TIPS TO MAKE MOVING EASIER
WITH CHILDREN AND PETS
First, let me warn you that no matter which company you use to move your items, most likely some of your items will disappear. The best way to avoid this is to be as organized as you can by labeling and NUMBERING your boxes and NOT permitting your essentials such as your computer and your family records and photos, your jewelry, or any irreplaceable items to be transported by anyone except yourself. You MUST BEWARE of cheap movers. Often they will agree to move your belongings very cheaply, then when they arrive at your new house, they have CHANGED the price and it is now much higher. When you argue, they TAKE your belongings, ALL OF THEM to their "storage" and they charge you even MORE for a daily storage rate. If you do not pay, they SELL your belongings. You MUST use the most reputable company you can find and get IN WRITING the amount due for the total move.
CHAPTER ONE: WHERE TO GET UNLIMITED FREE PACKING MATERIALS: BUBBLE WRAP, PACKING PEANUTS, PACKING FOAM, CARDBOARD BOXES!
Simply locate the nearest store which sells large items such as wheelchairs and a store which sells a lot of vitamins. The wheelchairs, walkers, potties, etc. come packed in a lot of bubble wrap and packing peanuts. The vitamins come packed in sturdy cardboard boxes. You do NOT have to ask the owner for the materials. Simply go to the rear of the store in the parking lot and you will find the area where these materials are disposed of. Sometimes the tenants simply put the materials outside the rear door. Do not go on a rainy day. Go after the store owners have had a chance to receive the new delivery packages and unpack. This is usually between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays.
An office building will usually NOT be a good source for these materials.
Stores which receive large items packed in bubble wrap and foam and peanuts are your best source for free packing materials. These packing materials are extremely expensive as you doubtless already know, so take along a few large clean plastic garbage bags and fill to your heart's content with TOTALLY FREE CLEAN PACKING MATERIALS! Pat yourself on the back!
Most industrial complexes have a healthy supply of this on hand at the rear of the complex, so it won't be hard to find. You can find it at shipping docks. I've even seen it packed neatly into cardboard boxes, sometimes in boxes used to ship electronics and computer gear to stores. Store employees are sometimes very neat when preparing trash for pickup. All the better and easier for you!
CHAPTER TWO: WHEN AND HOW SHOULD YOU BEGIN PACKING FOR YOUR MOVE?
Begin accumulating sturdy, clean cardboard boxes and the above-mentioned packing materials plus clean newspaper, immediately when you learn you will be moving. Then when you have spare moments, spray the interior of the boxes with insecticide and allow to dry. The next step is to tape the bottoms securely closed with DOUBLE EXTRA STRENGTH tape.
After you have a few boxes readied as stated, then you can begin to pack.
You will mark each box with a marker as to at least which room the box will belong in the new house. For example: Kitchen, Bathroom. If you are more methodical, and you have a bit of time, mark the boxes' contents. for example: children's toys, dad's gardening tools, etc.
CHAPTER THREE: WHAT SHOULD YOU PACK FIRST?
First you will pack the box I call: THE ESSENTIALS OF LIVING BOX!
This box which you will always keep close at hand (THIS BOX DOES NOT GO WITH THE MOVERS, BUT RATHER YOU WILL KEEP THIS BOX WITH YOU, EITHER IN YOUR CAR OR ON THE PLANE OR TRAIN WITH YOU) In this box will go all the items required for your basic living needs when you arrive at your new home. WHY? Because when you finish moving into the new house, you will be TOO TIRED to hunt for these items among your probably 200-500 packed sealed boxes, and TOO EXHAUSTED to drive to the store to buy these items. Also please remember that for many months after the move, a lot of boxes will still remain unopened, and if you are like us, you will not know where certain items are, even months later. The Essentials of Living Box or Boxes will avoid a lot of misery for you later.
WHAT ITEMS GO INTO THE ESSENTIALS OF LIVING BOX?
THIS WILL BE THE BOX (OR BOXES) YOU WILL NEED TO LITERALLY SURVIVE FOR A FEW DAYS AT THE NEW HOUSE:
Number one: All your medicine, your children's medicines and pet medicines. List of names and phone numbers of doctors and veterinarians. Your address book where you keep FAMILY phone numbers and information. Children's birth certificates, school records. Insurance records, legal records of any sort. Your children's IMMUNIZATION papers. Also a list of EMERGENCY NUMBERS FOR THE AREA OF THE NEW HOUSE.
