Thread: I need to start packing but I don’t know where to start.

I grew moving constantly it seems. Unless you have a lot of pretty fancy stuff or or going cross country you can do it yourself pretty easily. Start with determining what you don't want to move and have a yard sale, take a trip to the Goodwill, get it out of your way and your life. Then designate an area for packed boxes, the garage is good since they will be easy to move out. A basement may be out of the way but you'll have to haul them up later.

Create a packing list system and code your boxes. EX; B = bedroom, K = kitchen, BA = bathroom, H= holiday. On the box note major contents, on the list you can get more specific if you need to. Code the boxes based on where they are going when you unload after moving. Items that get infrequent use such as the Xmas tree and decorations can be sorted and packed right away. Really examine anything you keep stored. How much do you really need to haul around stuff that gets used so infrequently -if at all? Out of season clothes can be packed, again if it's dusty in the back of the closet - do you really want to move it? You will be surprised how much junk you have and how fast your give away pile grows. Don't let that pile sit, people have a way of reclaiming the most useless stuff. Everything you move costs in time, effort, a bigger truck, more weight.

Some items such as china and crystal are worth getting special packing materials for. These can generally be packed well in advance too, how often are they really used? Within a week of moving everything except everyday absolute essentials should be packed. You can use paper plates and don't need 10 pairs of shoes available. This will give you an opportunity to get cupboards clean and make sure you are getting it all.

When you load the truck remember, generally first on last off, most accessible. Unless you plan to take several days unloading. I'd put beds and such so they are pretty much first off the truck so some family members can be assembling them while others are unloading. Designate a place to stack the nonessentials, you can deal with them later. First off you need bathroom, bedrooms and kitchen usable.

WIth planning this isn't a big deal and can be fun. Remenber to feed and water your helpers liberally!