Moving tips

• Check out some tips for staging your home!
• Schedule your movers two to four weeks before your move day.
• For the large appliances, you will want to check the owner's manuals for any special instructions for moving.
• Kids have a hard time dealing with moving, don't pack away their favorite toys. Let them help pack their room so that they feel involved.
• Moving companies cannot transport hazardous materials like gasoline, flammables, ammunitions and explosives. You'll have to empty out the gas in the lawn mower and move the gas tank for your grill yourself.
• Get all the essential items that you are going to need right after moving, such as some clothes, blankets, keys, money, toys, documents and pack them in a box. Label it well so that it's either the last thing that's added or you take with yourself.
• Clean out closets, the attic and the basement when you decide it's time to move. They have the most stuff stored and possibly stuff you can throw out, sell, or donate.
• Leave one closet filled with items that you will need to clean before moving out like, a broom, dust pan, paper towels and a mop.
• Pack snacks for moving day. Expect to eat out for awhile since all your dishes will be packed away.
• Schedule your transfer or cancellation of services about a week before your move day. That way you are not paying double for services and your new home or business is already set up and ready to go. Services like electricity, cable, phone, utilities, newspapers, cleaning service, and lawn services.
• Mail your change of address forms about a week before your move date. You can also send change of address cards to close friends, family and other people who might need to know your address.
• Clean your stove before you move. Makes things much better and clean in your new home.
• The day before your move, clean out your fridge and defrost the freezer.
• Make sure you have enough cash just in case.
• Keep your important documents and other important items with yourself so that it's easily available.
• Say goodbye to your neighbors and/or friends depending on how far away you are moving.
• If you are having friends and family help you move, have some people as back up in case someone can't show. Life happens and they might not be able to make it.
• Hold a garage sale to get rid of items you don't need anymore. If you don't want to hold one, donate the items.

Packing tips

• Don't mix items from different rooms in the same box. This makes it confusing where it belongs and prolongs unpacking.
• There are wardrobe boxes that can hold your clothes on hangers. Clothes from drawers can be kept in drawers.
• If you have suitcases, since they have wheels, they can hold some heavier items if you don't mind having stuff packed on top.
• The heavier the item, the smaller the box should be. Lots of heavy items makes the box hard to move or split. Pack books where theres 10-20 books per small box.
• Don't use printed newspaper for your fine china. The ink will rub off.
• Stack dishes up with lots of paper or bubble wrap to protect them from breaking.
• Pack your important papers separately so that it's accessible if you need them.
• Don't pack food in with your other items. You never know when some might spill or leak and damage things it's packed with.
• You can use slightly used boxes but you don't want to use boxes that have been used a lot. They are more prone to ripping and spilling out its contents.
• Duct tape is really difficult to remove. Use packing tape. There are even tape that both tapes up boxes but also labels what room it belongs to.
• Label your box on the top and at least two sides. This is makes it much easier to get it to the right room.
• If you are going to take apart furniture, make sure you put all the nuts, bolts, screws, and small pieces in plastic bags, labeled where they belong and either tape it to a piece of the furniture or have a small box set aside for all pieces you take apart.
• For your electronics, like TV's gaming systems, radios, DVD player, try to pack them in their original boxes. If you don't have the original boxes, carefully wrap them in lots of bubble wrap.
• You can start packing by packing items you won't need to use for awhile. This allows for you to slowly work on packing and de-cluttering.
• Pack and unpack breakables over a padded surface. Just in case something drops, it's better for it to land on it than the hard floor.
• Always tape the boxes. Interlocking the tops flaps makes the box less stable. When you put something on top, it will push in and possibly damage the contents.
• Don't use boxes that don't have tops. If they don't have tops, you can't stack them properly and therefore not allowing the maximum packing amount.