Hey Fellow (and Fellow-ette) Orgers!

I'm moving in a few weeks (from Mich to Seattle), and I'm pulling an all-nighter tonight to get a good jump start on sorting, cleaning, etc. I'm hoping to make the packing go as smoothly as possible. (And let me tell ya, Xenedrine helps keep you up and motivated! That's what my eyes look like, even though I haven't slept and don't plan to)

I've lived all over the place, but this is the first long distance move I've done with a bunch of furniture, car, etc. Any tips, suggestions, etc.?

yeah, dont move..

but seriously..i live in the most boring town in the SF Bay Area..and to make matters worse im on the third floor without an elevator but I refuse to move until I can afford to pay someone to move me in and out...


but, since your already moving Id go with my plan B which is, invite all your friends over with promises of beer and pizza and have them move for you...

it works everytime.

AnotherLoverHolenYoHead said:

My tip is to be as careless as possible and break several items so that your wife takes over the packing completely.

Oh shit, that's not going to help you much is it?

AnotherLoverHolenYoHead said:

I just packed up and moved from Michigan to Utah a month ago. I got a lot of help from my brother, which was nice. My suggestions are to put everything into boxes, and rent a UHaul (they aren't as expensive as you would think). You will probably have a week of driving time allocated for it all. If you secure the boxes in the UHaul (just make sure they are tightly packed, you should be able to get to Seattle without issues of broken things. Other stuff, (bed, dressers, furniture etc.) should also be secured in the UHaul. Just make sure that when you load it, the boxes and furniture don't have room to move around much.

Moonbeam said:

How much was your U-Haul, Moonbeam? I didn't even bother to check into it cause I don't really have anybody available to ride with me cross country (at least, not anyone I wouldn't want to throttle after a few days!) That, and given the gas, the hotel rooms, the fatigue...a moving company for both my furniture and my car seemed to be well worth the expense!

The romantic side of me thinks it would be way-cool to drive cross country, and I admire you for doing it!
EDIT
[This message was edited Wed Sep 11 22:39:39 PDT 2002 by AnotherLoverHolenYoHead]

Don't buy boxes or packing materials, it's a total waste of money. Go to liquor stores for small boxes. They are strong and come with cardboard dividers. Next try the backs of stores like Ross or Cost Plus Imports. If you catch them at the right time you can get EVERYTHING...huge boxes, bubblewrap, paper, etc...


Good luck

AnotherLoverHolenYoHead said:

I towed mine behind my car, and it was a total of about $250 for 1700 miles. Not too bad!

Okay, it's 3:30am EST and I'm still up! Feeling a little tired, would LOVE to take a hot bath and then crash but I can't. Want to take another Xenedrine, but am afraid I'll go into cardiac arrest!

AnotherLoverHolenYoHead said:

Come join us in the chat!

sheesh i've moved over twenty times... including back and forth across the ocean... here's what i do:

* ask friends for boxes, yes and look behind stores like berry said.

* delicate items need larger boxes - you don't want to put too many in one box... you will need tons of paper around each one and don't want the box to get too heavy. give each one a gentle shake before sealing, to make sure nothing is rattling/touching.

* reinforce boxes (especially breakables) w/ plenty of brown tape.

* go to target (or similar discount place) and get some of those big rubbermaid tubs. they are AWESOME for packing (especially clothes & delicate items & things you don't want to risk getting wet... think of that upper west coast climate), will come in handy for billions of things in years to come and are virtually undestroyable. and only cost around $3-4 each.

* pack books in tiny boxes. even if you have to pack 50 boxes of books. otherwise, impossible to carry.

* don't forget to label everything well... so your friends will know in which room to deposit your boxes. will facilitate unpacking later; especially if you have tons of stuff.

* wrap cardboard around edges of furniture that's likely to dent or get scratched.

yes and make a party of it, like skleton kee said. moving is otherwise just too dern stressful.

hope you have a good one!

AnotherLoverHolenYoHead said:

I'm a complete nerd so my last long distance move was super organized.

I inventoried EVERYTHING and numbered all of the boxes - makes life a lot easier when you arrive at your new place and you want a cup of tea in a hurry So if I needed to find something quickly, my notebook would tell me that I need to check box 25 or whatever.

I hired a truck and got a friend to drive it for me. Great fun and much cheaper than hiring a moving company. But that might not suit you if you have tons of furniture.

I called lots of companies the week before the move to make sure that my telephone, electricity, heating, cable TV, ADSL etc were all connected up and running OK when I arrived. And I made a checklist list of all the old companies that I needed to call to cancel the acounts etc.

Use bubble wrap, blankets, anything at all to protect expensive items like screens, monitors, TVs. When loading the truck make sure nothing can slide around easily, or if it can slide around, make sure it won't hit anything important.

Pack a small travel bag with your essentials. For me it was my laptop, phone, passport, travel tickets, wallet, snacks and drinks and stuff like that.

I forgot to add - get rid of your shit!

There's no point in lugging some crappy $20 table halfway around the world Get rid of crappy bits of furniture that you can replace very cheaply. Get rid of that old box of novels that you haven't read in 15 years, give them to a charity shop or something. Same goes for old clothes that don't fit anymore

I was feeling super generous so I gave my mates my fitness equipment, weights etc in the hope that they might try to get a bit healthy. Last time I visited them, they had an inch of dust covering them

These tips are fantastic... I'm moving myself in a few days and I haven't hardly packed at all. But I'll keep these ideas in mind! Thanks guys

Don't pack your tooth brush just yet

AnotherLoverHolenYoHead said:

Yes...pack all of your little stuff---I mean ALL of it. Because after the heavy stuff is removed, the little stuff thats left everywhere takes the most time and is the most tedious! Start packing that right now!

call Atlas...

Do NOT wrap your head in packing tape!...

...like I did.

2the9s said:

O.K, you can take the tape off now.

I wish you the best on your move, anotherlover!

Ian ur hardcore... ~invetory-moving~

Lleena said:

Whew, just do like us and throw every thing in a big green plastic bag!

ian said:[quote]I forgot to add - get rid of your shit!


I agree, And send all of your Prince stuff to me so you don't have to move it. I'll give it a good home!!

Here's a thought:

Shove your shit in a box and go.

heavy stuff in small boxes, light stuff in big boxes, and, oh hell, you're probably done by now.

give away items you really don't need or desire to have... now's the time to do it , give away clothes, home items that have been stashed away , someone can always benefit. Plus you lighten your load.

Best wishes... and a very safe/fulfilling journey.

(oops...I am ...)
[This message was edited Thu Sep 12 22:44:36 PDT 2002 by Freespirit]

-CLEAN HOUSE and donate...I hate when I move and AFTER get rid of 5 boxes of stuff, what a waste of energy...

-plastic (rubber-made) totes ROCK cos you can safely store things for a long time in them, even in a basement...

-my trick for books is one layer in a bigger box, then well wrapped fragile items or clothes on top. That way you have less boxes to move but don't have to lift a 80pound box of books

SkletonKee said:

If I was moving within the same city or even state, I would do just that! However, this is a X-country move so unfortunately I won't be able to rally the troops. I have a few friends there, though, who I'm sure will help me out.

Berry said:

Mmmm...bubblewrap...pop pop pop!

Yes, I need lots of paper and bubblewrap--the boxes are pretty much taken care of.

langebleu said:

I wondered what that smell was...