We know the feeling: midway through about three loads of laundry, you collapse in a heap on your bed, surrounded by piles of clothing and half-open suitcases. You have pump-up music blaring in the background, or a movie to make the time go by. You want tomorrow to be here already so you'll be DONE, but hey -- that involves getting through the next slow, painful hours.
Moving is a b*tch.
Whether you're hiring help (like us!) or attempting to suffer through it alone, we feel your pain. Ashley, our fabulous founder and CEO, just moved apartments; others on the team are dealing with their own moves. Back to school, switching leases, moving across an ocean...we've seen it all. Which, most importantly, means that we can help YOU.
Last week, we took to our Instagram to ask our followers about their most helpful moving tricks, and we're here to share those with you to make the process a little less terrible.
Make it fun for yourself.
First of all, turn it into an experience. It may not seem fun, but you can fake it 'til you make it. Self love. Light a candle. Put on a movie that's a favorite you rarely indulge in -- or a show that's an absolute guilty pleasure to binge. (We recommend "The Mindy Project" for a light go-to! We've been watching it all summer. Order takeout that you've been craving all week. Add some wine for flavor (It's 3pm? Go ahead. Nobody's judging.)
Use our overall organizational principles.
Ashley has several rules about how to organize. It's why she's the expert. One of them is as follows: you absolutely cannot begin putting up your items until you've taken everything out and sorted it. You don't want to have completely packed a suitcase before realizing that the items in it would have fit much better somewhere else. Take the time to evaluate and plan before diving in. This might mean that your floor looks worse before it gets better, but it will help so much when you get to the dregs of your stuff.
Edit before you pack.
There is no need to pack items that you don't care about. We're not necessarily minimalists in terms of aesthetic style, but we are in the sense that we firmly believe that you should love or use every item or piece in your home. If you're not obsessed with it, or it has no sentimental value, or you don't actively use it, why is it taking up room in your home? Having a home that serves you and your purpose means having less clutter that you're just going to shove in a corner closet in your new place. Save yourself (or your movers) the strain. Moving is an excellent excuse to cut down to YOUR essentials.
Keep a catalog of what you're packing.
You don't want to get six boxes in and not be able to remember what you've packed where, BUT it's really easy to keep a running log on your phone of what you've packed as you go. Even if it's just "five blouses -- box one." This next bit is also super basic but equally as important: LABEL YOUR BOXES. You may think now that you'll remember but you absolutely will not. Hate to break it to you. We're saving you the trouble of having fifty identical boxes staring at you later while you desperately search for one item you absolutely need. One of our followers keeps an itemized list so she can consult her master list for what's in each box -- genius.
Use tape colors to coordinate what goes in each room.
Boom. A quick visual reminder of which boxes go to kitchen, living room, bedroom, etc,.
Use a hanging bag or trash bag to easily transport clothing on hangers.
There is no need to rehang your clothing! As long as you are following our closet organization guidelines -- which we detail extensively in our How to Organize Your Closet guide, soon available for purchase -- you shouldn't have to go through the work of removing and rehanging your clothing. It's tedious and unnecessary.
Pack one room per day.
If you're reading this the night before you leave, you may be out of luck, but if you're able to, breaking up your packing can be helpful. This also goes along with "take one box per trip to the car" if you're moving gradually or have the ability to go ahead and transport your boxes. (If you are, we hope you appreciate how lucky you are!)
When you're moving to a new property, get the house professionally cleaned before moving in.
The feeling of having all your boxes on the ground in front of you is satisfying, until you realize that there's a thin layer of dust beneath them. It can be frustrating deciding whether to clean first although you have the stress of a cluttered house, or to unpack so that it's all away. Save yourself the headache.
Keep your necessities out!
You will forget which box you buried your phone charger in. Trust us; it's not pretty. This is also where the itemized list can come in handy as a backup.
What are your go-to moving tips?
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