Comments on: Planning Ahead For The Big Move – And Hoping To Save Money

By: RazzBari

RazzBari — Tue, 29 May 2007 15:05:59 +0000

If possible, board the cats or take them to the new house and put them in a small room with the door taped shut – don’t want them getting underfoot or escaping!

Also, if they’re used to going outside, keep them in for at least 2 weeks before letting them explore the new neighborhood, so they have a sense of where their new home is.

Happy moving!

By: schroedinger

schroedinger — Mon, 28 May 2007 08:22:30 +0000

When you get close to move-in day pack essentials into small boxes. I always have an “Office Supplies” box, a “Bathroom Essentials” box, a “Bedding” box, etc. And make sure plates and utensils are packed away from all the other kitchen gear. After a long day of moving the last thing you want to do is dig through boxes looking for forks.

The fact that you are packing so early will make moving a breeze. This cannot be underestimated. I have friends whose apartments were messes–and not from packing–two days before they needed to leave. What a nightmare.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 28 May 2007 01:28:44 +0000

I was reading up on habit tracker… and ended up at this site. I saw this moving list and remembered reading your moving article earlier in the day. Get what you think can help from this link: http://www.timemanaged.com/moving.php
Good luck!

By: Susan

Susan — Sun, 27 May 2007 17:21:40 +0000

Another idea for a cheap move -

I’m in the middle of a move right now and the best thing I did was go to Wal Mart for boxes. They are always re-stocking shelves and were more than willing to give us the boxes for free. Try the cleaning supplies section for the small ones. Tape was $0.97 per roll.

Anyone have ideas for a cheap move across country? Right now we are looking at renting an ABF truck so they can drive the stuff for us. We load and unload at either end. For some reason it was $100 cheaper when we signed up (and another $25 off for signing up on-line) – maybe because we requested a move on a Tuesday.

By: Viva

Viva — Sat, 26 May 2007 18:17:29 +0000

I recently heard about http://www.usedcardboardboxes.com/ from a friend, and it sounds like a good frugal way to get cardboard boxes (if you can’t get enough from the liquor store).

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 26 May 2007 15:50:15 +0000

Get the bedroom furniture set up FIRST on moving day, and make the bed. Then, no matter what state the rest of the house is in, you can go lie down when you need to!

Move furniture first before you start bringing boxes. It’s much easier to figure out where to put furniture if you don’t have to move a stack of boxes first. If you have a room you don’t have furniture for yet, use that room for all boxes, sorted by final destination. Once the furniture is in place, then boxes can be carried too their final destination and unpacked.

Congratulations and good luck!

By: Patricia

Patricia — Sat, 26 May 2007 14:34:03 +0000

When you get to the new house, unpack everything the first day and get rid of the boxes as soon as possilbe. It is a lot easier to have boxes lying around waiting to be unpacked. Noone likes a lot of clutter lying around – you will put everything away a lot faster (from a vet of 8 moves including 2 overseas – one with 2 kids and a dog).

By: Thursday

Thursday — Sat, 26 May 2007 14:08:32 +0000

Two things:
First off, I’ve always tried to pack dishes and other breakables in my towels and clothes because I absolutely *hate* having to wash them again when I unpack.
Second, I saw a couple of previous comments about finding used boxes. I gotta warn you — used boxes can cost a heck of a lot more in the long run. If you aren’t careful where they come from, they can bring all sorts of bugs along.

By: Jim in Sherman

Jim in Sherman — Sat, 26 May 2007 13:56:16 +0000

At your new house, use one room as the staging area for all boxes. Divide the staging room into quadrants (kitchen, bedroom 1, etc). Put the low priority boxes for each quadrant in first. Do this until all boxes have arrived before you start unpacking.

And since you are packing in advance, take a digital picture of inside the boxes as you work and keep these pics on your laptop so they are handy a month from now when you ask yourself “where did I put the one of a kind thing-a-ma-jiggy?”

By: fivecentnickel.com

fivecentnickel.com — Sat, 26 May 2007 12:51:34 +0000

Heh. I got halfway through a comment about liquor boxes, and then saw that Phoenix already covered it. Anyway, it’s a great tip for stuff like books.

By: Rob in Madrid

Rob in Madrid — Sat, 26 May 2007 09:41:10 +0000

As well Packing tape (at least over here) is unbelievably expensive. Keep an eye on on the dollar stores and stock up on it when you see it.

