Moving – isn’t it a hassle? Whenever we have to do it, it always ends up being so much worse than we imagined. We think to ourselves that it’s manageable, and then we’re up at 2 in the morning frantically packing boxes because moving day is upon us and we underestimated how long it would all take. Why do we do this to ourselves?
While moving will always be a stressful experience, there are ways that you can make the process a great deal more manageable. Here are some tips on how to make it quicker, easier and so much more efficient.
Bag it or bin it
Before you even start packing everything, you need to take stock of what you have. More importantly, you need to acknowledge what you want to keep and what you can get rid of. Now is not the time to be sentimental! Spending time contemplating whether something is worth keeping will only delay the inevitable. If you’re not sure if you want to hold onto something, it obviously doesn’t mean that much to you.
If it’s still of decent quality, give it to charity, otherwise, dispose of it in the trash. Once you’ve sorted out what is and isn’t worth packing, you’ll have less stuff to worry about. See, already it’s become a lot easier.
Kitchen Tricks
Chances are, most of the breakable items you need to pack up will be in the kitchen. Glasses, plates, and dishes are always liable to break if not handled properly. While you may want to use entire rolls of bubble wrap just to keep them safe, you can just use things you already have. For glasses, stuff the inside with clean socks then wrap some around the outside. You can do a similar thing with clothes for plates and dishes. Two birds with one stone.
When being efficient with packing, you always need to utilize any available space. Use your pans to store any herbs, spices or other foodstuffs that will fit, and keep any unsheathed knives in your potholders (with an elastic band tied around to keep them secure). The latter not only fills unused space but also keeps your sharp items out of harm’s way. You don’t need an injury to set you back in your packing.
Bedroom Tricks
Speaking of utilizing empty space, your bedroom is probably full of little trinkets that you need to pack away somewhere. This is where shoes come in real handy. They have plenty of unused space inside that can fit most small items you need to store away. The more shoes you own, the more storage space you have. Finally, owning so many pairs of shoes has given you the upper hand.
As for all those clothes you’ve got, anything that hasn’t been used as wrapping for your fragile items should be rolled up rather than folded. If possible, keep everything in your drawers and then cover said drawers in plastic wrap. This will save you having to take everything out, only to fill them up once you’ve moved.
Living room tricks
Moving isn’t just about packing everything you own. Sometimes, you need to remove evidence that you’ve lived there, especially when you’ve had pictures on the wall. When removing nails, make sure to tie an elastic band around the top of your hammer so that it doesn’t cause any scuff marks on the wall. Once the nails have been removed, fill the holes with a white bar of soap.
For all the electrics you might have had in your living room, toilet rolls make great storage solutions. Just store your chargers and cords inside them and write on the rolls what each one was for. If your electronic setup looks complicated when you go to unplug everything, take a few photos. This will make plugging everything back in so much easier when you move into your new place.
Moving house doesn’t have to be a tear-your-hair-out process. It probably still will be because stress. However, at least we’ve found ways to make the whole thing that bit more efficient.
