Simple Steps for a Stress-free MovePacking, moving, and unpacking the easy, organized way

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Anyone who’s ever moved knows that moving is not only a life-changing

event but also a potential powder keg. Who doesn’t feel overwhelmed, not

only managing everyday life, but trying to juggle the relocation of yourself,

family, and possessions? This ebook will give you a simple structure to use

to keep your move organized and your stress levels in check.

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Plastic totes

Boxes are so 1990s

Tired of having to scrounge up boxes from the grocery store dumpster or pay a fortune for boxes at the moving store? There’s another stress-free option—sturdy plastic totes.

Renting totes is considerably less expensive thanpurchasing cardboard boxes and you don’t evenneed to pick them up. Companies like King Tote willdrop off as many totes as you need and… come getthem after your move.

Gauge the number of totes by how many roomsyou’re packing. A one week rental for a 3-bedroomhome will cost about $165 (compared to Uhaul’s$257). Want more details? Check pricing here.

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Gather the right supplies

For a stress-free move, you’ll want:

How much of each? Skim through the following sections to create an accurate tally.

Plastic totes

Banker boxes

Wardrobe boxes

Cell boxes

Colored labels

Plastic stretch film

Ziplock baggies (sandwich and gallon size)

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Banker boxes

You’ll use them again and again

Whether you’re the kind of person who wants everything neatly packed away, or you need to have everything out in the open to feel organized, banker boxes with post-it notes work in both cases—the stuff is neatly contained, easy to pick up and move, and clearly marked so you can find what you need. When you’re done with your move, you simply peel off the post-its and flatten out your boxes and store them until you need them again—good as new. (See color-coded labels for tricks on using different colored post-it notes.)

Wardrobe boxes

Unpacking will be a breeze

The easiest way to move clothing and coats is to hang them up in wardrobe boxes. To know how many wardrobe boxes you’ll need, measure the width of your hanging clothes and coats, divide by the width of the boxes, then cut that number in half (you can fit about double into a wardrobe box as you would normally hang on the same size rod).

Still wondering if they’re worth it? Your wardrobe boxes can do double duty. Place large blankets, towels or other light-weight but bulky items in the bottom of the wardrobe box, then hang the clothes or coats on the hanging bar. The best part? Unpacking your clothes and coats is a breeze.

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Cell boxes

You won’t have to replace broken glasses

Cell boxes are a must-have for packing the kitchen. Get enough for your stemware, glasses, and tall bottles of vinegars, oils, and wine. They fit beautifully, stack easily, and arrive at your new home in one piece. A substitute for cell boxes can be boxes from your local wine store, only problem is the sizes are not consistent, so they don’t stack and pack into the moving van as easily.

Color-coded labels

Your movers (or friends) will love you

On moving day, you can’t be everywhere all at once, so unless you code your boxes using something like colored labels, there’s no way your movers and helpers will be able to know where you want them to put everything. Use this simple 3-step system to reduce hassle and confusion, and save yourself the work of moving boxes to the right room after the moving squad has left.

1 Select a color label (or colored post-it note) for each room in the house

2 Mark each box with the associated label

3 Place the labels on the door into each room so movers know exactly where to put each labeled box.

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Plastic stretch film

This one step will cut your unpacking time in half

Dresser drawers. No need to get boxes for the items in your dresser drawers. It’s easiest to pull out the drawers and wrap them with clear plastic for the move. That way everything stays in place and unpacking is a snap.

Junk drawer. Another great item to plastic wrap is your junk drawer. Remove your plastic inserts from their current location and wrap

them in plastic. It keeps all those small items (matches, tacks, batteries) from turning into a tangled mess at the bottom of a box.

Furniture. Wrap the edges of pianos, tables, dressers, and chairs to prevent the scuffing that can easily occur as piece gets stacked on top of piece.

Ziplock baggies

Buy a box of sandwich size and gallon size Ziplock baggies at the grocery store. You’ll use these to pack the hardware that goes with curtains, wall mirrors, wall art, makeup drawers, office drawers, toys, and other small items that would otherwise find their way to the bottom of your boxes, making unpacking a massive chore.

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Room-by-room guide

Now that you’ve got your totes, boxes, and baggies, you’re ready to pack. Pack each room one at a time and all your things will be that much easier to unpack and organize post-move.

Storage and guest rooms

Pack storage and guest rooms first. Since you don’t use these rooms (or the things in them) often, lack of access to packed items won’t negatively impact you, your family, or your pets.

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Garage

You can pack the majority of items in your garage way before your moving date. For many people, the items in the garage are already stored in bins or boxes, but there are also many odd loose items (like rakes, shovels, bicycles, bike pumps, and lawnmowers) that require some thought. A simple system for tackling the garage is to Sort, Toss, and then Contain (adapted from Clear & Simple’s S.T.A.C.K.S. system).

