08 June 2012

3 Tips to Make Your Move Easier

3 tips to make your move easier, by Tobias Kaiser, modern architecture specialist

Over the Memorial Day weekend, my wife and I moved. Not once but twice – first dissolving a storage unit and then two days later our house.

When we explained to the movers how we planned to organise our move, they rolled their eyes, sort of. OCD?

But: the move from a filled two-bedroom house into a two story three-bedroom house, with all boxes distributed into the appropriate rooms, took a mere 5h 30m for a three-man-crew, excluding drive time.Did I mention all boxes were in the destination rooms?

Three tips that should make your move easier:

1. Inventory in detail as you pack.

Create a very simple spreadsheet, with one column each: for consecutive box numbers, date packed, destination room and content. Why not a handwritten list? Because a spreadsheet is sortable and, even more important, searchable.

Sounds like a pain and a waste of time to you? It only sounds like it at first glance. Because the more detailed you inventory, the easier it is to find that elusive coffee mill you so urgently need the first morning in your new abode to get your lil' peepers opening up. So type away: per box, immediately after each one is closed.


2. Create box piles by destination room.

You're in moving mode anyway, right?

Forget the illusion of maintaining a civilised place as long as possible by hiding packed boxes out of sight. Better create stacks of boxes according to the future room they go into. You don't need to have the kitchen boxes in the old kitchen, but do keep them together, by all means.


3. Colour-code by destination room.

A brilliant tip from one of my favourite websites, lifehacker.com: colour-code each box.

Since even small places with few rooms exceed the few colour choices available in electrical or masking tape, my very smart wife suggested using colour sample cards, the kind you find at Lowe's or Home Depot in the paint department.

The paint manufacturer may frown a bit on this, but I bet you spend enough money in the store on paint to compensate for a loss of $1.88 in what amounts to marketing material. Needless to say, don't just swipe the samples, please ask first. If they still say no, I'd rethink my shopping habits in that store.

3 Tips to Make Your Move Easier, by Tobias Kaiser
Photos ©tckaiser                                                                                           
Moving is never pure unadulterated joy, but these three tips will make it a tad easier.

Happy packing – and please share your tips for easier moving!





















3 comments:

Susan said...

Great ideas Tobias! Thanks.

Joseph P. said...

When packing up label the boxes for easy findings. Segregate breakable and unbreakable items. Ask advice from friends or tips to make your packing up easier. Check websites for services about removalist if you want to hire.




Joseph @ eastern suburbs sydney removalist

Tobias Kaiser, modern architecture specialist said...

Thanks so much Joseph – great tip about separating breakables from unbreakable items.

(btw, a Removalist is the Australian term for a Moving Company... being German-born, I admit I had to look it up ;-)