I moved!

[navaja77]

We moved into our new house last weekend! Well, 80% moved. We still have stuff at our old house. I've come to the realization we have too much crap. So as I unpack, I'm tossing stuff. We only moved one town over so we've been back to old house several times (btw, good thoughts that it sells soon! It's still on the market )

But what I'm here for is some tips. Oh, and I'm never moving again until I retire (which I would have to move since we plan to move back north closer to my hometown).

Anyway, I would appreciate some tips for decorating, unpacking, organizing, etc. - especially those of you who may have moved recently?

Much appreciated!

 

[berniek]

Let me follow this thread as I will be moving within the next few months too!

I’m currently in the process of going through everything I own and throwing out/giving away everything I don’t want with me in my new place.

I’ve also decided to do the colour coding thingy with the boxes. (Give every room a colour and add that colour sticker or tape to every box.) So I’ve ordered a whole bunch of different coloured packing tape and I should be able to be organised when the time comes. I will probably move in before everything is ready so I wouldn’t be able to unpack everything right away.

No advice that can help you anymore though! Lol. You’re already in the new house. Exciting!

 

[AnneofAlamo]

I love to move, organize and throw things away! lol
I would get one box and put the things you are not sure about, when it is full, tape it closed, date it, and stick in the back of closet, carport, garage. In one year, anything in that box, YOU do not need. Throw it away! Seriously, drive it right to the thrift store unopened and look it as weight loss! lol

never buy organizers and then try and put your things in them.
pull everything out, organize and then find an organizer to fit your stuff (you want to keep)

and a big woo hooo, I am so excited for you...keep what you love and toss the rest!
less is the best and the less you have, the less to clean!

I am a big lover of
Mari Kondo
the magic is real! lol
there is a lot on youtube, and it helped me, and my family saw the change and they wanted to help! MIRACLE!! lol

 

[Scrapping with Liz]

I've moved several times over the last few years. I get rid of stuff before I move. I really analyzed if it would fit in the new house or not and if I truly needed it. But I do love getting rid of things so it wasn't too hard.

I tried to just tackle a couple of boxes each day.

Take it slow. It always takes me a year or so to know how I might want to decorate a room. I didn't buy any curtains for my new house until we lived here for almost 2 years (BTW - I'm still not happy with my curtains but they are what they are - I'll change them eventually). No need to rush and get it all done right away....enjoy the process...since you'll be there until you retire.

 

[Cherylndesigns]

I agree - we've made several big moves across many states. Purge, purge, purge! Before we moved the last time, from Michigan to Florida - we had a huge weekend garage sale and sold as much as we could sell. What didn't sell went to charity. We made quite a lot of money and donated to good causes, too. If you haven't used it in a couple of years, get rid of it. If you can't bear to totally part with it, take a picture of it and keep that. I've got a lot of pictures - even of kids' art. They make cute layouts, too.

 

[MrsPeel]

well, congrats on the move!!!
I'm one of those who collects crpa to the point of being borderline hoarder.... it pains me to get rid of stuff...I think is a side effect of having moved around a lot all my life from country to country and having lost so much, now I dont want to loose anything....
UI haven't moved recently but last time we did, we started un packing from the kitchen out.... the kitchen and bathroom were the most used rooms...depending on what you guys use the most, I would start there.....
Good luck!!!

 

[bestcee]

The first thing unpacked is beds. Not the rooms, just the beds. Because moving is easier if you can get a good night sleep!
The second thing is basic bath stuff - towels, soap, shampoo. Depending on the move distance, this may just be towels, and a trip to the store. Which I usually leave out in a box that says "OPEN FIRST". And it goes in the car, not the truck. It also contains cleaning supplies. But when you are gritty from moving a shower/bath helps a lot!
The first room to be unpacked is the kitchen. I unpack this the first day usually. And buy pizza or take out for dinner to celebrate being able to cook again!
From there, I go in order of comfort and need.

I do get rid of as much as possible before moving. I hate paying to move crap. I also keep a moving box ready for donation items. Because there's always something that I unpack and go "Why did this get moved?". I like to unpack boxes in opposite order that they were packed, because by the time I get to the last boxes - the purge urge is high! They are also usually the boxes that have easy to get rid of stuff - extras or that waffle iron that gets used 1 time a year kinda things.

Yeah for the new house!

 

[NancyP]

I have to share a funny story about moving. I lived with my daughter and military family. I took care of the grandchildren, ages 2 1/2 and 9 months. My 2/1/2 year old grandson had his favorite bunny which was pretty much glued to his side, day and night!! As any military families know, the moving is all done for you. When we moved from North Carolina to South Carolina, there were four guys packing us up, and of course, we were all busy, and, yep, you guessed it!! Bunny got packed!!!! Well, by the time we realized it, there were over 50 boxes!!! Of course, little Cohen wanted to know where bunny was. So, quick thinking me, told him that bunny went ahead of us to the new house to check out Cohen's bedroom and make sure everything was ok. He will be waiting for Cohen in the bedroom And Cohen was ok with that!!!!!! So we get to the new house and start unpacking boxes like crazy while daddy kept Cohen busy. We hit pay dirt and found bunny in the 7th box we opened, and I dashed him up to Cohen's room and sat him in the corner. When Cohen finally came in the house, I asked him if he went to his bedroom to say hello to bunny. He literally raced up those stairs!!! It was a very happy ending!!!!! Moral of the story, those moving with children, have each child choose a couple favorites an bring them with you in the car!!

 

[Tree City]

Congrats on moving! Our latest move, which was about 3 years ago, was only 4 houses down the road...but we did the move ourselves, which means I sure as heck got rid of stuff we didn't need! I got rid of stuff before we did the move. DS hadn't worn a shirt in a few months? Bye bye, shirt! DH bought some silly kitchen gadget that was never used in our 15 months in the rental? Peace out, crazy mandolin slicer thing!

Since you seem to already have most stuff in the new place, I'd say to have one "donate" box in EACH ROOM as you unpack. I simply wrote "DONATE" on a box and taped the flaps down so they weren't constantly closing or otherwise in my way. Then I tossed stuff into that box as I worked in each room. They filled up quickly. I also kept a box in the basement for seasonal decor or kitchen stuff to get rid of. Then, as soon as a box was full I took it to Goodwill. I didn't want it sitting around my house.

Good luck with the move and with organizing! Right now I'm working on writing labels for each bin in DS's room for his toys (which I just moved into his room from the play room). That way he can't say "But I don't know where my matchbox cars go!" cuz there will be a "CARS" label staring at him lol.

 

[Nemla]

All of the above. Since it is to late to get rid of stuff before the move, do it as quickly as possible,and take it out of the house straight away....
We moved about 13 /14 years,ago. I have 2 boxes from that move still not opened. 1 is porcelain dolls, hand made ,1 by me. The other is copper things that used to hang in my kitchen. Both I hate now ,both have sentimental value, none will ever see daylight. Unfortunately they are not in the way.