You’re moving out of your college dorm and into an apartment nearby. Your spouse just got relocated for work and you have a three-month window to move. You just found a bigger, nicer apartment closer to work at a much lower rental rate than your current lease. These are just a few of the situations that may require you to pack up all your worldly possessions in boxes and bags and get them to your new address.
If you’re like most people, you want to save as much time and money on your move as possible. These tips, tricks, and hacks will help you do both while making your move easier and more organized.
Tips for Using the Right Equipment
If you’ve accumulated a larger number of carefully packed boxes, it may be easier to move them all at once rather than taking short trips back and forth. To speed things up even more, rent moving supplies like hand trucks or warehouse dollies to get your items loaded quickly and with less strain on your back. Use items like moving straps and furniture pads to secure and protect your belongings during transit. Straps enable you to stabilize bulky items, and furniture pads help to protect surfaces from getting scratched.
Packing Tricks
If you want to prevent breakage and be able to find things easily when you get to the other side of your move, pack wisely and label things clearly. Before you start boxing anything up, create a colored moving/packing key that matches brightly colored printed labels. Run to the office supply store and get laser printer labels in at least four different colors for major areas of your house such as kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living room. Print out sheets of labels instead of writing directly on the boxes. You’ll find that the easy-to-read labels, plus the color coding, makes organization much more efficient.
Prepare all your packing supplies in a bucket or basket so they’re all in one place. Include your labels, packing tape, a utility knife, a black marker, and any other supplies you’ll need.
Instead of putting clothing straight into boxes, consider slipping bunches of hanging clothes into large garbage bags to keep them cleaner, more wrinkle-free, and ready to hang in your new place. Cut handholds into moving boxes before packing and sealing to create an easier and safer way to lift boxes.
Moving Hacks
Instead of spending a lot of money on your move, try these money-saving moving hacks.
Save money on moving boxes by looking around for free boxes before you start packing. Check local shopping clubs and discount stores, look on online freebie sites like CraigsList and Freecycle, or drive around apartment complexes at the beginning of the month checking dumpsters for discarded boxes from people who just moved in.
Sell, gift, or donate non-essentials before packing so you’ll have less to move.
Prevent leaks and spills by unscrewing caps on toiletries and liquids, putting a plastic baggie or layer of plastic wrap over the opening, and re-securing the cap before packing. Use foam sheets between plates and around glasses to pack breakable kitchen items.