The last time I moved, it took two weeks before I could say the "M" word without feeling ill.
Moving's a nasty task - even for someone who earns her living telling others how to be organized.Before I moved, I envisioned writing about it later under the title: "The Organized Move." My advice was going to be: Set a goal and achieve it effortlessly. My goal was to be unpacked, with pictures hung, in 48 hours.
I achieved it, but not effortlessly. Below, the lessons I learned:
- Don't move junk. Whether you're doing the work yourself, or hiring a mover, go room by room and throw out stuff you no longer use. Be ruthless. Weigh the cost of moving it with the cost of buying it new when you get there.
- If you're hiring a mover, get bids from three companies. Have them estimate the move several ways: if they do the packing, if you do the packing, if they move everything, if they move only large pieces of furniture.
- Tell the mover you want an early morning move. My household was the company's last move of the day, and by then the men were tired.
- Make sure you have adequate storage at the new place, especially book shelves and closets.
- Buy picture hooks, stereo wire and lots of cleaning supplies, especially dish soap, ahead of time.
- Weeks before your move, be on the lookout for moving vans unloading. See if you can buy the used boxes. New ones are expensive.
- Save money by packing and moving small things yourself. Enlist friends' help.
- Move ahead of time your kitchen items, pet food, kids' toys and bathroom supplies. If that stuff is unpacked on moving day, your new house will feel lived in.
- Pack an essentials box - toilet paper, telephone, toothpaste and brushes, coffee and coffee pot, soap, screwdriver and pliers, utensils, pans and light bulbs - and move it yourself.
- To-do list: Insure your move; cancel utilities and services; notify the phone company a week before you move; notify post office at least 10 days in advance, and request a closeout reading from utility company.
- Plan to run out of liquid cleaners before you move. Moving open containers increases likelihood of spills.
- Plan to send children under 8 to a sitter and pets to a kennel on moving day. Eliminate distractions.
Other ideas: For Allied Van Lines' free guide to a good move, write to Allied, P.O. Box 11759, Chicago, IL 60611.