Moving is hard. Period. I’m going to offer a few ways we can get organized for a more manageable move!
We’re moving – again!
Such is the life of a military family, I suppose.
This time, we’re not moving very far.
5 miles, to be exact.
The good thing about this move is we have about 8 months to prepare.
The bad thing about this move is we have about 8 months to question every design decision we’ve made with the house we’re building!
This is our first time ever building a house from the dirt to the roof.
It’s been an experience so far.
I’ll tell you more about that adventure later, I’m sure!
Let’s Get Organized For a More Manageable Move
Since we have so long to overthink and plan, there’s no reason that we can’t achieve a really organized move!
A little over a year ago, I wrote this post that I called Simple Steps to a Less Stress Move.
Now, it’s time to put those steps into practice and take it a little further!
Honestly, instead of second-guessing design choices, I need to keep myself busy.
Get Organized with a Pre-Move Purge Schedule
Purge may be my favorite word!
Here’s my plan for Purging before this move!
I do have a little better perspective with this move than I’ve ever had before.
Between you and me – and everyone else I’ve said this to already – I don’t plan to move again!
I know that God may have more to say about that, but for now, we’re ready to put down some roots here.
Therefore, I can part with lots of things because I won’t have the “but I might need this at my next house” train of thought.
Since we have a lot going on ALL THE TIME, I’m breaking down my purging efforts into a room by room, monthly schedule.
September = Craft Room, Spare Bedroom, and Decor Stash
October = Office, Organizing Product Stash, and Bonus Room
November = Garage
December = Girls’ Room
January = Attic and Holiday Decor
February = Master Bedroom and Closet
March = Kitchen
April = Bathrooms
If you know me at all, you know that I am always trying to get stuff out of my house! Always!
And likely, you don’t have the kind of time I have to purge and get ready to move.
Your schedule could look more like weekly tasks or rooms or areas.
Any effort to get organized and purge before boxing up your belongings is worthwhile!
DIY Packing Efforts
Since we’re just moving a few miles down the road, we’ll do the bulk of our packing ourselves.
DIY Local Moves have always been a fiasco for us!
In an effort to just get stuff moved from one house to other, we’ve often filled every basket, box, or vessel we could with stuff and then thrown it in our trunks.
We’ll be moving at the height of track season and soccer season so that kind of chaos won’t be tolerated.
Packing ourselves will definitely help keep our moving boxes and their contents more organized than having a crew of packers do it.
Likely as I purge, I’ll designate a place for packed boxes so that I can pack as I go.
However, I don’t want to feel like I live in a half-packed house for the next 8 months.
Cardboard dust is really annoying!
I’m also likely going to invest in some quality large plastic storage bins that we can use to move, but can also be used for storage in our garage and attic spaces in the new house.
Have I mentioned how much extra storage we’re going to have in the new house?
Get Organized to Unpack – Pack By Room
Honestly, I’ll probably have packed boxes in my car ready to unload the moment we have the keys to the new house!
Packing by room will help this type of sporadic moving go much more smoothly.
Let’s be real!
I’ve studied these floor plans and decorated this house in my mind over and over.
I know exactly what should go where!
Since the plan is to live in the rental house as we move into the new house, I’ll be super strategic about the order in which things can be moved.
Likely, if all goes according to plan, I’ll be taking a trip a day with boxes to move!
Most of the things we store in the garage are not used regularly – and the garage only requires shelving for unloading.
I know where our craft supplies will be stored so those bins can go straight into that closet.
I’d rather get this move done in small chunks than have a house full of boxes to unpack all at once.
Plus, I can re-use boxes I unpack at the new house. Bonus!
Procure Able-Bodied Movers And Have a More Manageable Move
Eventually, we’ll have a firm date to close on the new house.
When that date is set, we can check our kids’ activity calendars to find a good day to have all of our furniture and heavy lifting moving done.
We will definitely hire a local company to do this part for us.
Our 40 year old and over friends are no longer willing to do hard labor for a few slices of pizza!
Movers are a worthwhile investment for sure!
One thing I’ve learned about hiring movers, even for just furniture, is that it’s a lot longer process than I anticipated!
I walk into a room with nothing but furniture and think how quickly this should go.
I fail to take into account the care the movers will take wrapping and padding every piece of furniture.
Organize the Bills
An area that many of us struggle with, especially in this age of auto-pay, is transferring services from one location to another.
Moving creates a perfect opportunity to start a master document of service providers.
Who do we pay for internet?
What address is on the credit card statement?
Which services need to be turned off and which ones need to be transferred?
What are the passwords for online access for those accounts?
Whose name is on each of the accounts?
Will we keep paying for Directv or switch over to all streaming services?
This list will provide a good checklist for making sure all of our information is updated with those services that send us paper bills or who require we enter a zip code when we use their card.
Moving is not one of my favorite things, but with a little bit of a plan in place, it’s possible to make the whole process a little more bearable!
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