It doesn’t matter if your last move was just across the street or across the country, you probably ended it by saying “Never Again!” The thing is, we don’t always have the ability to stay living in the same place for our entire life. At some point, you might find that you are surrounded by those dreaded cardboard boxes and that horrible packing tape. Don’t despair though.
There are ways to make the move easier. With the advice you will find here, your next move might be the easiest one yet.
Professionals or DIY?
Yes, there are more ways to move than just breaking your back doing it yourself. Depending on what the size of your house or apartment is, how far you will be moving, what your budget is, and how much time you have for the move, you might decide to either rent a few trucks and get the job done yourself, hire a professional, like Allied Van Lines, or use a service that allows you to do the packing and someone else to do the actual moving.
Supplies
When you plan your move, don’t forget to stock up on packing supplies. If you decide to buy what you need, you might spend as much as $250 just for supplies. If you are moving on a budget though, this might be a bit much. That being said, you really don’t need to buy ALL of your supplies. A couple of weeks before the move, call or make the rounds of your local liquor and grocery stores, and maybe a few offices. They often have boxes that they are just going to recycle and most of the time, they will be happy to let you have them.
You might have to spend a bit on tape.
Markers is something else you might have on hand already… especially if you have kids. Any markers will do for labeling boxes so there is no need to go out and spend a bunch of money on them.
You can also save a bit on bubble wrap and packing paper. Old newspapers work nicely as do pages torn from old magazines. You can put paper plates in between each of your regular plates to cushion them and you can slip a glass inside a clean sock to protect it. Sheets and blankets can be used to protect larger furnishings from getting scratched up too.
When it comes to packing things in drawers or toy boxes, there is really no need to stress about it. Take the full drawer out of the chest of drawers or dresser and wrap the entire thing in cling wrap. Aside from lessening the actual packing that you have to do, since you will be able to see through the wrap, you will always know right where whatever you need from the drawer is. With the toy boxes, just make sure the toys are inside and wrap the entire thing in cling wrap.
The Purge
While you are packing, you will be going through all of your stuff. One tip to make DIY moving easier is to get rid of what you no longer need or want while you are packing. There is no need to be carrying things you don’t need around with you.
You can actually monetize these things too and pay for part of your move with the proceeds. Before you move is a great time to have a yard sale. If that isn’t your cup of tea, you can list items on apps like 5Miles and LetGo, or on sites such as eBay or Craigslist. Then again, if you don’t want to mess with any of that, you can turn those items into a tax deduction by donating them to charity. Be sure you get a receipt if you do this though so you can claim it on your taxes.
Yes, moving can be stressful and a trying time for anyone… and it usually is. It doesn’t have to be so entirely stressful though if you are organized and get as much as you can done before the actual date of the move. Then, all that is left is to haul all of the stuff to the new place and unload and then unpack it all.
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