed most of it already. The milk boxes that I got free at One stop kosher were the best. Uhaul has the best prices if you buy boxes. From what we can tell, those Pods cubes are the cheapest for our move. Packing tape sticks better than any other kind to the boxes. Liquor boxes are great for packing your liquor bottles and other liquids as well as drinking glasses if you wrap the glasses in brown paper sandwich bags and plastic grocery bags on top of that. I used foam sleeves for the liquor bottles as well as newsprint wrap.

What I wish that I knew was that I wish that I would have shopped at Uhaul's packing supplies store first, as well as getting milk boxes.

daagahminayin

Mon, Nov 12 2018, 5:53 pm

Label the contents of each box on all sides so that you’ll be able to tell what it is even when it’s stacked.

Label the box with the room it’s supposed to go in so the movers know where to put it.

Put books in smaller boxes so they aren’t too heavy.

Heard from someone else who was suspicious of movers: if you are packing your valuables, label the box something boring such as “kitchen towels”.

Make a box of go-to dry food and most used kitchen supplies and bring it with you in the car so that you can prepare meals as soon as you get to the new place.

Leave a couple of plastic chairs until the end of packing so you have somewhere to sit in the final hour of packing!

Cheiny

Mon, Nov 12 2018, 5:59 pm

daagahminayin wrote:

I’d never leave any valuables for the movers to handle! I’d take them on my own.

ra_mom

Thu, Aug 22 2019, 4:00 pm

yidishmamma wrote:

Bump

Movers

Make sure you get a signed contract. The first time we moved we got a quote and the guy nickle and dimed us and gave us the usual moving spiel that we had more stuff than they thought bla bla bla and we weren't prepared. Not worth it! The next time we used a super official company and got a signed contract with a higher bid but it was sealed signed and delivered and we knew they wouldn't ask for an extra dime. It appears to cost more at first, but it's not that much more and the piece of mind of knowing and not dealing with the unknown was much less stressful.

Packing

Color code each box and then put that color sticker on each room's door frame so movers put each box in the right place when you arrive.

In addition to color coding, I wrote little descriptions on each box. It helped a lot when we first got there and were looking to unpack the important items first. When we were packing we didn't always know what would be important so the descriptions were helpful.

Use paper towels to wrap dishes but it will cost a lot.

If you're moving on Sunday, aim to finish packing before shabbos. Packing always takes longer than you expect. Try to get invited out for the shabbos meals.

Make sure you have fresh linen on the beds before moving (you can change them before shabbos), roll everything up neatly on each bed and place in a garbage bag, and when you get to the new place, all you need to do is put on the fitted sheet and then lay out the comforter that's already encased in the duvet and covered pillows.

Books & sefarim are very heavy and can bust open the boxes. Pack thoughtfully, filling halfway and then adding lightweight items or even just leaving the rest of the space empty. Speak to the movers ahead of time about what they suggest for the shas. Sometimes they want you to leave them out and will tie them in twine or wrap them in heavy duty saran wrap when they get there.

Ask your mover ahead of time if they will provide wardrobe boxes. This way you can leave all your hanging items as is and they will transfer to the hanging boxes and then to the new closets when you get there.

Keep a separate bag of items you'll need as soon as you get to the new home with Windex, paper towels, hammer, food, etc.

yidishmamma

Thu, Aug 22 2019, 4:47 pm

ra_mom wrote:

Thanks sooo much! Super helpful!

tweety1

Thu, Aug 22 2019, 9:04 pm

I bought colored electric tape-12 pack. Every room got a color, every box got a color according to which room is belongs in. Seforim we bought these huge wide saran wrap by home depot and wrapped them that way instead of boxes. Coats, jackets, etc went into garbage bags instead of boxes. Dishes, and anything fragile, we first wrapped in bubble wrap then into boxes, and labeled all sides "fragile". Silver I polished, saran wrapped, and sent to my mother before I moved so the movers don't see them. Jewelry I also sent over before.

amother

Aubergine

Thu, Aug 22 2019, 9:37 pm

Don't leave seforim boxes half empty! My uncle packed that way and the movers were so mad because the boxes collapsed on themselves when they were stacked in the truck.

Start with the rooms and stuff you don't need every day. Leave the essential food and clothing for last and label them clearly so you can find them first.

I bought a huge roll of bubble wrap on Amazon or Walmart and used it for all the fragile things.

Take the important documents (passport, birth certificate etc) with you! My old neighbor's movers lost that box and she was left without any of their papers.

Before packing the kitchen, open all the cabinet doors and take pictures of everything. Then before you unpack, take a bunch of sticky notes and those pictures and make one sticky note for each category (mixing bowl, spices, fleshing pots, blender etc). Then in your new kitchen, walk around and put each sticky note on the cabinet door where you think makes the most sense to put it. Rearrange as needed until it all fits right. This makes it so much easier to unpack because you don't have to think each time where it should go and then have to move the actual things around when you open the next box and it doesn't fit anymore. It's also easier for others to help you.

If your Cutlery organizer is mostly self-contained, you can take shelf liner off your shelfs and wrap it around, then tape it down. This way you didn't have to unpack and repack it. It will be very heavy though.

Also, when unpacking, don't get hung up on making everything perfect in the new space until you unpacked most, if not all of your boxes. Just dump it in any shelf or drawer and after you know that all the stuff that's supposed to be there is there, then come back and organize. If not, you'll think you have it all, and you'll organize it perfectly, and then you find it entire box of things that have to go there, so you have to start all over again.

From someone who's moved 4 times in 3.5 years