Packing Tips and Tricks

[ajrsmom]

We have moved a lot in the last 5 years. I have discovered some packing tricks along the way.

Please share your packing tips too!


1. Pack plates with cheap paper plates as a cushion in between each good plate. This will keep them from banging against each other.

2. Use dish towels and bath towels to wrap glassware. Also use them for cushioning loose items so they dont roll around.

3. I love to use big plastic container tubs to move. They are reusable afterwards and add more protection to the items packed inside if they happen to fall or get wet.

4. Mark each tub or box clearly with masking tape and a black marker. Try to be as specific as possible to the contents. Dont just mark it "kitchen"---mark it "Kitchen plates and cups" or "Small Kitchen Appliances".

5. Pack a "Move In" box for your family to use the night you arrive. Fill it with towels, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper(!), deodarent, night clothes, hairbrush and a change of clean clothes for in the morning. I always add a new shower curtain liner and hooks too.

6. If you have a lot to unpack, Set up a "kitchen box" too. Fill it with paper plates,bowls, cups and silverware, dish soap, dish clothes. Pots too if you have the space. This way, even if you get take out, you can eat at home. You can grab cereal and milk easily when you get there and you will be ready in morning.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Tami, this is such a good topic. I am back and forth between places inbetween semesters and during breaks. I'll be moving once again in a year (God willing). I hope to get more ideas too!

One thing that I have learn is to keep a small overnight bag (like when you are going to have a baby LOL) filled with a couple days' worth of clothes, deoderant, medication, extra toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush,razor, and other neccessary things that you'll need while everything is "lost" in the mess. Some things cannot be packed until the last minute. I write these down on a piece of paper and tape them to the top of the bag so that I don't forget to pack them.

[ajrsmom]

I mentioned that in #5 too because it is SOOO necessary for us! Most of the time we ended up so tired and not thinking straight that I couldnt imagine searching for things of this nature. Anything to make it easier!!

( Dont forget the special stuffed animals for the kids too!! My daughter wouldv'e died without her black kitty--which is actually a dark, dark green bear but she swears it is a black kitty like the one that used to live across the street from us! )

[DeBora4BobbyL]

I discovered that we left Jet-Bo's medication in the trailer when we came back from camping because I left a lot of stuff in the trailer because I was going back to Cruces within days. Here I was on a Friday of a holiday weekend! I was soooooo thankful that I am friends with our Vet in Carlsbad. I have the Cruces Vet prescribing the heart meds, the Carlsbad Vet prescribing the pain meds, and both prescribing Lasex. I really did NOT want to take Jet-Bo in to see the Vet just for a few days of heart pills, but was willing to if I had to. He didn't have the brand that my other Vet used, but he did have something to tie me over. I went ahead and got a months worth of the other 2 and am keeping them in Carlsbad so that I don't have to remember to pack meds. Now, all I need is a months supply of the heart pills to keep in Carlsbad and he'll be fixed up. I think the prescription meds are the most troublesome if forgotten.

[kasparcat]

I love this topic!
My trick is not about the technical packing itself, but the labeling. Every time I move, I go out and buy rolls of Mystic tape, which comes in different colors, and I get one color for each room. Say red is the kitchen, blue is the bathroom, yellow is the master bedroom, green is the living room, etc. Then I get a spiral notebook. Every box I pack, I mark with a strip of Mystic tape on the top and sides, and a number. So Blue-1 is towels. Blue-2 is cleaning supplies from the bathroom. Red-1 is everyday dishes. Red-2 is "the junk drawer." I write down what's in Red 1-2-3-4, etc. in the spiral notebook.

Furniture gets a piece of Mystic tape on it, too.

