Move update

Tags: moving, movers, home economics.

We've been terribly busy preparing for the move, so we haven't had much of a chance to post.

Piecemeal moving
We've decided to pack as much as we can to reduce the cost of the movers packing us. Each day we drive over 1-2 batches of fragile items we'd rather move ourselves. In a few days the movers will come and pack what isn't packed and finally move everything in.

Our Strategy

1. Pack & move the precious / fragile items on our own.
2. Pack and move the bathrooms on our own
3. Pack and move pictures and paintings on our own
4. Pack as much as we can, starting with books, our offices and the kitchen
5. Partially pack, move and set-up crucial kitchen items
6. Pack as much of everything else as possible
7. Pack our immediate use clothes in suitcases
8. Install telephone, satellite and internet connections before the move
9. Let the movers finish packing
10. Catalog our furniture and identify where it will go in the new house -- this is the toughest part
11. Move
12. Unpack

We hope by moving and unpacking the most important rooms (bathrooms and kitchen) we'll reduce the level of chaos the day after everything arrives and be able to attend to normal life duties, such as work, etc.... Most of our food and chine will come later, but we'll have basic tools already available.

Where we are now

Currently the telephone, internet and satellite are installed, most of our bathroom products and artwork are delivered to the new home.

We are in the process of packing and it's moving along well, though we're running short on boxes. We may need to find a source for smaller boxes, since Costco has only box combinations in the store (15 out of 30 boxes are small). We need to find a vendor that only sells small book size boxes and delivers them quickly. We're running out of options.

Alot of time will be spent packing the offices.

Lessons learned

1. Small boxes are the most useful. Big boxes tend to be overpacked and become far too heavy. Books are best put in small boxes.
2. Try to set-up the bathrooms, toilets and kitchen before you move in.
3. Set-up essential utilities first, too.
4. Don't put packing tape on wooden floors.
5. Make sure you have plenty of paper towels, soap, cleaning fluids and toilet paper in the new home.
6. Make sure you have a supply of lightbulbs in the new house
7. Don't forget to change your address.
8. Packing is a great time to identify the items you want to donate to charity
9. Make sure you call Salvation Army or any other charity with plenty of lead time, they may have a fixed schedule and might not be able to schedule a pickup from days to weeks.

I think the biggest opportunity coming from the move is to shed unnecessary possessions and organize our remaining ones more efficiently.

Have a wonderful Sunday,

makingourway