Moving/organizational advice??

[Shawna Clingerman]

So, I'm super dooper excited because an offer short sale house we have been waiting on for almost 4 months was FINALLY accepted! I'm totally giddy because we have really needed more space for a while now (6 people, 4 of them growing boys) all in one little 1200 sq foot ranch house... Anyway, we aren't completely home free because we have to wait on a word from 2 second mortgages but it is looking like it is all lining up - woohooo!!!

Anyway - now that it seems like it is going to be a reality I need to start thinking about packing/organizing and figuring out the most ideal way to get everything ready to be set up in the new house - we are moving into a house with over 3000 square feet (albeit, 3000 square feet that need a LOT of tlc), and enough bedrooms for all the kids and an office AND a craft room/work space for myself!! But I dread the thought of just grabbing all of our crap here from this house as it is, and dumping it into the new space!

I'm more of a "creative type" than an orderly type so I feel like I just have NO IDEA where to start, how to get stuff all in order and how to make a "plan" for the new house where we have a place for everything to belong....

I'd love to hear ANY random organization/moving tips you might have and/or any websites you might be able to recommend with tips and tools. We will only be moving a mile away, and in all likelyhood we will have plenty of time to move things, but because of those things I am feeling like I should figure out how to do it PERFECTLY or atleast in the most well thought out way possible...

ahhh!!! so overwhelming!!!

[Shawna Clingerman]

ps - since I'm so excited about it - I'm going to show it off. Here is a layout I just did last week about it (before knew if the offer would be approved...)

[NeverendingJen]

One of my favorite moving tips is assign each room a color- each boy could have his own, get your office one, kitchen one, etc. Duct tape is an easy way to do this. Every box or bag for that room gets a piece on it, and then you put a piece or two of it on paper and put it on the door of the room it belongs to. that makes it super easy to sort things on when you move.

Ziploc bags are great for holding small parts-things like bookshelf supports, nails, etc. Label them all, then stick them in one larger bag. Keep a box of tools out as well and note where it gets moved.

The biggest thing: PURGE NOW. Don't move stuff thinking you will go through it after you move, go through it now.

[Darcy Baldwin]

DECLUTTER NOW!

I know most people will think this isn't sane, but I declutter as I pack in a BIG way. The less I have to move the better, but to me it's pointless to declutter so close to a move to touch things twice. SO, as I pack a box, I'm mindful of it and throw it into the donate pile immediately if I know it needs to go away. Then I can set it on the curb for a place that needs it, and I don't even have to drive it out somewhere. Do not take the stuff with you !!

We also coordinate rooms - I did it with a big sharpie and room name so that they were put back into the rooms they belonged in at the new place. Duct tape is great, but it will take everyone a little while to find where that duct tape color is until they get used to it.

Also - be sure to pack personal bags/boxes for things you will need immediately - so that it's the last thing out of the house and into YOUR car, and first thing into the house in a safe place - so even if movers are late (or you are tired), you have exactly what you need for the day/night until you can get unloaded. Do it for personal items and do a kitchen/first aid box the same way- those things you really need immediately need to be packed separately from everything else and handled personally.

[Milmomma]

I totally agree with the above. I go room by room with each move and toss what's not needed/broken/too small/etc. I'm a sharpie girl and label everything. We buy the rolls of swran wrap and have box cutters. We always move ourselves each time. We have a list of all our expensive things and serial numbers for insurance purposes. I know its a bit controlling, but I'm the one that does 90% of the packing. I take my time and start about 2 weeks before our move date. I spend a day or two, pulling stuff for a week and putting it in suitcases so we have some stuff available. Then I start room by room with boxes. I pack the kids rooms, the kitchen, the bathrooms, my room. My husband takes care of his gear so I'm not the one to blame. But I do usually go over it. We are usually moved out 2/3 days before our turn in date so I have time to clean and doube and triple check everything.
Moving into the next place, we unload the boxes based off the name of the room it belongs in. (which I have written in sharpie) I start unloading suitcases first, beds, and laundry stuff. Oh and buy some paper plates/plastic silverwear for a bit, it will help ease things a bit.