I also pack the Lifesaver Box, which has tape, scissors, band-aids, tylenol, craft knife, can opener, coffee pot and mug, paper plates and utensils, 2 cereal bowls, measuring tape, 1 frying pan, 1 sauce pan, flashlight, my address book, a glue gun, safety pins, screw driver, hammer, needle-nose pliers, pushpins, a Sharpie marker, ziploc bags, roll of paper towels, toilet paper, a sponge, spray cleaner, one towel and one washcloth per person, toothpaste and toothbrushes, rubber bands, twistie ties, 2 old sheets (to hang over windows), 2 bars of soap, dishwashing soap, a 4-pack of lightbulbs, all medicines, a landline phone, and my birth control. If I had to move nowadays, I would also put the cell phone chargers in that box and some hand sanitizer. The Lifesaver Box goes with you in the car, not with the movers.

When you get to the new house, FIRST THING: put a piece of Mystic tape at the door of each room and tell the guys unloading the truck "Match the color of each box to the color of the room." In other words, put the green-tagged boxes and furniture into the living room. This will make unpacking WAY easier! You also won't have to hang over the guys telling them where to put what piece of furniture, it's all color-coded.

SECOND THING: bring the Lifesaver Box into the kitchen, set up the coffee pot, and you are SET.

Good Luck!

Rani

[hummingbird_0331]

This is a very good thread!!! THANKS!

[ajrsmom]

Originally Posted by kasparcat

I love this topic!
My trick is not about the technical packing itself, but the labeling. Every time I move, I go out and buy rolls of Mystic tape, which comes in different colors, and I get one color for each room. Say red is the kitchen, blue is the bathroom, yellow is the master bedroom, green is the living room, etc. Then I get a spiral notebook. Every box I pack, I mark with a strip of Mystic tape on the top and sides, and a number. So Blue-1 is towels. Blue-2 is cleaning supplies from the bathroom. Red-1 is everyday dishes. Red-2 is "the junk drawer." I write down what's in Red 1-2-3-4, etc. in the spiral notebook.

Furniture gets a piece of Mystic tape on it, too.

I also pack the Lifesaver Box, which has tape, scissors, band-aids, tylenol, craft knife, can opener, coffee pot and mug, paper plates and utensils, 2 cereal bowls, measuring tape, 1 frying pan, 1 sauce pan, flashlight, my address book, a glue gun, safety pins, screw driver, hammer, needle-nose pliers, pushpins, a Sharpie marker, ziploc bags, roll of paper towels, toilet paper, a sponge, spray cleaner, one towel and one washcloth per person, toothpaste and toothbrushes, rubber bands, twistie ties, 2 old sheets (to hang over windows), 2 bars of soap, dishwashing soap, a 4-pack of lightbulbs, all medicines, a landline phone, and my birth control. If I had to move nowadays, I would also put the cell phone chargers in that box and some hand sanitizer. The Lifesaver Box goes with you in the car, not with the movers.

When you get to the new house, FIRST THING: put a piece of Mystic tape at the door of each room and tell the guys unloading the truck "Match the color of each box to the color of the room." In other words, put the green-tagged boxes and furniture into the living room. This will make unpacking WAY easier! You also won't have to hang over the guys telling them where to put what piece of furniture, it's all color-coded.

SECOND THING: bring the Lifesaver Box into the kitchen, set up the coffee pot, and you are SET.

Good Luck!

Rani

Excellent tips!

The only thing missing from our trip were the movers--Dh and I had to do it all ourselves.

I forgot to mention that we also used colorful stickers on the tubs that were going into the house only--the tubs slated for storage were left only marked with the contents in them. Of course we had it divided in the truck but this was in case anything got mixed up.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

I forgot to mention that we also used colorful stickers on the tubs that were going into the house only--the tubs slated for storage were left only marked with the contents in them. Of course we had it divided in the truck but this was in case anything got mixed up.

I like this idea!

[lisaroberson]

Thank you so much ladies!!!!!

I am moving, in 11 days, to Jacksonville, AL from Garland, TX!

This is an awesome and wonderfully helpful thread!!!

I've taken my notes - and I 'think' I'm ready!

[ajrsmom]

Lisa, Good Luck on your move!

Boy, I thought it was hot when we moved, it's gotta be hot there now!

Be sure to come back and visit here at FC when you get settled in!!

Tami