So after my little rant in my last post I thought I'd do something constructive and write a few tips on packing... I found being organised was essential in making this a less painful experience and came across a few that I wish I had done but didn't.
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2) List the contents of your box - some people prefer to label their boxes by numbers or letters and have an list of contents on a separate bit of paper. Great idea, however I will sure lose that and be looking for items that are in the very last box. I decided to tape a bit of A4 paper onto the box with the room name in large letters then in the right hand corner list the items. That way I shouldn't (I say shouldn't loosely) lose the information. Also make sure you list where you put leads, screws etc for big items as those little rascals, I find, are the first thing I lose. Sandwich bags are good for keeping them together
3) Find a room to start piling boxes - I started with boxes in all sorts of places around the house when I decided to start packing. Although many people say start with one room and work your way around the house it's not alway possible or the easiest way of doing things. For us it was starting with the items we use least often (old towels, spare bedding, your out of season clothing etc) was the easiest way of working but it meant random boxes everywhere. This wasn't a problem to begin with but the more we packed the less we could see what we had left to do. I moved them all into our dining room which we had cleared and this meant we could see what needed done elsewhere.
4) Throw things away, take them to charity, give it away!!!! - Use this as an opportunity to get rid of things you don't really want or need. We moved 2 years ago to the house we have just moved out of and I remember looking at things and thinking 'why did I even bring this with me, it's still in a box untouched'. BIN! We ended up with 5+ bin liners and 4+ runs to the tip in our estate car. It's amazing how much stuff you get rid of when your being ruthless. Even look in the kitchen... You'll be surprised at how many things are in the cupboards that are out of date. The last thing you want to do is clutter your new place before your even settled.
5) Make a 'Essentials' box - I was going to do this and I think its the most useful tip I had but as we are now at my parents for a couple of weeks thats the stuff we took with us. In this box put all the things you will need in the first couple of days... For example:
- Bedding - One of the first things you will do is build your bed, make sure you have something to go on in. The last thing you want to do is rake through boxes trying to find it.
- Tea bags / coffee / sugar - I'm sure you will unpack a kitchen box within the first day and I know I would be annoyed at myself if I'd misplaced my cuppa essentials.
- Mug - for the tea to go in
- Clothes to last those first few days
- Phone charger
- Toilet paper
- Dish towel and cloth
- Basic cleaning supplies
- Pet food
- Mug, plate, knife, fork, spoon for each member of the family
- Scissors
- Bin bags
- Toiletries - only the essentials
- Numbers for takeaways
- Something to keep kids occupied
- Snacks - especially if you have little uns
So that's it, 5 of the most helpful things that I used in the move and would use next time. Hopefully they will help someone else. I wish we had done certain bits in different ways but we had short notice and a tight schedule but it should make a massive difference at the other end and made it a much less stressful situation. If you can think of anymore let me know and I'll add on... Always handy to have more advice for next time :)