[MamaBee]

I had to chuckle at the declutter now.... oh, that is so on the money! We have lived in this house for 9 years and I still have boxes downstairs that I've never opened... hahaha... but they are so buried behind OTHER stuff that has made it down there. *sigh* it's on the list to unbury those boxes and just donate, without looking in them...

Jen - color coding by ducktape is an awesome idea!!

[Nettio]

Ha, my first suggestion was going to be declutter, declutter, declutter and be ruthless about it. Nothing worse than opening a box and being like, "why did I move this??" And if you think you'll declutter as you unpack, I guarantee you you won't once you see all the other boxes around you that still need to be unpacked.

I will warn you the worst move I ever did was across an apartment parking lot so don't let the close distance lull you into a false sense of security. Take the time to properly pack your stuff because it will save you many many trips later when you're burnt out and tired of moving.

Along with labeling rooms, be specific when you label what's in each box. A box labeled "books" is much less useful than a box labeled "books, blankets, extra towels, black shoes." Also avoid the temptation to throw random items into open boxes without labeling that's where they went. In the moment you'll swear you'll remember where you put that random item but I guarantee you won't and it never fails it'll end up being the one item you're looking for later, haha. We also keep one box open until the very very end and that's where random items go as well as all the screws/etc you'll need when setting up the furniture later.

If you're hiring movers to move your furniture for you, make sure they walk you through any pre-existing damage they mark down (scratches, dings, etc). They'll probably wine and complain about it but often they're "liberal" with what they write down so they don't have to be as careful later. Learned that lesson the hard way.

If you're moving yourself and need boxes, there's companies now that offer reusable boxes which might be worth looking into. I've also heard Craigslist is great for finding cheap moving boxes too.

Don't let them pack the trash. I think that's it.

[anneofalamo]

I am weird I admit it. Grew up Navy Brat and we moved ever 2 years. I grew to love it, actually get a bit antsy now that we own a home. I move rooms now to calm the antsyness!
Your kids are older and I would let them pack their own stuff, they will purge before having to pack.
We had a HUGE garage sale! It was great! We were moving across country in a Penske rental van, and no way was our house fitting in there! But it did! woo hoo!
Decluttering can be so overwhelming, especially at the thought of moving into a home twice the size, cause you will have room. But do you really want to move it over there???
Do one closet at a time. Purge, purge, purge. Then onto dressers. The bathroom! Egads, how do the things in there, get there?
sheds, and outdoor areas.
Then..........insert really really scary music...your kitchen!!
Your crafts stuff? oh box it all and keep it! bhahaha

[Darcy Baldwin]

Originally Posted by anneofalamo

Then..........insert really really scary music...your kitchen!!
Your crafts stuff? oh box it all and keep it! bhahaha

HAHA - see, for me? Toss the craft room and keep everything in the kitchen

Lynnette also had a good suggestion. As you take apart furniture - you need to keep the bolts/screws that you had for it organized so that you can put it back together after. I'd really suggest taping a ziptop bag with all the parts to one are of the piece of furniture - and write on the bag what it's for - and I do mean tape. That or keep a box that contains all of those baggies together so that you don't lose them. Take photos with your camera of particularly tricky deconstructions so you'll have it handy for the rebuild.

[Nettio]

Originally Posted by Darcy Baldwin

Lynnette also had a good suggestion. As you take apart furniture - you need to keep the bolts/screws that you had for it organized so that you can put it back together after. I'd really suggest taping a ziptop bag with all the parts to one are of the piece of furniture - and write on the bag what it's for - and I do mean tape. That or keep a box that contains all of those baggies together so that you don't lose them. Take photos with your camera of particularly tricky deconstructions so you'll have it handy for the rebuild.

Yep, exactly. We've done the tape thing but I don't always trust the movers to not lose the screws in the moving process. When we've moved ourselves, the tape method works great.

[mariewilcox]

I have moved so many times in the past 30 years and everything above is spot on.

