Seeing that 4 weeks from tomorrow I will be on my way to beautiful Florida, I should really prob start packing!! Now i've moved 3 times within the past year, and 9 times in the past 5 years, so we can say that I kinda have this whole moving thing down haha! The hardest part about this move this time is the different things I need to pack for. I need to pack up all of my stuff for Disney, then the rest of the stuff that needs to go my parents basement, and then I need to focus on a suit case for my vacation in Florida. So yeah haha. And with the Disney stuff I need to be able to fit it into my Ford Focus....it's a smaller car but not too small. The back seats fold down and open up into the trunk so that's really nice!
Me and my baby when I first got it 5 years ago...oh it's so old now!! Haha, but still in great condition!
Anyways.....So if you car has an option to do that absolutely do it it will make your life a lot easier!! Also some people don't think of this, but make sure your car is cleaned out!! That includes vaccuming and really getting rid of the dirt on the inside of you car! Why may you ask is this important? So the things your moving don't get dirty or scratched! Here in Colorado winters = a lot of gravel, and a lot of it ends up in the car from your feet. If you have a tv or computer screen in there and it rubs up against that you can end up with some major scratches on them and that wouldn't be fun. And who wants to dust first thing when they move in??? Yeah no fun!!
Ok So I'm going to start with your bedding and clothing items. My biggest suggestion?? Space Bags! Trust me these things do work as they are promised to work!! I'm going to be doing all of my bedding, pillows, and clothing items in these (besides the one in the suit case for the trip) What about wrinkles? Yeah they do wrinkle some, but you can just run them through a rinse cycle real quick and dry them, or you can even iron them afterwards, but they save so much space in your car. So here's what you do, at least get the bedding done before you get anything else done with your packing. That way you can lay that flat down in the bottom of your trunk and pile everything else on top. I prob won't even start packing my car until I can have the one with my clothes put in there honestly! They are heavy and don't really bend, so they do need to sit flat, that's why I'm suggesting putting them down first in the car!
Ok now what about the small items that need to go in boxes? You would think that just putting things into boxes is really no big deal, but I'll give you some simple tips to make your life easier! A lot of people just think that larger boxes = better because you can fit more into them and you have less of them..... PLEASE do not do this!! Use smaller boxes! This goes for wether your moving just in your car, or filling a u-hall, TRUST ME! If they are smaller you don't make them as heavy, and can carry them a lot easier and save a lot of back ach! Also if your moving with just your car, such as I am to Disney, they fit easier into your car.
Ok now that we have the size thing down another tip is to pack your boxes according to different rooms. Put all of your bed room stuff into bed room designated boxes, and your bathroom is stuff in designated bathroom boxes etc. This makes it easier for when you start unpacking! And be sure to label the box. That way when your unpacking you know what's in the box before you ever open it! This will keep you from going insane over trying to find one certain thing when you move in and don't have a chance to unpack right away! I've done this before and it's not fun at all!! If you have pets, have a certain box that you put all of their stuff into and know where it is, that way it's one fo the first ones you can get unpacked. This keeps them settled down and calm while you can move in everything else!
During Moving your other best friend besides boxes is going to be news paper! Not for reading or looking for help with moving, but for protecting your breakable items! Wrap anything that you don't want to break in News Paper! This goes for picture frames, nick nacks, glasses, dishes, etc. ANYTHING! Also in between these items pack some news paper down between them to keep them from moving during the move. You can buy like bubble wrap if you want...but I think that news paper works just as well honestly! I get all of my news paper from my campus cause we can get our College Newspaper for free and I just grab a stack once in a while, so then I have enough for the time I need to pack! On a side note it was fun during one of my moves packing with news paper. Actually it wasn't the packing it was the unpacking haha. I moved over to South Carolina from CO and our stuff was in storage for a while, so when I was unpacking it was several months later and in another state and I went through and read some of the things in the paper, and it was just fun to see what when on a couple of months ago, I know I sound like a dork right now!
Ok, now here's a big thing, if it's a large bulky item, do not put it in a box! You don't want a box for one thing haha, what's the point?? If you have items such as a fan, or nice size desk lamp, don't worry about putting it in a box. These things are always good out of a box because they always seem to be the one thing that will fit in a certain place when your packing up the car. I don't know how to explain it really, except think of it as tetris! Also the Tv, do not put it in a box, but be sure you are protecting that screen! Not only from dirt and gravel in the car, but take a put a towel or something over top of it and tape it around the tv - DO NOT attach any tape to the actual tv though, trust me once again, you will be sorry! Also with the tv, tape the remote to the towel that your covering the tv with, that way you know where it is!
One last tip that I have for everyone out there is items that you need to be able to get to pretty quick after you move, such as shampoo, conditioner, bath wash, medications, etc. Put into a separate bag that goes on top of everything and make it so that you can get to it easily! I've made this mistake before and it's not a fun one to do!
I think I'm out for now, hope these tips help you all out there! If I come up with more tips I'll just do another blog with some more haha. Um lets see, 28 days until I'm on the road for Fl! And then like 8 days later I'm checking into Disney! I can't wait and am getting so excited for it all!!! Wooo!!!! Peace out everyone and take care!