Sort

Park your car outside the garage so you have lots of room and sort everything in the garage into piles of like with like. Gardening tools, potting soil, and gloves all go in the gardening pile. Everything paint-related, like paint brushes, spackling paste, and sand paper, all go in the paint pile.

The trick to sorting is to pick up an item and ask yourself only one question “What is it?” Then put it in the correct pile. You are not trying to make the decision whether or not to keep the item, you’re just sorting.

If you begin to lose track of which pile is which, place a post-it on the floor in front of the pile and label the pile.

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A typical garage sort will include piles for:

• Tools

• Gardening

• Painting

• Camping

• Outdoor activities

• Hobbies

• Lawn fixtures & hoses

• Memorabilia

• Seasonal decorations

• Food storage

• Miscellaneous

Toss

Sorting makes the toss step easier because now you know exactly what you have. Do you need those rusted gardening tools? Is it time to let go of those boxes of baby clothes? Have a pile of old paint that you’ll never use again? If so, it’s time to toss. Usually, you’ll make three different toss piles:

1 Things that need to be handled carefully (like paint or used car oil)

2 Things that can go in the trash or recycling bin

3 Things that still have use and could be donated

Contain

After you’ve sorted and tossed, it’s much easier to figure out how many totes or boxes you’ll need to move everything in your garage. Since a garage typically contains many long items, like rakes and shovels, one way to contain those items is to group them together and wrap a bungee cord or two around them. That way you can pick them up as a group and move them easily from one location to another. Items as large as a lawn mower or snow blower are typically moved without being boxed, but if you want to box them, ask your local Home Depot for appliance boxes that might just fit.

Note: The Sort, Toss, Contain system doesn’t just work in the garage. Use it to simplify packing each room in the house as well.

Question Action Tip

Sort What is it? Sort into piles of like with like. No decisions or tossing yet!

Place items in totes or banker boxes to contain the piles.

Toss Do I need it or want it in my new home?

Put items in either a Keep or Toss pile.

Have multiple Toss piles, garbage, donate, sell on ebay, etc.

ContainWhat size box or tote do I need?

Measure to determine the best moving container.

Consider purchasing plastic containers for long-term storage in your new garage.

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Kitchen

When your move is about two weeks away, it’s time to tackle the kitchen. The kitchen is a beast because it often contains the most individual items. As a result, you’ll probably use more of your boxes or totes in the kitchen than in any other room. That’s ok. Follow this sequence to get the kitchen packed with ease.

Start with out-of-reach cupboards

Here’s where all those items live that you don’t use on a daily basis, so you can pack them away and not even miss them. Rolling pins, cookie sheets, vases, waffle irons, soufflé dishes—stack them in your totes or boxes, fold the lids and place them out of the main traffic pathways.

Prep your essentials box

The essentials box holds the items you’ll need for the first 24 hours in your new home. Pop open this box and you’ve got everything handy for hanging pictures and curtains, cleaning, cooking small meals, and putting together beds.

Essentials Box Checklist

Flashlight

Hammer

Phillips and straight-edge screwdriver

Small sorted selection of nails and screws

Scissors or craft knife (for opening boxes)

Set of hex (Allen) wrenches

Cleaner (unopened to prevent spillage)

Cleaning towels or paper towels

Mugs, forks, knives, spoons, plates for everyone in the family

Large cutting knife

Salt & pepper

Coffee maker, filter, and ground beans

Toaster, bread, butter, jam, peanut butter

Large sauce pan, jar of pasta sauce, pasta

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Remember to sort your items, toss what you no longer need, and count up what’s left to make sure you have the right number of containers.

Pack the pantry

Sort the pantry right into your plastic totes. Totes are perfect for pantry items since the weight of canned goods and other pantry items can get heavy and rip through ordinary cardboard boxes. The size of the totes will also keep you from packing in so many items that the box is too heavy to move.

After the sort, toss the old or opened items. If you’re paying to move by weight, you’ll probably want to donate a lot of your canned goods instead of paying to move them.

If you’ve sorted into plastic totes, your containing is already done for you, simply close up the lids. If you sorted into banker boxes, that’s great too. Just put the lid on and mark the box with one of your colored post-its.

How much can you pack ahead of time? Go ahead and box up 90% of your pantry, keeping just enough simple items like cans of soup or pasta sauce and pasta to make a few meals. You can base your pre-move meals on fresh foods.

Pack pots and pans

Keep at least one large sauce pan for your essentials box, then pack the rest, including their lids. If you flip the lids upside down on the pot, they will stack more easily into your totes or boxes.

