Comments on: Seven Tips For Your Next Big Move

By: paul

paul — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:28:44 +0000

in Canada, budget grocery stores have boxes for you to pack groceries in but people come in and take them for moving as well.

I move quite a bit so I try not to own much but I’m a single guy. Everything fis into a minivan. Usually if friends help me move I’ll give them some of my stuff that they may want. If its clothes it saves them money from shopping and frees up some space for me. I lend books to friends and relatives so they can read them and I can pick them up later.

By: Matthew Cornell

Matthew Cornell — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:24:32 +0000

Thanks for the article. The biggest thing I found useful in moving was having my personal productivity act together. I found it changed moving from a major psychological upset to a purely mechanical one, which you address here so nicely.

More here if you’re interested:
Another GTD Plus – Moving offices made much easier
http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/2006/02/another-gtd-plus-moving-offices-made.html

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:44:05 +0000

I would like to second the suggestion for Liquor Store boxes. They are usually much thicker, sturdier, and able to take the wear and tear of moving. Be careful though, some neighbors might look askance at somebody new to the block who moves in with furniture and the contents of a liquor store!

By: Brett

Brett — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 03:03:58 +0000

This is a great list…great ideas! I especially like the idea of asking friends/family to come AFTER the move. That would definitely help to reduce the feeling of the “crazy house”, having people help you to organize everything. Keep up the great work!

By: chris

chris — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 04:36:32 +0000

@ryan (and everyone, i guess)

i worked at a newspaper and we’d use the roll ends from our press in the bathrooms instead of paper towels. the paper is actually really absorbent. and it would be tossed regardless, so it was a good solution.

if you’re not wanting a giant roll of paper hanging in your master bath, they are also useful in a garage, shop or art studio.

By: Simplex

Simplex — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 19:03:18 +0000

Moving is also a great time to evaluate what you have, it’s better to reduce the clutter BEFORE filling those boxes. That will reduce the time and the money you spend on this project.

By: MyBestInvest

MyBestInvest — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 01:25:13 +0000

This is great advice. We’re moving two weeks from tomorrow, so we need all the advice/motivation we can get right now.

By: Anna

Anna — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:22:28 +0000

Another source of boxes: a candle store. Candles are heavy, so the boxes are sturdy, like book boxes, and they also smell wonderful!

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 23:28:39 +0000

Why Tuesdays? Just wondering where you got this idea from.

I worked in a bookstore, and believe me, we took delivery of books every day that any company would bring them to us. I doubt you’d have to even be a paying customer. Just being civil would probably get you all the cardboard boxes you could ever imagine using, just for the asking. Bookstores have to pay someone to take that stuff away. There’s no reason at all they wouldn’t be happy to part with some or all of it.

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 22:46:24 +0000

Hi Trent, I’d love to know how your son has handled the move? Is he settling in well? Cheers Cheryl

By: Elden

Elden — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 21:04:49 +0000

I also just moved. I got my free boxes from other people that have moved. They usually post free boxes on craigslist.com or other local free advertising.

By: Vincent

Vincent — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:54:46 +0000

When my brother and his wife and kid moved out of their apartment into their current house, for organization, he used balloons and colored tape. Each room was assigned a color, and each box was labeled according to which room it went into: blue balloons were in his office, so every box with office supplies got blue tape, pink in the den, etc. It was easy for all of us to find the appropriate place for all their stuff.

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:20:50 +0000

Oh one other thing:

Tip your movers. They have an extremely hard job and usually get paid squat. Most of your service charge is spent on van maintenance and insurance, while the actual movers will be making less than $8/hr. Tips are very appreciated.

If you tip a little up front and mention that there’s more where that came from I guarantee they’ll do the job better, faster, and with more respect for your property.

How much should you tip? I’d say $10-20 for each guy on the crew, depending on the size of the job. Providing water and/or cold drinks is a good idea too, as long as they’re working and not wasting a lot of time.

It may make sense to take doors off of hinges for a move, if you think some items might be a tight squeeze. Most movers will come with the tools to do this, as well as some padding to put around the door frame to avoid scrapes.

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:10:52 +0000

Liquor stores are also a good source of free boxes. Sometimes they even come with bottle-divider inserts that work well for moving glasses and cups.

By: MS

MS — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 17:38:59 +0000

Congratulations on your move! And thanks for thinking of us readers even as you recover from it.

By: Ear

Ear — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 17:38:55 +0000

I’d add: Take pictures of EVERYTHING.
On a move across the country with the family, we had our moving van stolen right from the front of the old house. Of course, was taken after pretty much everything had been loaded. One of the movers left the keys in the ignition. Was a serious pain doing the insurance paperwork and pictures would of helped a lot. Don’t just take pics of expensive stuff, take pictures of EVERYTHING.

By: MillionDollarJourney.com

MillionDollarJourney.com — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 17:21:02 +0000

Excellent post! We’re also in the process of moving soon (we’re building), and I had no idea that book stores are a good source of boxes. How much did the moving service cost you?

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:56:53 +0000

In addition to marking the target room and box contents on each box top, mark it on all four sides, so that when the boxes are stacked you can still see where they belong and what is in them.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:44:13 +0000

Another cleaner option for packing materials is to contact your local newspaper about newsprint roll ends. Ever see those huge rolls of paper they feed into the printing presses? Turns out that they do not empty the entire roll and many newspapers give away the excess or sell it for a nominal charge. $1 at the printing facility bought me enough paper to pack my entire house for my last three moves. The added bonus is that since the paper had never been printed on my hands and possessions were smudge free.

Off the subject of moving – these roll ends are also great for kids drawing and painting.

By: Grayson De Ritis

Grayson De Ritis — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:39:21 +0000

I’ll also add that WalMart around 11pm to 1am have boxes literally covering the floors, and they welcome patrons to haul ‘em away.