Moving is hard even when you have months to plan and prepare, and it is especially hard when you have less than a week. Here are a few tips from Cheap Movers Boston that will streamline the process and make sure everything is ready to go on moving day.
Gather Supplies
You need boxes and lots of them. If you haven’t begun gathering some already, or you don’t have nearly enough, you need to go out right now and get boxes. Ask your friends, family, or coworkers if they have any. If you aren’t lucky enough to get a stash of boxes for free, you will need to buy them. This site has a chart that weighs some of your choices so you can find the best value for your needs. Another option would be to buy or rent plastic boxes.
Some other supplies you will need are:
- tape
- markers
- trash bags
- cooler (if you are transferring refrigerated food)
- newspaper, bubble wrap, etc. (for protecting fragile or glass items. You can also improvise by using your clothes, sheets, towels, etc. as padding instead.)
Have a Staging Area
Choose an area, preferably near your front door, and put all of your boxes in a pile on one side. You can pull the boxes from the stack as you need them. Only take and set up those you need for what you are packing at the moment. When they are full, taped, and clearly labeled, stack them on the other side.
Purge
Keep a trash bag with you while you pack. It will keep you from having to leave the room to throw away any trash you find. You should also use it purge your belongings of anything useless or cluttering. Be merciless. The less you have, the less you have to pack. Here are some ideas of what you might want to trash.
Pick a System
Are you going to pack by room? By type of item? Both? Pick a system and stick to it for as long as you can. Just make sure you accept that the last few boxes are always going to be miscellaneous items that don’t have or couldn’t fit in their proper place.
Don’t Be Afraid to Pack Everything
Except for the bare essentials. Think hard about what you need to get through the last few days, and pack everything else. That includes your clothes (only keep out enough outfits to last until the moving day) and your dinnerware (buy small packs of disposable plates, cups, etc.). Right before you leave, you can throw your essentials in a bag, and know that everything is ready.
Ask for Help
You might need to know if anybody is available to help. Have a packing party. Provide pizza in exchange for labor. Just understand that it is your stuff, so you’ll need to direct them on how you want things packed.
After you finished packing, you can step back and look at what you accomplished with pride.