Pack glassware, plates, bowls, and utensils

After you’ve put aside your essentials box, you can pack up the bulk of your bowls, plates, cups, and utensils. Put together cell boxes for glasses and stemware. Take your time with this step, ensuring items are packed well. Layer newspaper between plates and bubble-wrap your cups to protect against breakage.

“Pack the kitchen in reverse order. Items rarely used get packed first. Daily use items get packed last.”

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Bathrooms

Sort

In the bathroom, the Sort, Toss, Contain system is especially helpful. Before you pack a box, create your piles. Medicines, toiletries, towels, wash clothes, candles, bath salts can all go into their own bank box with a post-it to help you remember what’s in there. Remember, don’t make any decisions about what to toss while you’re sorting. Just sort.

Pack an overnight bag

In addition to your Essential Box, it simplifies life to pack an overnight bag as well. Your overnight bag should contain everything you need to keep yourself clean and fresh without having to unpack boxes for a day or two.

Overnight bag checklist

Toothbrush & toothpaste

Medications

Facial cleanser

Lotion

Hair brush and hair bands

Jammies

Extra underwear

Tip: If everyone in the family packs their own overnight bag, then everyone will know where their toothbrushes are.

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Toss

A bathroom, like the garage has items that may require careful disposal. Expired medicines, for example, should not just be tossed in the trash. Better to dispose of them down the toilet or pour them out in the sink. Instead of tossing old towels and wash cloths might come in handy in your move; use them to wrap up breakables.

Contain

Get your Ziplock baggies out. You‘ll want both the gallon size and the sandwich size when you pack the bathroom. You may choose to leave the remaining items in the very banker boxes you sorted into. Great. Less work for you. Since bath items are often breakable, be sure to pad the tops of your boxes with an extra hand towel or bubble wrap before you close up their lids.

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Bedrooms

You can pack up quite a few things a week or two prior, but many daily-use bedroom items need to be left for last.

Clothes: Leave the clothes on the hangers thatyou will pack into wardrobe boxes. When you’reready, you’ll simply lift them from the hangingrod, set them into the wardrobe boxes, and

close up the lid. Remember that anything in a drawer stays in the drawer and you’ll simply wrap the drawer and its contents with plastic wrap on the day before the move.

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Shoes: Shoes and boots can easily get scuffed in a move, which can greatly devalue your property. Shoes can also mar your clothes, so don’t wrap your shoes in your clothes to protect them. First count up what you’ve got. Most women have over 30 pairs of shoes and most men have at least a dozen, so—you’re going to need some totes and some packing material.

If you’re packing them into totes, stuff theboots and heavy shoes with paper, then placeon the bottom. Layer paper wrapped shoes ontop, going from heaviest to lightest. For yourhigh heels, stuff your rolled socks into the footto help them keep their shape, then alternatetoes and heels to fit the most into each tote.

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Toys: For toys, you’ll want your totes and your Ziplock baggies. Zip up all the small pieces to games and, if the lids on game boxes are loose, tape them down to the pieces inside don’t spill out and create a jumbled mess at the bottom. Totes are great because sharp toy edges won’t jab through them and they allow for you to group quite a few toys together into a single tote.

Bedding: After you wake up on moving day, stuff your bedding into the bottoms of your wardrobe boxes, then fill in the boxes with your hanging clothes. If your movers are arriving extra early, do this the day before and sleep with a sleeping bag, which can be rolled and stuffed in the moving van pretty much anywhere.

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Moving Day

Packing up the van

Hopefully you’ve rounded up some helpful friends with trucks or you’ve hired movers. If so, follow the simple rule of thumb that large bulky items go into the moving van first, then boxes and totes, and then loose items last.

Can’t figure out how to get that furniture out of your basement? Many moving companies include the disassembly of furniture as part of their service. Beds, desks, sofas, and appliances might all need a little retooling to get them out of your house and into the van.

Unpacking the van

Colored labelsYour colored label system will save you from running from room to room, letting movers know they’ve put down boxes and furniture in the wrong place.

The end of moving dayExhausted at the end of moving day? You only have to open your essentials box and your overnight bag and you’re set.

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Deep clean before you unpack

We recommend doing the deep clean before you unpack your items into empty cupboards and closets. For help with a deep clean, see the experts on our Provider Marketplace.

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Setting up house

Once all the boxes are in, it’s common to feel a sense of relief and overwhelm. Sometimes room sizes are different or you have a lot more (or a lot less) space than you used to have. This is one of the absolute best time to hire a professional organizer. You can have all your things unpacked and organized into their new

homes in 1–2 days, instead of dragging it out over the first few weeks or months. Companies like Clear & Simple can make organizing your new home fun and easy. They can also teach you a few simple systems to help you stay organized in your beautiful new home.

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