PURGE, LABEL, PHOTOGRAPH, BAG SMALL PARTS - all essential in moving!

Once you get everything moved make sure you set the beds up first and make them - You'll want to fall into them at the end of moving day and not have to make them at the end of the night when you're dead tired. Nothing worse than getting the house unpacked and then hours and hours later wanting to go to bed only to walk in and remember you forgot to do that!

[DawnMarch]

Definitely try to get rid of stuff before you move it! I agree with the idea of going room by room (or just pick a single closet to start) and getting rid of stuff you haven't used for a while. One of the best things I learned from the FlyLady is to have three bins (or bags or whatever) ready when you start; one to throw away, one to give away and one for stuff that belongs somewhere else.

[rach3975]

No packing advice, but congrats on the new house!

[Laura_A]

Originally Posted by Darcy Baldwin

DECLUTTER NOW!

I know most people will think this isn't sane, but I declutter as I pack in a BIG way. The less I have to move the better, but to me it's pointless to declutter so close to a move to touch things twice. SO, as I pack a box, I'm mindful of it and throw it into the donate pile immediately if I know it needs to go away. Then I can set it on the curb for a place that needs it, and I don't even have to drive it out somewhere. Do not take the stuff with you !!

We also coordinate rooms - I did it with a big sharpie and room name so that they were put back into the rooms they belonged in at the new place. Duct tape is great, but it will take everyone a little while to find where that duct tape color is until they get used to it.

Also - be sure to pack personal bags/boxes for things you will need immediately - so that it's the last thing out of the house and into YOUR car, and first thing into the house in a safe place - so even if movers are late (or you are tired), you have exactly what you need for the day/night until you can get unloaded. Do it for personal items and do a kitchen/first aid box the same way- those things you really need immediately need to be packed separately from everything else and handled personally.

^^THIS! DH and I are pretty much pros at moving since he's been in the military for over 10 years now. The best thing you can do for yourself is go through every single room (including storage) and get rid of the stuff you don't want/need. I would start separating the boys' things now so that when you move in to the new house, you can just put the boxes in the rooms they belong in instead of having to separate everything at the new place. We did that once, it was chaos. Do the same with your craft stuff and office stuff.

Congrats on the new place...so exciting.

[Shawna Clingerman]

Thank you everyone!! I think you are all right with the purge purge purge advice! there is a LOT of crap in this house because we have lived here 8 years now... I moved a ton growing up, and we've moved twice since we were married, but never before when there were SIX of us, and I'm just feeling the pressure to move in and create some orderly-ness because I'm totally going batty over here!

[glumirk]

Congrats on the short sale! Have you had it inspected? We won a short sale that ended up having severe electrical and structural issues that made it uninsurable, and a crazy expensive septic problem that they told us was fixed on the papers, so I always watch out for others.

I second the color coded labels for which rooms you want the boxes in, especially if you have stairs.

And ziplock baggies are amazing.

When packing your kitchen, try to keep the essential stuff together and have a couple easy meals planned (like freezer crockpot easy) so that you have some easy healthy foods while you are settling in. I had to reline all of our cabinets before I could unpack completely, so I was picking through the same 3-4 boxes every time I needed something.

Good luck!! Enjoy your new space!!

[Shawna Clingerman]

megan, we looked at it with my dad (contractor) before we made the offer, but the actual inspection is scheduled for tuesday!! fingers crossed!!!

[dailydwellin]

I agree with everyone...declutter and purge now!

Also, make sure the box with your bedding for the first night is marked in some way.

Ziplocks are great for small parts. I also put my silverware in ziplocks so they're not handled by anyone with dirty hands...yuck!

Label everything and I love Jen's idea of color coordinating the rooms...I think we'll do that with our next move.

[ripal]

Congrats on your new home!!!! How exciting! I agree with all of the above moving tips.

I have a Pinterest board for organizing when I move to bigger home (kind of in same boat as you). I'm sure at least some of them would be practical and easy enough to adapt! One of the pin is about moving tips too!

http://pinterest.com/ripal/organize/