Look around your home. If you could only bring with you as many belongings as you could fit into a 4' x 4' x 8' trailer, what would you bring? (And no cheating — no storage units allowed!) I did it — twice — and I learned quite a few things along the way!
It's an interesting exercise, even if you're not moving a long distance. Heck, even if you're not moving at all! There are a lot of moving parts involved in moving long distances, and choosing what to bring with you is just one thing on the long list. Here are some of my best tips for moving successfully 7— especially long distances.
- De-cluttering is a must, and it's not always easy. Even if you aren't forced with stripping down to the bare necessities, moving things you don't really need a long distance is not worth the trouble! Luckily Catrin posted a great list of the "Best Organizational and Decluttering Websites."
- Staying organized is imperative; keeping track of shutting off and starting new utilities, changing your address, scheduling your moving van and other to-dos have should be kept track of. Martha Stewart is the natural source to turn to for to-do lists. She has a list for your Moving Timeline, Tips for Successful Packing, Essential Packing Supplies--even How to Pack a Box!
- Plan your trip! If you're planning on driving, you'll need to plan your trip. Will you take your time and see sights? Or are you booking it---trying to get there quickly? AAA has some great trip planning resources, and here is a list of 100 Historical Sites Every American Should See!
- Become as acquainted with your new city as possible! The internet is a fantastic resource (duh!) in learning about your new home. Design*Sponge has some great city guides, as does Wallpaper* magazine. Phaidon publishes their (also stylish) books on over 80 cities, and you can also download an app for our phone. Of course you can!
- My best, and arguably the most important? Enjoy the journey! Moving can be stressful and hard and full of emotion, but it is an adventure, in any capacity, and should be marked as such.
Have you moved a long distance? What other advice would you have for your fellow readers?
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Ironically, I think I would take what you might call clutter: my instruments, books,CDs, vinyl, an old bookcase that I inherited from a friend, DVD's, and, if room, stereo, CD player, DVD player (but not TV - it could stay!). Also a hat that I made yonks ago and an automatum thing that was made for me (it's small enough).Oh, and a change of clothes. And possibly my gardening tools, a sleeping bag and a couple of cushions.
Moving to a three bedroom flat in London, for University, from Newcastle in 11 months! Only a 5 hour drive away.
All I'll be allowed to take will be my bedroom stuff, assuming my mom wont be happy me taking the rest of the furniture when she'll still be living here. I'll be sharing a van because I'm moving to the flat with my two friends so not that much space, but I'm taking my mattress, TV, digi box, a lamp and my clothes.
I was going to re-flat pack my furniture but I'm not that keen on it anymore and its an excuse to go furniture shopping in London! :D Love a fresh start!
Any advice about moving with cats? I saw an article online but wanted to get feedback. (p.s. cats are indoor cats who are sketchy and cry the most annoying sounds when taking them to the vets.. yikes)..
Yes, we moved our cat across country, twice. It was pretty horrific, honestly (we drove), and on the way back got in an accident and someone at the hopsital was kind enough to let us keep her in an office (in her carrier) until I was released from the ED. How far are you moving? Will it take a several-day drive? Any way you could fly with the cats instead? Our cat was miserable both ways the whole time. She did not relieve herself at all until she couldn't hold it anymore and had an "accident" somewhere on the 3rd day. So I guess my advice is, make it as short as possible for the kitties. Good luck.
Everything i own could fit into one of those. :)
@James: A friend of mine did a cross-country move last year with multiple cats & dogs, and she decided the easiest way to do it was to rent an RV - then you can keep the litter in one spot and the cats can roam a little bit even on a multi-day trip. We're now planning our own cross-country move, and we're planning to do the same thing: move ourselves, the kitties, and the turtle in the RV, drag the car behind, and move all our stuff in one or two of those parking-space-sized POD things.
Moving with cats: we've moved anywhere from 2-6 indoor cats cross country in a car (we've done it five times). I drove the car with the cats while the hubster drove the moving van. I also moved my mom's cats from OH to TX 5 years ago--the first time I had moved animals alone.Here are our tips:
1. make sure all cats are up to date on vaccines and such and have paper work in the car, easily accessible. This is one of those just in case things.
2. if possible, have individual carriers for each cat; if not (due to the size of the car--we have had to double them up a few times), try to put cats together who like each other.
3. keep them in carriers for the duration of each day. This means you will probably drive fewer miles than you would like, but it is worth everyone's sanity. Try to put some toys they like in each carrier--we had one cat who was a total toy boy and would just play quietly with his toys the entire time he was in the car (well. at least after the first two hours on the first day).
4. we stopped feeding about 12 hours before we left (talk to your vet about this). we would feed when we got to the motel each night, but not in the morning.
5. at rest stops, give them water and check boxes for accidents. Be sure to have extra towels, wipes and such to clean up.
6. the first day of driving is always the worst. Most cats will get used to the car in a couple of hours--but depending on the animal, that may be a couple of hours of yowling every morning. Some OTC things like Bach's remedy may help--again ask your vet (we have used this with great success for most of our cats). If you have a truly crazy cat (we have had two--luckily not at the same time) you may need to give meds--again get from the vet. We had one cat that was so crazy we had to inject him to even get him in the carrier. That was fun.
