Household Fixes

Ah, moving day, that special time of year when most of your friends and family suddenly have pressing business elsewhere! Chances are a few kind souls will offer to help, though, so have a supply of snacks and cold drinks on hand.

The day of your move is all about getting you out of the old house and into the new one. If you’ve hired a moving company, all you’ll need do is oversee them, or stay out of their way entirely. If you haven’t, you’re going to need some strong family members and friends to help you load everything into the van.

Start at the back of the house and work your way forward, one room at a time. Close off each room as you finish with it, after making sure that it’s completely empty and giving it a final cleaning.

Designate a safe place for the essentials you’ll need to take with you, including your driver’s license, car keys, and new house keys; they won’t do you any good if they get packed in a box and tossed in the back of the truck!

Leave out any instruction manuals for appliances and equipment that are staying with the old house. There’s no sense in moving something you don’t need, and the new occupants will appreciate it.

Once the truck is loaded, take a quiet moment alone to reflect on the time you’ve spent in the home you’re about to leave for the last time. Separate the good memories from the bad, and leave the bad ones behind.

Read the electric, gas, and water meters one last time so you can check your final bills to see that they’re accurate. Lock everything up tight, and make sure all the lights and appliances are turned off. Then hop in the van and start it up; you’re ready to go.

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Boxes and bags are moving staples-whether you’re using plastic tubs and under-bed storage containers, cardboard boxes, suitcases, garment bags, or even trash bags, you’ll need to consider which is best suited for your items and how many you’ll need; always allow for a few extra. You’ll also need newspapers, packing foam or bubble wrap, tape, and a permanent marker to label your containers. Clear bags won’t need labeling, because you can see their contents; use name tag stickers to label darker bags.

Boxes are the backbone of most moves; they hold a lot of weight for their size, and can be stored flat when not in use. They fit neatly into moving vans, allowing you to make the most of the space you have to work with.

Boxes can be purchased or gotten for free. Most boxes that you can find behind supermarkets or other stores are sturdy enough for regular packing needs; just be sure to ask the store owner or manager if it’s all right to take some first. If you have particularly heavy or delicate items to pack, you might want to invest in specialty boxes made of extra-thick cardboard, or with built-in storage pockets.

When choosing bags, remember that cheap bags are no good if you need to use two of them, or if they fall apart when you pick them up. Cheap bags are also more likely to end up with holes in them if you use them to hold objects with sharp edges.

Consider bags that can be collapsed with a vacuum cleaner. These are great for packing clothing and bedding, and, once collapsed, take up far less space than traditional bags designed for the same purpose.

Look around your house for things you already own that you can use as containers, such as suitcases and garment bags. Don’t spend time or money acquiring new containers before you use up what you already have.

Carefully choosing and filling the proper containers for your belongings can allow you to use fewer containers, which in turn will allow you to rent a smaller van, saving you money on both the rental fee and gasoline.

Tags: advice, moving, organization, real estate, relocation, remodel
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