Earlier this week we shared our future plans to move to a new apartment, starting with removing art from the walls as a symbolic first step of transitioning from one space to another. But upon coming home, Emily noted, "We still have over a month to move...no need to start packing already!" Was this a case of pre-packing-elation?
My reply was simply, "It's never to early to start packing. A month will arrive quicker than you realize, kicking you in the shin, for she will not be ignored!" I think I may have even gestured with my finger pointed upward and across with small kick to signify the passing of time for dramatic effect. But she was right from the perspective that we'd be living amongst a sea of boxes for several weeks and how it does indeed damper your life a bit (what complements cardboard brown anyway?).
An informal poll of friends revealed the intention to pack early is always planned and idealized. But the reality is more likely a caffeine fueled mad dash of boxing and taping at 4:45am, sparked by the "Oh $@&!" realization your moving date has arrived and all you've packed is a stag sock, 3 paperback books you still owe the library and an empty Luther Vandross CD case. So we're sticking to our plan to pack at least one box a day, every day, until our moving date on May 1st. By then, we'll at least have matching socks.
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When I left for college, my mom made two trips in the next month after class started to bring me the rest of my stuff she had packed for me. I think all I had when I got there were my clothes and my computer. I had packed like I was going for a long weekend, not like I was living there for the next 9 months
Am packing as we speak for a move next Tuesday. Oh yeah, and we'll be gone all weekend. Never again will I be this cavalier about moving.
2-3 weeks in advance: start cleaning out mostly empty bottles of lotion, piles of things that we've been meaning to take to Goodwill, anything that we'd rather get rid of than move.
1-2 weeks in advance: Reorganize things that are already mostly packed like off-season clothes and craft supplies.
1 week out: start packing books, decor, take down curtains
2 nights before: pack kitchen
Night Before: Everything else! Plus a bag with necessities in case we don't get unpacked enough for clean clothes the next day.
We're moving in 3 weeks, so I better get going :)
I move in 2 days. I haven't started packing. I haven't even taken the art off my walls. Luckily I'm only moving 2 blocks away and have until the end of next week. :)
I'm having to restrain myself from starting right now---and I don't even have my next apartment chosen yet. I will most likely pack all non-essential items starting April 1st and organize that nicely into one corner of my space. I'll definitely be ready to go at least one week before my planned move date.
Last time I moved it was for my partner's work, and a moving company delivered flat-packed boxes for us to pack our clothes and linens 2 weeks before. Then 2 days before the move they came over and packed up every single thing in the place. When we found a place in our new city (a month later, in the interim staying in a 'serviced apartment') they delivered everything, unpacked it all, and put together all furniture that had been taken apart. And, the entire thing was paid for by the lucky Australian taxpayer, to make being an Army employee and spouse easier. Bliss!
Boast over now. I dread when I will eventually have to do a move without this luxury.
For as often as I have moved I thought the last one would fall right into place.....but I was wrong!
I tried packing early but those last minute things still tricked me and I was moving out of state so couldnt return a few times after the movers were done.
Supposedly starting to organize and pack as soon as you know you are moving...is the thing to do but I doubt I will ever be that organized.
Good luck!
I remove the art LAST. It's fragile, and the safest place for it is on the walls until I can get it into the car layered with blankets or towels.
I've been looking for an excuse to start packing for a while. I'm moving in two weeks, so I guess this is it!
I'm moving this weekend from a 1300 square foot house with a garage to a 750 square foot apartment. I started packing a month ago and set aside ten years of accumulated stuff for the mother of all garage sales. I made almost $500 in four hours!
My neighbor had already scheduled a pickup by Disabled Veterans of America that same day at her house. Anything I didn't sell, I boxed up and walked over to her driveway. So I have a lot less stuff to clutter the new apartment and a fat wad of cash for a new coffee table. Can't beat that.
All of the above. Started early, got the bulk of it done on time, and moved out the very last stragglers in a fit of August heat (kicking myself).
I hated living in a sea of boxes, and actually needed a few things that had been packed up too prematurely. Next time I will be more productive in the two weeks leading up to the move. Or so I hope :)
I always pack books first (we have billions of them and its not like we read every single one every day) followed by most of the dishes and all but one set of sheets (used to pack the dishes with. Then come off-season clothes and all but the most essential albums (yes, the clothes are used to pack the albums). Less essential art supplies go next, as well as most of the bathroom gear we don't really use too often. By then it's usually about a week before we move and the night before we're down to the pans we plan to use the next night in the new place, the clothes we plan to wear the next day, and the bathroom things we need the next morning.
Dear lord I have moved way too many times in the past few years---moving in and out nearly every beginning/end of year of college, and then I just moved 2x in 6mos.
Echoing rayma, I actually pack art/things on my walls last, because otherwise its far too dreary staring at blank walls for 2 weeks. Plus, removing the art is so...final.