7. If you stay in a motel, try to get a room with an outside entrance (easier to get carriers in) and try to get a room where beds are on platforms, rather than frames (learned that lesson the hard way after Mr. Insane (see above about injections) got under the bed and into the frame of the box springs. That was an "interesting" morning as we wrestled him out and into his cage.). Call places first--they will tell you what the beds are like.
8. Remember, cats are remarkably flexible. Even if they don't like it while you are driving (I had one that cried the entire time she was in the car--for five days as we moved cross country), once you get to your destination, and they see their stuff, they will settle in. And it is well worth moving them--they help make our new places homes.
Good luck!
One more thing--there are a lot more options now so check into them. The RV thing sounds cool. We began our cross country moving odyssey in 1986 and there were not as many choices then.
Tip #1: Never use UHAUL.
About 15 years ago, we moved across country with our cats. It was three days of traveling with cats who normally yowled on the trip to the vet. We prepared by fitting them in harnesses about a month before the trip. The cats wore them 24 hours a day to get accustomed to them.
That last month we took them for daily short trips in the car—yes, we just drove around. The harnesses were tethered by a leash to the seat belt. So the cats had some mobility but not a lot but they could look out the window or lie down as they wished. They liked best to a drive in the evening; there was something about the moving flickering lights…. But we also took day trips and they learned that it wasn’t always a trip to the vet.
When the big day came, a small bowl of water, a small bowl of food and a small litter box were placed on the floor in back of the car. The cats were tethered to the seat belt with just enough play so that they could reach the litter box or the food and water. Yes, they had all the comforts of home. It worked well. They were fairly quiet but squabbled occasionally.
We made reservations ahead of time and confirmed that the hotels would accept cats. When we reached the hotel, we moved our stuff and theirs into the room first. Then we got the cats out of the car and took them into the room. They always looked around for their things and seemed re-assured by the familiar water bowl, food bowl, toys and litter box.
Like kariwk said, try to get a bed on a platform. One of our cats decided she was NOT going back into the car and climbed into the frame of the box springs.
At our final motel stay, the manager said that he accepted pets but did not want that fact to be known. We swore that we would never tell. The next morning we were awakened by tapping on our window. We faced a walkway and the cats were sitting on the window sill watching everyone go by. When we peeked through the curtains to find out what the heck was going on, there was a crowd cooing at the cats and tapping on the window to get their attention.
That spam reads like a London looter's wishlist!
I'll be decluttering, packing, and moving my 91-year-old mother and her neurotic cat in November. She's lived in her house for 55 years, and could be featured on "Hoarders." I am SO dreading this "adventure"!
Don't leave part of your stuff at family's or friend's. You'll never get it back.
@James, when we took my cat on a flight, we went to the vet and asked her what she recommended since he had never traveled before. She recommended giving him a half a tablet of children's benadryl. My usually loud and hyper cat SLEPT the entire flight!
Agree 100% with the "Never use U-Haul" tip. No one I know has ever had a good experience with them, and this is a group of people who have moved tons of times all over the country.
So funny, I try and I try, I am down to one storage unit from 4 at one time - all in different states. I know, I know... This year I plan to move it all here to me and sort through and purge. My friends used to joke that some day I would have a storage unit in all of the 49 contiguous states.
@ Heliconia: your story made me laugh out loud. I can SO picture the cats perched on the sill watching the world...and the attendant crowd that would gather!
Adorable.
So much great advice. I'm bookmarking this.
Two years ago, I moved from TX to NYC with my 2 cats, and am currently preparing to move from NYC to LA at the end of the month!
For the first move, I rented a moving truck (Penske all the way!), kept the cats in carriers, and hauled a** the whole way. By the second day, the cats were weary/whiny.
Since then, my partner and I bought a van and when we moved apartments last summer, we decided to go on a roadtrip, with the cats! As another commenter suggested, a short leash is great! I made 2 longer ones so the cats could move around freely without escaping, kept food/water/litter under the seat. They spent a combined total of ~2 weeks in the car with no problems.
Now we're downsizing our combined belongings to fit into a cargo van (we mailed all our books, cds, dvds via media mail for cheap!), planning a roadtrip along the way, and bringing the cats in the van with us! It's going to be a wild ride.
I would love some more specific details about why not to use U-Haul. I've used them for in town moves and never had any problems. I'm planning a 500 mile move and was considering using them again...thanks!
Wow.. So many ideas of moving w/ cats. Thank you all!!! Honestly, thank you!!!
@goddessisin I'm a little late checking back in, but I can give you three reasons not to use UHAUL for a long trip.
1) They buy their trucks used, from other companies like Penske, thus their trucks are older and are most likely to break down, not have working air conditioning etc.
2) The one time I used them, it was for a trailer, because they are the only ones with trailers, and when we went to get it they said they may not have one that day. I was moving across the country and my lease was up, rooms booked, etc. There was no waiting one more day. Then, when I did finally get the trailer (that day, but way late) and we drove it across the country, the tire blew out, which could happen with anyone, but it took them hours to come and assist us and we were in a major metro when it happened not the middle of nowhere. But don't take my word for it, there are plenty of people I know with similar stories and if you do your research, I'm sure you'll find the same things.
3) I've used Penske multiple times and they are great. I would recommend them, and their rate is usually lower.