In June we moved cross country from California to North Carolina and moved I to an old house of ours that we'd been renting out while we lived in California. Since getting back, I've been working daily to fix the place up and make it presentable to sell. We'd tried to sell it in 2011 when we moved to California and the market was so bad at the time that after two months on the market, we opted to rent it out instead. It was in average condition when we got it back. Dirtier than it should've been and badly in need of paint (inside and out) but overall, no major issues. Once the house was fixed up, we decided it was time to list it again. The neighborhood was declining and location wise we were much further north than we would prefer to be. So we shopped around, found an AMAZING house to buy in South Carolina and decided to go for it! We put an offer in on the house and immediately listed our old house. We expected it to take awhile for our house to sell but it didn't. Not even close. We received a full price offer for our old house within 48 hours. A cash, full price offer. Yeah, we were stunned. And they want to close ASAP so we had to launch into full moving mode and speed up closing on the new house.
Isn't this house gorgeous?!?!?
So in all my spare time I've been packing. We've hired actual movers for the furniture and heavy stuff but plan to move a huge portion of stuff ourselves, like clothes and dishes and artwork. After moving once already this summer I've about had my fill of it and I'm just so ready to be settled in the new house! With all my moving experiences, I've collected quite a few moving tips and thought it'd be appropriate to share them.
Here are my favorite tips:
-Use old magazines as box filler/padding. Take old magazines, rip the pages out and crumple them into a ball, one by one. This doesn't take as long as you might think and can be done almost mindlessly while watching a movie or tv. Just have an empty box next to you and toss the crumpled ball into the box. This is great for providing a little cushion to the bottoms and sides of your boxes. I've never had a broken glass or dish when packing this way!
-Put styrofoam plates between plates, stack them and then use packing tape to wrap around the stack once and hold them securely.
-Use trash bags to pack clothing. While clothes are on the hangers, bag them from the bottom, tying strings around the neck of the hangers. When you get to your new house all you have to do is hang the bag in the closet and then yank off the bag and you're good to go!
-Pack books in rolling suitcases. Book boxes tend to get heavy fast and by using roller bags, you can avoid having to lift them.
- Use brightly colored tape on boxes to signify what room in the new house the box will go into. On arrival day at the new house, stick coordinating tape on the door of each room. This will speed up the unloading process and keep movers from having to ask multiple times which room is which.
-Have a first night box that either stays with you or gets loaded last. Mark it clearly. In it should be anything you will want or need on your first night. Pillows, sheets, towels, toiletries, etc.
-Have bottled waters available for your movers. They usually bring a little of their own but it's a nice gesture and can show them that you care about them. In turn, they'll care a little more about your things as they load and unload them.
-The vacuum, a broom, Clorox wipes and windex should be the very last thing loaded because once all your stuff is out of the house you should do a once over cleaning. Unless of course you've hired professional cleaners to come in behind you. Whoever is moving in after you will appreciate coming into a clean and ready house.
-Use old magazines as box filler/padding. Take old magazines, rip the pages out and crumple them into a ball, one by one. This doesn't take as long as you might think and can be done almost mindlessly while watching a movie or tv. Just have an empty box next to you and toss the crumpled ball into the box. This is great for providing a little cushion to the bottoms and sides of your boxes. I've never had a broken glass or dish when packing this way!
-Use trash bags to pack clothing. While clothes are on the hangers, bag them from the bottom, tying strings around the neck of the hangers. When you get to your new house all you have to do is hang the bag in the closet and then yank off the bag and you're good to go!
-Pack books in rolling suitcases. Book boxes tend to get heavy fast and by using roller bags, you can avoid having to lift them.
- Use brightly colored tape on boxes to signify what room in the new house the box will go into. On arrival day at the new house, stick coordinating tape on the door of each room. This will speed up the unloading process and keep movers from having to ask multiple times which room is which.
-Have a first night box that either stays with you or gets loaded last. Mark it clearly. In it should be anything you will want or need on your first night. Pillows, sheets, towels, toiletries, etc.
-Have bottled waters available for your movers. They usually bring a little of their own but it's a nice gesture and can show them that you care about them. In turn, they'll care a little more about your things as they load and unload them.
-The vacuum, a broom, Clorox wipes and windex should be the very last thing loaded because once all your stuff is out of the house you should do a once over cleaning. Unless of course you've hired professional cleaners to come in behind you. Whoever is moving in after you will appreciate coming into a clean and ready house.