I suggest making a travel suitcase 1 week in advance with 3 days worth of clothes [like, basic tshirt/tank, the same jeans, and underwear], all sample or travel sized toiletries, pills, contacts, and toilet paper! I must stress this last one. And then pack the heaviest stuff first like books, rarely used kitchen gadgets, etc 5 days in advance. Night before, throw all the linens into trash bags you can reuse later, and don't forget a dolly for moving the heavy stuff! And remember to pack the much needed bottle of wine after the big move...
Rodger PM - I think your mum wanted your room!
Can you tell me the name and brand of the paint color?
We just moved and because we lived in a small space I didn't want boxes taking over the apartment. So the first thing I did was clean out cabinets and drawers, not pack them. Go through your bathroom and kitchen and make sure everything in them is going to the new place. Then I did bookshelves (remember not to pack those boxes too heavy). We were throwing our old ones out...so the boxes just replaced them. I would say we started atleast a month in advance and still were rushing at the end. I agree, art and wall fixtures are last.
The least you should do is start gathering boxes. My husband was lucky enough to score 60-80 computer boxes from a neighboring office that had just moved in. People also give them away on freecycle and craiglist. Also if you don't receive the newspaper, have some one start collecting it for you.
The first step in moving for me is getting rid of stuff and organizing. It's the only time I ever seem to get around to going through my files and throwing out old paperwork.
I believe the term you're looking for is "premature e-pack-ulation".
And, for me, you're woefully behind schedule.
But it all depends on how much stuff YOU have and how much purging you need to do. I find both the purging part -- selecting the stuff to get rid of, figuring out how to sell it, give it away or dispose of it, then doing it -- takes longer than I imagine. And so does the actual packing part.
I'm always excited about moving to a new place, so I'm an eager beaver when it comes to packing and getting out. Moving from the dorms to the apartment, I was 2 weeks early checking out and didn't even have my furniture from home yet! From the apartment to the house I'm moving into now, the landlord gave us a break on the rent b/c we 3 had leases to finish so I started moving stuff over in early March even though my lease at the apartment doesn't end until May. Just need to finish cleaning out the crap and throwing away the refuse. Then I can start living at the new place full time!
we're moving may 1st as well - i spent the entire week organizing, throwing out and packing. still a lot to do - best of luck ;)
When we moved a year ago I sort of started packing in the weeks running up but because we hired a moving company who will pack stuff up, I only did the personal stuff like clothes.
Four guys swooped in the day before we moved and packed up the entire 4-bedroom house in about 6 hours, then they drove the lorry to the new town the next day, and on the third day they emptied the lot into the new house. Fabulous!
The cost of them-packing v self-packing was about £150 on top of the moving costs and worth it EVERY TIME! They damaged nothing except one large lampshade which was on its last legs anyway.
lorry...love that...;)
It definitely depends on how much stuff you have. Last time we moved, I think I started packing a few boxes up a month before we moved.
I think it's best to start re-thinking and purging your possessions the moment you decide to move. It makes the move much easier.
I start very early (really as soon as I know I'm moving), but I never seem to finish on time at all (several random car-loads of last minute stuff shoved in after the truck is gone...)
Pack the easy stuff (books, dishes and linens you don't use every day) now. Because the things you put off until the very end will end up taking you 4 times as long to pack as you think they will.
I'm moving on May 1st, and started packing last weekend. However, the cleaning out of closets and purging of stuff we wanted to get rid of started a couple of months ago. I kind of like the moving boxes sitting around, it gets me excited about the move to a new city.
I always start with removing the art from the walls, then move to packing up all of the books and paper goods. Then i go to packing all my off-season clothing and bedding. That way when it comes to moving time, all I have to roundup is toiletries and kitchen etc.
The first (and last) move I did with my ex-boyfriend, he refused to buy boxes. We literally moved a two bedroom apartment with one cardboard box which we used to fill in one apartment, shuttle over to the new apartment, empty and then shuttle back. I had just moved to the country and didn't even know where I could BUY cardboard boxes, so I was at his mercy.
We're moving in June, and I'm starting to pack now. :-)
I start early...but that doesn't mean I finish early.
About 2 months out, I'll start carefully packing away all my dishes, silverware, and cups (leaving only as many sets as there are people in the house), extra bath towels and linens, out of season clothes, and some knick-knacks. I'll do this slowly and steadily and very carefully, each piece wrapped perfectly and each box labeled with the room and contents.
Somehow, the week before a move, I still have crap everywhere, and that gets dumped haphazardly into the infamous "miscellaneous" boxes. Last move, many of these boxes stayed under my bed for the first year. I ended up donating the majority of the contents, except for those things that I'd been search for the whole year.
