Staying organized during a move is crucial to making it as smooth and stress-free as possible. It’s definitely not something you want to do on a whim with little planning unless you want a big headache on your hands.
Follow these organizing tips for moving to stay on top of everything:
How to Keep Your Organizing Tips for Moving
Keep a Moving Binder
One of your greatest assets while planning a move is a moving binder. Instead of having all your important documents for the move spread out, keep them all in this one place so you can quickly and easily access them whenever you need them.
This includes things like your mover info and contracts, loan documents, receipts, inventory list, checklists, schedule, change of address documents, and anything else that has to do with the move.
Create a Checklist
There are a lot of tasks to keep track of when moving. One of the first things to do is get them out of your head and onto paper. Write down every task, big and small, that will have to be completed before, during, and after moving day.
To give you a head start, click here for our free comprehensive moving checklist.
Create a Moving Timeline
When moving, it feels like you have a million things to do at once. After you’ve written out your checklist, assign each of the tasks to a calendar. We recommend starting at least three months out before the move, but many people start scheduling it as far as six months out if they have the luxury of time.
Planning out your moving schedule will ensure that everything is done in a timely manner and nothing gets left to a last-minute frenzy.
Color Code Your Boxes & Inventory Your Items
One of the most frustrating parts of moving is not knowing where something is when you need it if you haven’t unpacked yet. To make your life during a move much easier, we recommend numbering the boxes and inventorying your items to have an easy reference to the whereabouts of something that is still packed. Should anything go missing during transit, you’ll also able to look up which box it was in and what was lost.
Another great organizing tip for moving is to color code your boxes. Assign a color to every room and use that color tape or marker on the box. At a glance, both you and the movers will know which room it belongs in. This keeps boxes from getting mixed up and lost.
Pack an Essentials Kit
In a separate box (or multiple boxes, depending on how much you are taking and how many family members there are), put aside all the things you will need the first night and first day after you move into your new place. This includes things like food, plates and glassware, cutlery, prescriptions, sleepwear and a change of clothes, basic tools, toilet paper, chargers for electronics, kids and pets supplies, and anything else you’ll need immediately in the new home.
For a complete list of recommended items for your essentials kit, click here.
Follow these organizing tips for moving and you’re sure to have a much smoother move!