Excitement and Excuses

So, I'm not doing to well with this blog thing. I posted for awhile, and then vanished! Other than the craziness of end-of-school we all suffered through, this is why:

43 days to closing, 44 days to moving! YIKES!!!

I know I normally write about school, but I thought I might throw in some packing tips I've come up with, gleaned from the internet, and blatantly stolen from my friends! :)

Go buy some fun duct tape--one color or pattern for every room in your house. Use a quick stripe to help your movers (i.e., all of your husband's guy friends that can be bribed with pizza) know where to put your boxes in the house.

Green for living room, yellow for kitchen, purple for office. Super easy to see, right?

Label every single side of every box. I learned this when moving into the apartment. I would want something that hadn't been unpacked yet, and half the boxes were turned writing-side away from me. Not helpful!

Drive to Walmart during a less busy hour. Find someone who is smiling and looks like they are in a good mood, and ask if you can have some boxes for moving from their recycling pile. Our local store gave us this stack, plus my Jeep stuffed full of boxes. (You might have to weed through them when you get them home, though. I don't think my husband's friends are going to take too kindly to having to carry a box labeled maxipads!)

Make packing fun for yourself. When you start, pack what you want to, as long as you won't need it before you move. If you don't want to pack the desk drawers because you know they're messy and have to be organized, leave it and pack something else first! (As long as you are continuously packing, procrastinating is okay, I promise!)

 Consider what you will really use between now and your move, and pack everything else. I started packing 7 weeks before our move, and decided I wanted to thin out the pantry first, so I could try to use up the foodstuffs we already had on hand. In went the toaster, blender, food processor... I mean, let's be honest. There is no way I would break those out for some serious cooking while moving!

Buy the good kind of trashbags, even if you normally buy the less expensive kind. I splurged and got the Glad ForceFlex, and I am so glad I did! I've pitched so much junk we had laying around the house, and didn't have to worry about sharp corners or overfilling. 

Make a packing box. I have two, one for scissors and sharpies, and one just for tape. They go with me to whatever room I'm packing right then, and I never lose my supplies! It makes packing go much faster, especially for those of us who are rather...absentminded. A basket, office caddy, or large jar would work great, too!

Unless you are moving across country, or are super strapped for space in a moving truck, put what you have in the box, then just close the box and walk away. Yup. Just walk away. I would rather have more boxes that have a few empty gaps in the top than spend hours trying to fit everything together like a jigsaw puzzle. (Make sure your box is full enough to prevent everything from rattling or shifting too much, of course!)

Pack books in smaller boxes than you think you should. I made this mistake on our last move. When you have a medium sized box full of books, it weighs about 50 lbs. And your helpers are not happy with you, especially if there are stairs involved. Right now, I'm using boxes that hold about 20 paperbacks or 10-15 hardbacks per box. I can pick up the box when I'm done, which is awesome!

Put all your liquid items in baggies (the good kind, just like the trashbags!). I'm taking out extra insurance for my shampoo, body wash, lotion, etc. by lining the box with a trash bag, then filling it with the baggies. That way, when (not if, when!) something leaks, it doesn't soak through the box and get everything nasty.

Clear out a wall or corner if possible. Make it the "Finished Boxes" corner. As you pack boxes, stack them precariously in the corner (or have your husband do it, like me!), so that you have more walking and packing space. There is nothing worse to me than trying to build a box and bumping into packed boxes in all directions. You could do this for every room. I have two, on in the living room along an empty wall, and on in our office. No boxes in the bedroom at night is nice, too. Otherwise, I think I might start having nightmares about boxes attacking me!

I hope these tips help make your packing smoother. I know they are helping me to stay on top of the craziness that has become my house! (Not that it wasn't crazy before...)

Any other awesome packing or moving tricks or tips? Let me know in the comments, or link to your own blog post!

Jillian