How a Moving Expert Moves

How does a moving expert move? Just like everyone else, surrounded by to-do lists, stacks of boxes, and that sweet sense of nostalgia as humdrum routines get performed for the last few times.

How a Moving Expert Moves

I’m moving this weekend to a small town about two hours away and thought I’d share a few of the DO’s and DON’Ts of my personal moving routine:

Things to do before you move

I DO plan as far in advance as possible. For this move, I had just over a month between making the final decision to move and my moving day.

I DON’T hire professional movers. I generally live in small apartments and houses and prefer to pack myself and enlist friends to help with loading and driving a rental truck.

I DO like to leave boxes sitting open for as long as possible so I can group ‘like’ items together as I come across them in different parts of the house.

I DO use paper towels as padding around and between plates, kitchen dishes, and other fragile items because they are inexpensive and clean, and can be repurposed for wiping down surfaces in the new house.

Things not to do

I DON’T color coordinate or use a fancy box-labeling system. I pack like items together as much as possible and label boxes with their general contents using a black marker.

I DON’T like to pack everything in boxes. I usually put some blankets, pillows and clothes in basic black garbage bags with tie-on labels. Bags are easy to carry, flexible in size and shape (making the most of limited truck space), and can serve as padding in transit between delicate items that may rub or scrape against each other.

What tips or unique moving quirks work for you?