Moving Hacks to Make Things More Manageable

Moving isn’t just inconvenient, it’s very stressful. Here are several smart moving hacks and packing tips to make the transition to your next home much smoother. 

For some people, moving is no biggie. Just haphazardly jam pack the car and make a few trips, get a couple friends to help with the heavy stuff and it’s over in no time.

But for most people, having to relocate is one of the most stressful life experiences. In fact, along with the death of a family member, getting fired, going through a divorce and facing a serious illness, moving is a top-5  stressor.

Even if you’re happy to be moving out of a roach motel into a nicer place, your routine is about to be seriously disrupted, even if it’s just for a few days.

And if you have kids, the hassle of relocating is exponentially more challenging. Even if you have the funds to hire a reputable moving company, you still have to pack your stuff and unpack it in your new home.

In light of this, we’ve scoured the web for the top moving hacks. We hope you find them extremely useful and that these packing hacks for moving will make the disruption of your routine less stressful.

So let’s dive in and explore the best tips for moving….

House packing hacks

The first thing you’ll need to do is get packing boxes. This task alone can be a big pain, especially if you’re moving out of a studio or one-bedroom apartment that doesn’t have storage space.

If that’s true of you, then chances are, you didn’t keep any boxes around.

But if you’re living pay check to pay check, buying enough boxes from a UPS store can be pricey. Is there a way to save money on boxes?

Yes!

For starters, you can check your local Craigslist website under the “free” section. (Have a friend go with you to pick up the boxes to be safe; especially if you’re female.)

If you can’t find anything under Craigslist, check local places of business, especially restaurants. Ask the store manager if they have free boxes.

Now that you have your boxes, let’s move on to the next thing that many people don’t think about when relocating….

Most important moving hacks

Most people focus on the potential headaches (and backaches) from the logistical challenge of moving large pieces of furniture.

Sure, many times, door frames and walls are scuffed from couches tilted askew, as you try to squeeze through the door.

However, don’t overlook the small stuff. Especially the liquids….

Many times, it’s the exploding small bottles of shampoos, body wash, etc., that cause stress.

To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, one of the smartest moving hacks is to cover liquid bottles with a small piece of plastic wrap.

To cover properly, first open the lid to the bottle. Cover the lid with the wrap, then secure the top back on.

Another typical packing headache is organizing clothes. Many people just grab clothes by the handful and make several trips to the car or moving truck.

Instead, place several hangers with your clothes into a garbage bag. Tie the bags around the neck of the hangar.

It’s possible the garbage bags may tear, but at least your clothes will be organized in one place. In your new home you can easily hang your clothes in the same order.

Another common bad moving experience is shattered glass from mirrors and wine glasses.

To prevent the former, place tape in an “X” pattern across the mirrors. This will prevent them from both sliding out and breaking.

As for the wine glasses, there are at least a couple options. Some articles on moving hacks suggest wrapping wine glasses in socks.

Wrapping wine glasses in socks may at the very least contain the glass in case it breaks. However, a better option may be storing your wine glasses in a cooler and wrapping them, sandwiching them between towels.

You can also towels as padding for dishes and other breakables.

Moving Hacks for the Kitchen

Keeping the kitchen organized right away when you move into your new place can be a daunting task.

Before you start packing, though, there’s one thing you should do. And that’s throwing away anything in your pantry that’s been sitting on the shelf for months or years. (Better yet, donate food items to your local charity.)

Same goes for items in your fridge. Throw out any expired items.

But don’t move the items from your fridge into your new home just yet. Save that step for last.

To make kitchen packing easier, sort the items in your pantry, drawers and cupboards together. Mark the sides of the moving boxes like so: K-P (for kitchen and pantry).

Make sure you shake your toaster over your sink (if you have a garbage disposal in the home you’re moving out of) or in a trashcan to prevent crumbs from getting all over the moving box and other items.

And to prevent cutting yourself badly from a stray knife, make sure you wrap all cutting objects, including scissors with a towel. Hardware stores also may have blade covers, sometimes for free.

If you have expensive dining furniture, you’ll want to make sure you cover them with sheets. To make sure the sheets stay on, you can use duct tape.

Moving tips and tricks

Now that we’re done with the kitchen, let’s go over some moving hacks for the living room….

A moving company suggests taking a photo of your entertainment system’s wiring setup. This way, when you move into your new home, you can easily see where the wires go.

But to take it a step further since many wires look the same, label the wires with tape before unplugging and packing away so that you can easily rewire your devices when setting up at your new house.

Here’s another tip for transferring wires to your new home: you can place outlet cords in either toilet or paper towel rolls and label them.

The moving company also recommends removing light bulbs from lamps before storing them safely. If you have bubble wrap, that’s a great way to safely transfer light bulbs from into your new home.

If you’re a renter, to maximize your chance of getting your security deposit back in full, there’s a clever way to get rid of dents from carpets.

The moving company suggests placing ice cubes on the dents. After the cubes melt, use a spoon to lift and straighten the fibers.

How to make moving easier

You never know how long it’s going to take to completely unpack all your stuff into a new home. And there may be some unforeseen events that prevent you from fully unpacking.

Say, for example, if you hire a moving company and they deliver your stuff to the wrong house. Or, say the moving truck breaks down and won’t be able to get to your new home for a couple more days.

Be prepared for such a contingency by packing a small suitcase with a few days of clothes, toiletries and other necessities.

But let’s get to another way you can ensure you’ll get your full deposit back.

The property manager may withhold some of the money if there’s a bunch of nail holes in the wall.

Fill up the holes with putty or toothpaste.

Now that your walls and carpet looks good as new, let’s check out some final moving hacks….

Packing Up The Smart Way

Suitcases can come in handy for moving both heavy items and books. Speaking of books, you can also use them to fill in any unused space in the suitcase to cushion fragile items you’ll tote in the suitcase.

If you don’t like the garbage bag idea for moving your clothes or have too few hangars, follow the advice from this travel packing hacks article. You can roll your clothes to save space.

A smart packing tip for labeling boxes is to make sure you mark them on the sides, not the top. This way, in case the boxes are stacked on top of each other, you’ll be able to clearly see where the boxes go.

To transfer your mattress cleanly, put a dirty fitted sheet on the top and bottom of the mattress.

And finally, one of the smartest moving hacks that you probably never thought of involves your printer. When you transfer the printer, if it moves around a lot and tips from side to side, the ink may spill out.

To prevent that from happening, remove the toner and ink cartridges and store them in a paper towels secured with rubber bands.

Got any other smart packing and moving tips? Leave a comment.