Luckily I bought the house we are in now, so hopefully I won't have to deal with moving anytime soon...I hate it.
waiting to move is a nightmare! we were supposed to be moving on a certain date, but it got pushed back due to some delayed building work. but we'd already started packing! so now we sit in purgatory, half packed, too soon to pack the rest, boxes everywhere!!! will be so happy to be moved in!
I'm moving next Thursday (woo!)
We got started at the 3 week mark: that way, you can do it bit by bit, instead of having to run a packing marathon. Fill a box or two a day and you'll be well on your way.
Pictures are always the last thing off my walls. Generally my moves have been local so we move framed pictures and mirrors last and in the car layered between moving blankets.
Small or fragile accessories are always the first thing packed.
Followed by books.
I tend to pack things in the order of least needed, so the kitchen and bath are packed last.
I get excited about moving (and the resulting purge)!
I pack far enough in advance that I can control every single little aspect of it! This gives me plenty of time to cook apologetic dinners for my beloved (since I am sure I make him crazy) and leave plenty of time to go to the therapist to discuss my control issues. :-)
In seriousness, I usually start about a month out, and try to finish the night before. I don't allow my mother to help anymore since she is a bad purger and tries to sneak things in that I am trying to purge. And I like to get the truck to come a few days before I have to move out, so i have an empty apartment to clean.
My favorite move is when you've already got the new place lined up & it overlaps your current lease, so you can shuttle your boxes over there as you go along.
I see moving as a huge opportunity to reorganize and purge, and I start well in advance. Donations, yardsales, craigslist. My moving trick is to wait a few weeks before the big move date and pack a suitcase or some boxes with everything i'll need for 3 weeks, as though i'm going on a trip. Then everything else gets stuffed in boxes :)
Never too early. Moving can sometimes be an emotional thing, and the sooner you start to come to terms with the move, the easier the big day will be. My partner's mother recently moved out of her home, and she was still packing on moving day. Even after she was supposed to have moved out, her things were still in the old house. It was like she couldn't accept that she was moving, so she refused to pack.
I've moved internationally/state-to-state/locally and had belongings in storage at two different points long-term (don't recommend it) so I got moving down to a science from the perspective of having myself prepared without being unrattled. The key is to only move what will fit in your new place minus 20% - so I take measurements of the new place, plan out what will fit, and get rid of anything that will clearly be excess. Leading up to move day, I put everything I need to survive a week's worth of my office job into a suitcase, everything household I'll need to survive a weekend into a box, then everything remaining gets packed asap. I figure I can live among boxes for up to a month without going insane but that ~last~ minute packing sends me over the edge!
BTW, once you've figured out that "week's worth" suitcase and the few extra boxes, those things go back into closets & cupboards until I'm ready to go (but at least I know I have enough containers to move those items!).
I always pack out of season clothes, extra linens, etc first - probably three or four weeks before the move. Then I pack up pictures, books, movies (one or two weeks before move). Then I go with packing up the kitchen three or four days before I'm moving and just deal with takeout for awhile or stuff I can microwave - LOL. Towels and clothes get packed up a day or two before the move. Everything else gets done the day of or the night before the move.
Pack early!
It's less overwhelming and you never realize how much crap you've accumulated until it is time to move.
This post reminds me of all the midnight "box runs" I did before moving during college! Now I use Rubbermaid bins instead of cardboard boxes and they have worked out great (SO much easier to stack and carry).
I currently live in a 500 sq. foot apartment and am moving in 2 weeks--with a stop at the folk's house to pick up the items I have been storing for a few years (with school/internships/summer jobs it's been nuts deciding what items will be long-term keepers, etc).
I should also mention that I haven't even started thinking about packing until reading this post... :/
I have a VERY organized friend who recently moved. She started her preparations with the following checklists:
-things I can start preparing now
-things to prepare a month in advance
-things I need to prepare a week before the move
-things I need to do on moving day
-I made a list of the order in which I should pack things
-I made of list of people/places to change our address with
-I made a cleaning check list for the apartment- I even color coded it to know how far in advance before the move I should clean everything
-items that are now allowed in moving vans
-items that we should not put in the moving van
-things to do when we arrive in our new home
-items that should be in the back of the moving truck
-items kids will need in the car
-items we will need in the car
-questions I need to ask our landlord pertaining to our move
-things I need to tell the people moving in after us
Impressive of what?
We're moving overseas in late July, so our purging and packing process has to be a little more organized and punctual this time.
And after reading about half of these comments, I have to stop because I'm feeling the incredible need to go purge something. I think I'll attack the bathroom.
Bathroom done! It was surprisingly easy and quick.
Books and clothes were done the previous two weekends. The office, next? Or the kitchen?
Decisions, decisions...
Im moving on october 29th, and i packed a few things up a month ago, but i have been resisting the urge to pack even though i have a little more than 2 weeks now. my poor husband has to be going insane thanks to me. o well. off to purge :]