A couple of bars of SOAP, small shampoo and conditioner, wash cloths and couple of towels. Tampons, etc. Paper towels a roll or two and TOILET PAPER. Basic first aid items such as antibiotic cream, bandaids, aspirin.
An iron for clothes. A pair of scissors. Basic tools such as a couple of screwdrivers, a hammer, just the basics. Such things as a heating pad, vaporizer, neck brace, etc. must go in the ESSENTIALS of living box. Why? Because you can never find them later if they are in other boxes.
Some kind of canned food or packaged food EASY TO PREPARE with the minimal kitchen tools described below for the kitchen box. Enough food for a few meals so you can try to get some rest after the move. Such things as you would buy to prepare for a hurricane. Dried milk, bottled water. Why? Because at the new house, maybe it will be a day or two before the water is turned on and you have children and pets needing water.
If you have pets, pack an essentials box for them: enough food for two or three weeks (why? because YOU will be exhausted at least that long after the move) Don't forget to put their chewie toys in their essentials box. All their other secondary stuff, put in other boxes.
NEXT important box: CHILDREN'S SCHOOL CLOTHES:
I know you have ten tons of clothes for the kids. WASH, IRON AND PACK FIRST THE SCHOOL CLOTHES they will need in the first several weeks of school. This will avoid a lot of problems for you. Pack their OTHER clothes separately. This will enable you to survive the move.
Next Important box: BASIC kitchen needs: A skillet, spatula. One set of dishes and flatware. Some plastic garbage bags, the sturdy ones.
Next: You probably have a web business. Keep all your computer stuff together. If possible, move your computer stuff in your own car to the new house or take it WITH you on the plane or train.
All the other boxes are secondary to the above.
CHAPTER FOUR: General rules for packing boxes: Do NOT make the box too heavy. Better TWO not so heavy boxes than one too heavy to lift. YOU will be doing part of the lifting of the boxes before the movers ever arrive so try to take it easy on YOU. IF YOU HAVE A BACK PROBLEM, YOU CANNOT LIFT BOXES. I know you want to help, but you must NOT lift boxes if you have any back problems. Now, even if you have no ongoing back problems, lifting heavy boxes can CAUSE you to have spinal problems, so BE CAREFUL not to try to lift heavy boxes. The key is, as said above, DO NOT MAKE THE BOXES TOO HEAVY.
NOW, AS TO THE LABELING: Please mark on ALL FOUR SIDES of each box what the contents generally are AND A BOX NUMBER Why all four sides? Because as the movers stack randomly the boxes inside the new house, if you only mark one or two sides, those sides may not be visible when the movers stack the boxes. And believe me, you (I do not care how strong you are) you will NOT have the strength to restack the boxes in order to find the one you are seeking.
CHAPTER FIVE: THE LIST OF BOXES. Now, please make a list so that as you complete and seal each box, you put on your list THE BOX NUMBER and contents (generally). You are going to use this list when the movers arrive with your boxes at the new house, so TAKE THIS LIST WITH YOU IN YOUR PURSE OR POCKET.
CHAPTER SIX: AT THE NEW HOUSE:
As the movers bring the boxes into the house, you MUST HAVE a family member or trusted person there with your LIST OF BOXES so they can be sure all the boxes have arrived. This is a huge job, believe me. Several men will be carrying in the boxes and you need for your person to CHECK OFF ON YOUR LIST the box number of each box so you know which boxes have arrived. This way, you will know if you are missing anything. ALSO IMPORTANT is that your person has to visually check each box to be sure it has not been opened. This of course does not ensure that a box has not been skillfully opened and resealed but at least it is some protection.
You should try to get the movers to put the boxes in the rooms where they belong, but in my experience this has never been possible. They just arrive with boxes and they put them down anywhere. This is when you will be GLAD YOU HAVE YOUR LIVING ESSENTIALS BOXES, believe me.
CHAPTER SEVEN: Final Thoughts
Try to take it easy and the best tip of all is START TO PACK IMMEDIATELY WHEN YOU KNOW YOU WILL HAVE TO MOVE. Even six months ahead is not too early to begin. This is when you pack the really NON-essentials. As you get closer and closer to the moving date, you will be SO GLAD you started early.
If there is a sick person in your family, starting early helps to relieve their stress over the move also.
I hope this keeps you from going insane at the next move. The movers will drive you crazy, but in the madness you will always know where your essentials are.
P.S.: At this very moment, we are packing AGAIN because we are moving to a larger house. I know exactly what you are going through. John
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