Packing & Moving Tips & Tricks

Hey, Houtz Partiers!

I'm Andi and I write at The Hollie Rogue. Kelly and I are real-life friends and have very similar real-life current events. I don't have 4 kids under 4 (she's a super hero, you know), but my family and I are moving to the country from the suburbs just like Kelly's! We actually are going to be only a few minutes away from each other and I can't wait to be hanging out together every week!


We sold our townhouse and moved in with my husband's parents while we found and closed on the new house and so our moving situation was a little different from most. We had to put much of our stuff into storage for a few months and so I researched and learned some nifty tricks to help organize the move. Today, I'm going to share those moving tips with YOU!

1. Number and inventory EVERY box.--I initially thought this was going to be SO much work, but it actually wasn't at all. Every time I packed a box, I jotted down the things that were in there in a little notebook that was organized by room (ie: Master Bedroom MBR:#1, MBR#2, etc). This totally saved us the other day because my husband was looking for his hunting binoculars and the notebook told him right where to find them!



2. Color code boxes with duct tape.--I found these amazingly fun duct tape patterns at Michaels and used them to categorize boxes with their matching rooms or zones in the new house (example: Zebra=kitchen stuff, Multi-colored=kids bedroom). This will hopefully make it easier for us to unload the boxes into the correct areas when we get to the new house. Nobody will be having to ask, "where does this box go?" as the tape is bright and easy to understand.


3. Move all the easy stuff yourself and have the movers move the "hard" stuff.--I just helped Kelly do this last Saturday. It is so smart to move all of the boxes and light, easy furniture yourself as it saves LOADS of money with the movers. We only left the most heavy and awkward furniture for the movers and they were in and out in less than 2 hours! Our estimate was over $1,200 and paid less than $700 because of the extra work we put into it. Also, make sure you take all the beds and shelves apart before the movers get there.

4. Start early and do a little at a time.--Unless it can't be helped, starting early with the packing is such a life saver. I did a little each day and it never really seemed that difficult to tackle because of that.

5. Trust that the Lord has this move under control. He's a pretty good "mountain mover." Kelly and I both have amazing stories of how God was clearly working to put the perfect homes in our paths. He is so Good and cares about the big (and little) events in our lives. For that, I'm so thankful.

Stop by and say hello! I'll be moving at the end of the month so any other tips or tricks you have used would be so appreciated!

Hugs, Andi