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Sat, 26 May 2007 09:35:57 +0000

My husband’s company paid for professional movers and packers. We got a list of tips from theme (look at any major van line website). One key one is have last on / first off boxes. This should contain the afforementioned toilet paper and anything else you’ll need the first 24 hours. (For folks with kids, essential to have this with favorite toys, etc. Let the kids pack it.) Bedding, toothbrushes & toiletries, coffee maker & coffee if you’ll want that, etc.

When the movers were moving stuff, my husband and I just stayed in the kitchen and unpacked every kitchen box so that when day was done our kitchen was set up. Maybe your wife could do this. To have an unpacked kitchen and sheets on the beds felt good on the first night.

By: Sandgroper14

Sandgroper14 — Sat, 26 May 2007 08:36:06 +0000

We moved 3 months ago after 16yrs in the same house, to a location some 200 miles away. I blogged about the move, and specifically the ‘lessons learned’ (http://sandgroper14.wordpress.com/2007/03/04/lessons-learned-from-the-move/)

Good luck!

By: Rob in Madrid

Rob in Madrid — Sat, 26 May 2007 07:57:21 +0000

I wouldn’t bother much with organizing lists, upstairs bedroom kitchen should be enough.

Let us know how the truck rental goes, usally the posted rate ins’t any near the end cost.

By: phoenix

phoenix — Sat, 26 May 2007 02:19:58 +0000

Thought of this after I posted before–a great place to get free boxes is your local liquor store. They usually give thiem away free, they’re built tough, and they are a perfect size for heavy and compact items–like books:)

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sat, 26 May 2007 02:12:30 +0000

A friend of mine recently moved his family. They didn’t want to make a lot of trips moving so they came up with a rule. If they hadn’t touched an item within the last 6 months, they didn’t need it. You may be able to adopt a similar policy, it removes a lot of junk you think you need, but don’t really need. Some of your books could probably be sold on amazon.com to make up for transportation expenses.

I don’t know if they have these stores in other states, but in PA there are state owned liquor stores. These are excellent places to get a lot of boxes. Egg crates at grocery stores are also a nice touch.

By: David

David — Sat, 26 May 2007 01:43:40 +0000

We moved with the help of a crew of wonderful friends. They were all very eager to put stuff where it belonged. The more precisely that boxes are labeled, the more precisely your (hopefully) eager friends will drop them in the right place.
I suggest dividing the boxes into two groups: those that have to be dropped in the correct place, and those that can be stacked somewhere for sorting (e.g. books).
Regarding first-night dinner, we found a local takeout joint and ordered food for all our friends. Depending on their needs, you might want to grab a couple of six-packs too. No need for plates, etc. as everyone will be fine with the plastic utensils that come with the takeout.
Finally, and most importantly, make the time to help any of the folks you ask to help when they have to move. Karma’s important!

By: Stef

Stef — Sat, 26 May 2007 01:39:39 +0000

A friend gave me a great tip for some free moving boxes. Go check the recycling bin at your apartment complex. We have hit up a few different ones and made out with some excellent boxes. Hope this helps!

By: phoenix

phoenix — Sat, 26 May 2007 01:35:33 +0000

The diner box idea is great–make one set of plates, cups and silverware the last thing you pack at the old place, and the first thing you unpacke at the new. Include snacks and drinks as well, and one thing almost everyone forgets when moving: toilet paper:) Make sure that a supply of toilet paper is in the absolute first load arriving at the new house (especially with a pregnant woman), but leave some at the old place too. An extra roll or two isn’t that expensive to leave behind, but when you need it it’s priceless!

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sat, 26 May 2007 00:22:34 +0000

Don’t pay for boxes. In larger cities you can search on Craigslist, though this might be less effective where you live. If you go by some stores around 6am (i.e. when they’re throwing away the boxes they unpacked during the night’s stocking) you can get a mess of them. You might also try Wal-Mart between 11-12pm – they do a lot of stocking then, and will usually give you their boxes.

I definitely agree with the simple box labelling/detailed inventory and “dinner box” (make sure you put in paper plates and something for breakfast the next morning) ideas. Those have saved me a lot of hassle during the 6 moves (3 cross country) I’ve made in the last 6 years. During each successive move I’ve filtered down my possessions so much that everything I own now fits in 3 suitcases and 4 medium size boxes. (The first time I moved I more than filled out the largest-sized U-haul.)

Oh, and face it: you’re not going to want to cook on the night of your move, and you probably won’t have much stuff unpacked to do it with anyway. Do a little research and scope out a cheap but good takeout place, and plan on getting takeout food for the people (some people usually drift off after most of the stuff is moved, so this is usually less expensive than you’d think) who helped you do the heavy lifting.