MIGHTY TIDY

IT'S MOVING TIME!

 

So, it's that time of the year.  Summer is coming, the kids are finishing up the school year and for many families, it's time to find a new home.  There is so much stress surrounding buying and selling a home that once it comes to the packing part you may be at the end of your rope.  

 

To make the process a little easier, you can take a few steps to relieve yourself of some of that anxiety.  Start packing and sorting early.   There are a number of things that you do not need on a daily or even weekly basis.  There are also, undoubtedly, some things in your home that you just do not need any more.  Here are some tips to help you get started with the daunting task of packing:

 

-Start with the room you use the least.  

-Set yourself up with plenty of boxes, tape, markers and trash bags.  

-Use an extra box for things you would like to donate.  Attach your trash bag to a door handle and you are ready to rock.  

 

Things that you can start packing:

-photos and keepsakes

-off season clothing

-files that are not needed before the move

-books

-kitchen items in your upper cabinets (these are typically things you don't use everyday)

-most of the items in your garage

-most of the items in your basement

-items on the top shelf of your closet

-holiday items and decor

-linens (all but two sets of sheets)

 

Anything that you have not used in the past month, start packing.  Also, look at all of those items and ask yourself how long it has been since you used that item at all. If it has been over a month and its packed away in the closet, the chance is high that you don't need it anymore.  There are items that are sentimental of course, but you can try to streamline those things too.  Ask your self if it's possible to keep one or two items from an event if you have more than three. 

 

Try to tackle one area per day or week, depending on how much time you have. As the moving date gets closer, you can start packing the more essential items.  Make sure to label evey box with the NEW room location so that the movers (or you) will know exactly where it goes on moving day. It is also smart to note a few words about what is in the box.  That way, at your new home, you will know how quickly you need to unpack it.  You can take it a step further and label your boxes with "A, B and C" signifiying how urgent the contents are.  "A" boxes are items you need every day.  "B" boxes are things you need weekly and "C" boxes are those that can wait a bit if you run out of unpacking steam. If you want to be really organized, you can number your boxes and have a list of the general contents on a seperate sheet of paper. The sooner you start thinking about this, the easier it will be for you on moving day.