Packing and Moving...
 

I'm moving... again. Fourth time in three years. I'm hoping this is the last time I move for a very very long time. I have some questions...


What's a good order for packing? I tend to be all over the place which leads me to believe I'm taking a lot more steps to get things done. Where should I start?

What's your rule for getting rid of things? Clothes? Shoes? Stuff like that. I got rid of 13 pairs of shoes, most of which I hadn't worn in over two years.

And along the lines of getting rid of stuff... how do two people moving in together combine their stuff? I'm pretty attached to my things and so if she. When it's a significant other it can be a little more complicated.



I'm posting this as a way to postpone going through stuff...

3 piles, 4 if you're going to use storage.

packed, donation, throw away, storage.

follow the OHIO method, Only Handle It Once.

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Or you can follow the professional packers method, which is pack things up by room and object. So bedroom dresser is once box. Put all the clothes in the box, seal it. Move to next box if it requires more than 1. Get wardrobe boxes for items that are on hangers. Pick them up and hang them directly into the box.

You may use more boxes this way, but it will be faster.

Take the clothes and shoes to thrift stores.
I do one room at a time and pack everything that I'm not using into boxes labeled by room rather than type of item. It's what works fr me. If I haven't used it in a year, I tend to pitch it... in theory. ;)

I'm not good with the room by room. I started by taking everything off the walls.

That's a good place to start, King, I've done that.
& then used towels,extra sheets or blankets for wrapping.

I'd pack stuff first I didn't have to make any decisions about.
The treasured knick knacks, books, art, Jesus candles, etc..

I'm in the process of moving and I can tell you, it's been craziness. I was divorced over a year ago and my daughter just left for college so it's been just me. I'm downsizing and planning this move as part of my big transition in life. I've gotten rid of so much stuff the Goodwill people know me by name now. I started going room by room. If I haven't touched it in a year, I got rid of it. Extra furniture pieces were put at the curb and people took them. Larger objects that I don't really use, I inquired around to find people who might use them and found new homes (I gave away a 10" dobsonian telescope to a family with a daughter who had an interest in astronomy, for instance) I decided to just keep the basics and the mementos and everything else had to go.

I can quite honestly say that the stuff that has walked out the door is stuff that I do not miss at all. I can't even tell you what all it was. All that stuff went into boxes and bags as I packed the stuff I wanted to keep. One way I limited the 'keep' packing was by walking through the room and packing the keep stuff, sealing the box and taking it away. Then I went back through the room and everything else went to goodwill.

Good Luck! don't do what I did and let 20 years of crapola end up cluttering your life. Take care of it now!

Get space bags. They are the most awesomest packing merchandise this planet has ever seen.

Don't worry so much about consolidating your stuff because you both have things--over time, you WILL consolidate your stuff together, because you'll come to realize--hmm, do we REALLY need two of these items? The answer is usually no. Donate things that you haven't used recently--if you haven't needed it in the last year or so, you likely won't miss it. It's hard to overcome sentimentality, but sometimes it needs to be done.

Oh, and Craigslisting stuff can be a great way to make some quick cash :)

1. Look through your stuff, toss everything you don't use anymore that can't be recycled.
2. Donate everything you don't use anymore that can be donated.
3. Locate professional movers.
4. Hire them.
5. Let them pack you up, move you, and unpack you.
6. Sit back and have a beer.

"If in doubt, throw it out"


Perhaps sell, recycle, or give it away. We all tend to accumulate too much stuff. Moving is a very good time to divest yourself of things that appear to have some value, but never get used.

As far as consolidating households. I hate to be sexist; but you're gonna lose this one. If your TV is better than her TV, you might have a case. Anything subjective, like a comfortable couch, is going to eventually wind up with her preference.

I wish we could do pro-movers... It's just not practical for moving two miles away. And oddly, she has the better TV. But I have the awesome sound system to go with it...

try having a garage sale WK.

you'll be surprised at the junk that people will buy off you. you'll make some extra cash and get rid of stuff you're undecided about.

From what I've discovered the last time I moved, and from other friends who've moved in recent years--putting stuff on Craigslist is the better option. It seems like people are willing to pay more for crap on CL than at a garage sale.

Garage sales are a waste of time. Donate and take it as a deduction on your taxes.

if you have junk to sell, and you're limited on space, and you're able to sell it, how is it a waste of time?

if you read the OP dragonlady, you'll see that WK is moving. He's not wanting to reduce his tax liability.

Start with the stuff you're least likely to want/use before you move. Pictures off the walls is a good start. Books, decorative stuff, off-season clothes, utensils and appliances you won't need,

As you're going through stuff, consider when was the last time you used the thing and how likely are you to use it again? When my mom was packing and there was a bunch of stuff that was kind of sentimental but not like Grandma's china or what have you, I made her take a picture of it and get rid of it. I've done the same...the shoes that I wore all through college but are busted up now. I don't need them, but the memories are nice, so take a picture. It lasts longer and it takes up no space at all.

I find it helps to set aside one room or part of a room as the storage area for the full boxes so things don't get too cluttered. It goes without saying, mark the boxes so you know what's in them. If you can organize things by where they go in the new space, all the better.

Depending on how long it is till you're moving, set aside some things you'll need at the tail end so they don't get packed - cleaning supplies, paper/plastic plates/cups/forks or a few plates and such, a weeks worth of clothes, etc. Also make sure you have a box full of the stuff you're going to need immediately when you unpack. (It might be the same stuff.) For me it was a few clothes, some dishes, my phone charger and laptop, shampoo and stuff.

Good luck and er...have fun? Moving is such a pain in the ass, but it's also a new beginning.

One addition that lurkette's comments reminded me of: Date the boxes! I know in my family's case, dating the boxes let us know precisely how long it had been since we had even needed the stuff in the box. Mom found some boxes recently at my parents' house that hadn't been opened since the last time they moved--6 years ago. Away they went.

You are about to learn the Ace of Spades word in consolidating households: "Clash"

Your favorite recliner, "Honey, it clashes with the loveseat and couch."
Your favorite art piece, "Honey, it clashes with the dining room set."
Your foot stool you carved out of a single piece of oak in 10th grade, "Honey, it clashes with my leather ottoman."

Here's how you consolidate: "Honey, I get the back bedroom - you get the rest of the house. Please let me do my room the way I want." This is the ONLY hope you have of keeping any of your stuff in your "consolidated" house.

P.S. 99% of a guy's stuff is worth throwing out for the sake of a good woman. Pick your battles, and before you respond always ask yourself, "Would I rather be happy or right?" Go for happy and ditch the recliner.

P.P.S. My recliner lasted 3 days in my first consolidated house. Some bachelor picked it up off the street. Lucky bastard.

A secluded and generally unencroached mancave that is fundamentally free from female influences is a crucial aspect of every healthy relationship.

Virginia Woolf wrote about a room of one's own from the perspective of the female artist. While a female needs her space to be herself as any human being does, the 21st century concept of the mancave (a kind of room of one's own for men) is not to be overlooked.

A box of garbage bags at midnight works well. I've moved a few times like that. You just load up the bags with clothes, footwear, cans of beans, DVDs, etc. Be careful loading them into the truck. Then you just get upstairs and put the bag on the floor and roll it down. Instant piles. Cleanup is a snap... you've got a ton of garbage bags left over for whatever you decide you didn't need to keep in the first place. Granted, this method is not recommended for dishes, electronics, and pets.

I get the kitchen. I spend more time in there and all of it is my stuff.

We are gonna share the office decorating... she get's the bedroom and living room.

It is if you eat off of plastic plates and you really just don't like your pets.