After living at the same address for 23 years, my husband and I moved to a different house. We didn’t move to another state, another city, or even another neighborhood. We moved such a short distance from our previous home my Facebook neighborhood group didn’t even change.
In spite of the short distance, the move was traumatic. Over the years, I somehow managed to fill every closet, drawer, and shelf with something. Not necessarily something worthwhile, as attested by the row of bulging trash bags on my curb, sitting together like travelers awaiting a bus, not knowing their next stop will be the landfill.
I have collected too many dishes, too many clothes, too many books. Did I mention books? Books seem to be a weakness of mine. I pity the men who carried the boxes of books I moved with me. The one thing I moved during the move that I hadn’t counted on was DUST. I thought I was a pretty decent housekeeper, but apparently not. When everything was dismantled, ewwwww.
Now that my move is complete, here are my top five non-expert moving tips:
- Make a list of all the agencies who will need a change of address. These can be numerous, such as insurance companies, magazines, credit card companies, driver’s license bureau, doctors, etc, etc. Also, start early to get these changes in motion. Some require the changes to be made in writing, others can be made online.
- Label every box you pack with the contents. You’ll thank yourself when you’re unpacking.
- Pack items by room. This will allow you to prioritize which rooms to unpack first.
- Give away any furniture pieces that are not needed so they don’t have to be moved.
- Use handle-tie garbage bags to move clothing. Slip the clothing into the bags, then secure handles over hanger hooks.
Thank you for sharing.
You have several good tips. I have made several moves some long distance and some a couple miles away. My conclusion is shorter moves are harder. I just moved around the corner from my address and it had to be done in a brief amount of time. That was in November and I am still trying to recover my energy.
Those are some very helpful tips, Anita! Congratulations on your new house and may you make many wonderful memories there.
We just moved in November and I sure wouldn't want to do that again any time soon. Loved your tip of using garbage bags over the clothes – that's a great idea. I had a big downsizing yard sale in the fall and it really helped clear out a bunch of stuff we didn't have to move. And then…we were very fortunate to move only 3 doors away. My helpers walked many things down. Blessings to you in your new home. Feels good to 'begin again' I think…
Great tips although I found out the hard way when I moved down here from my farm that I had for 20 some years. Outbuildings, garden shed….barns. I had all the room in the world to hoard! LOL! I still have way too much and I am trying to pare down for my next move which will be my last!
P.S. The movers commented on all my "boxes of books". LOL!