Moving…
probably one of the worst things I’ve ever done and will ever do. The thing is, we’ve done it so many times, that we can do it eyes shut! Okay, probably not eyes shut, but definitely mechanical.
13 times of moving probably gives one the qualification of an expert! It does not include co-living or lodging though. Add about another 9 to the figure then.
At some stage in our married life, we’ve moved for as many times as we were married. When we celebrated our 10th anniversary, we moved our 9th time a year later!
It has slowed down significantly since then. Thank goodness.
We’ll be celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary in 2025 and moved the 13th time earlier this year.
We’ve rented, owned, shared, and lodged throughout the years. We can say with confidence that it’s just much more bearable moving to your own property. No rental or co-living!
I was raised in a house where you needed at least 3 months to prepare for a move. But our last 7 moves happened within 2 weeks when the new property became available. Once we actually moved within 3 days!
We used a packing company once to pack for us, the rest of the time it was hubby and I and our boys. Moving between cities we’ve used furniture removal services. But the rest of the time, we rented trailers to move.
When we got married, Hubby had the opinion of paying someone to do stuff for him (snobbish much?!) but has learned in the meantime that there is nothing wrong with his own hands and that a restricted budget is just the thing to teach one the bliss of packing and moving.
Some lessons we’ve learned:
- No matter how well you pack, something always breaks: it could be a glass, a mirror or a toy. We’ve moved our upright piano a few times in our many moves and although it was crated, covered, packed or whichever way the movers used, two of the white notes still broke. Very sad but at this stage an enjoyable annoyance for one of the kiddos when they played along on the piano. Not so much now.
- Do not dispose of cardboard boxes: collapse the moving boxes as well as the boxes in which you buy equipment or appliances and store them away. We don’t necessarily use the mixers box for the mixer but it is very useful to pack fragile glassware or move-sensitive electronic equipment into a bigger cardboard box. Also, the boxes in which most appliances are shipped, are strong and thick enough to protect the specific item. Storing these boxes is not as big an issue as one would think and maybe I’ll share how we do it another time
- Clean house! Packing is one of the most valuable opportunities to rid your house of all that hidden clutter! The stuff that you pack away for one day. We all know that when a project is not started and finished within a few months from the start date, it will never happen
- Prepare the children: we found that the children want to know. And they want to be part of it. There are enough tasks during the move that they can help with. If you have little ones, let them pack their own toys, additional clothes, bookshelves and such. If you have CDs and DVD shelves, let them pack those. Explain to them that it’s still something they need to handle with care and help them see a ‘system’ in their packing. Start with little boxes for wee little ones. Another cupboard they can help pack is the linen cupboard. Although I prefer packing the linen at the bottom of the breakables boxes, it leaves more than enough that they can help with. Remember your plastic cupboard and trays/baking tray cupboard. Also ‘hard labour’ resistant!
- Pack the children’s room last: it helps to create a sense of security for an extended period of time. In the new house, organise little people’s rooms first with beds made, least boxes standing around and curtains hung.
- Organise the bedrooms first AFTER the move with at least two things in place: curtains and beds. The rest can wait for tomorrow.
- Keep basic toiletries separate from everything. Know where this box or bag is at all times. Nobody appreciates unbrushed teeth or the unavailability of toilet paper. Ask me how I know…
- Determine what will be needed in the kitchen, bathroom, scullery, etc for the last week before the move and put that in a special cupboard or higher shelve. The rest are safe to be packed. Be reasonable with this. Ask yourself the questions that matter: Are we going to go snowboard this coming week? Did I plan pizzas for this week? Do we need the slow cooker and the bread machine? Are we going to use all 16 big plates for the 4 of us? Etc. You know what your family needs and you know your family’s routine.
- Make a list! We usually have a clipboard with sheets of paper numbered 1 to 50 for starters (or whichever number of boxes you estimate), a pen or marker, a stack of blank white stickers and a bag of brown tape for sealing up boxes. Every time a box is closed, we seal it with brown tape. Then it gets a sticker with a number. The list gets a description of the box contents. For example, the DVD box is ready to be closed up and sealed. The next open number on the list is 17 and we stick a sticker on the box with 17 written on it. We write a summary of the contents of the box onto our list next to number 17 and then only is it sealed up with the brown tape.
- Allocate one area in your house where the sealed-up boxes can be stacked up: this opens up space to work, is out of accident way and prevents any scenarios of stagnation. There is nothing that freaks most people out than boxes standing everywhere! This has worked well with our last 10 moves. One particular move we we moved out of a very small house, with already limited room under normal circumstances, it was super crowded during our move. It also limited the temptation for our little ones to climb ONTO the boxes when we were not around.
- Quick and easy meals: this would be the one day in my meal planning where takeaways are necessary. If not takeaways make snackwiches or sandwiches or muffins. If you have some kind friends who are willing to cook up a storm on your behalf, bonus! Another option is the prepared meals available now from all the major supermarkets eg. Checkers buffet is amazing, Spar and Pick’nPay’s are not too shabby. But the reality is that our people need to eat even when the task at hand is probably the most traumatic and horrendous a family can endure. Lift a little from your shoulders and let this one time slide. Tomorrow you can do the cereal and milk or buns and cold meat shortcut meals but today, get the tummies full! Something else to keep in mind would be heaps of fruit and fresh water. I try to keep this at hand most times when moving.
- Keep the toiletries close: We usually keep a small suitcase aside. This suitcase includes everybody’s pj’s for the first night in the new house. We also pack the necessary toiletries and towels for the morning before the move and first night at the new house. Additionally, we include a comfortable set of clean clothes for the first day in the new house. Remember comfort! The big unpacking is going to start then.
- Always use smaller boxes: we’ve found that book boxes from a retailer like Boxman are perfect. It’s a little bit more pricey but it keeps. It can take a load of books (we have lots of books) and keeps crockery and other breakables safe and sound. And it’s easier to move and stack. We’ve moved with all sizes of boxes and I promise you, bigger boxes might take a lot of stuff but it breaks and falls apart with the handling and then you need to pack it into two or three other smaller boxes.
- Invest in bubble wrap. I know it’s not eco-friendly at all. Neither are tons of newspapers. Pick your poison. Price-wise, it’s the same really whether you buy 2 rolls of bubble wrap or buy 20 Sunday papers.
- Move clothes in suitcases and duffle bags. Most of us have all sizes from all sorts of events collected throughout our lives, use these to pack your clothes. Box companies do have clothing boxes available but I’ve found it’s incredibly clumsy to move. Another option if you are moving in the same town/neighbourhood, allocate one of your vehicles with a boot (trunk for my US readers) and load it up with all your hanging clothes. A surprising amount of clothes fit into a boot in this way. If your shoes are in their boxes, you can line the bottom of the boot with the boxes and put the clothes on top, otherwise, a garbage bag full of shoes is a good second best. Of course, you can fill up packing boxes with clothes. Avoid using big boxes just because the illusion exists that it will be light. It won’t.
- Remember to pack up the garage, if you have one. This is the one space we’ve forgotten about until the day before the move! Garden equipment, tools, bicycles and those other stored items, are clumsy and difficult to pack. It will most probably be moved just the way it is, but do yourself a favour and grab a box to fill. You’ll be surprised what can be packed.
Well, this is our list of absolute bare necessities learned in the whole house-moving adventures.
This was a long post but hopefully, there are some pointers you could use.
Good luck with your move, I hope this helped.
Cheers
