Short Move Advice Appreciated

I didn't move far but still rented a truck. There were constant trips with my little SUV; out, drive, in and repeat. It got really tiring. Much easier to load in 1 trip and unload in 1.

Good luck! I am overwhelmed right now.

When you pack up a room, label the boxes - kitchen, living room, master bedroom, etc. Then when the movers unpack the truck, have them put the box in the appropriate room. This worked for us much better than trying to put all the boxes in a central location and then dragging them to the correct room later.

I would clean a room in the new house and then move that room. Then do another, etc...

This is what I was going to suggest. It makes it much easier to find the things you need immediately as well. Start packing as soon as possible too. We started packing as soon as we put in the offer on our house and still felt like it wasn't enough time. There was so much left to do on moving day. 

I saw a packing tip on pinterest that worked really well for us. Leave your clothes on the hangers, wrap trash bags around them, and tie the bags at the neck of the hangers. You can just pick up the group of hangers and move them from one closet to another. I hope it all works out smoothly for you.

Yes. I did this my last move. It was awesome!

Oh, I just thought of another one - if you have glass or china items that need to be packed, visit your local liquor store and see if they have boxes they'll give you. They have the sturdiest boxes and a lot of times, they come with cardboard inserts that will easily hold your glassware. Sure beats rolling everything up in newspaper.

Purge and pack what you can prior to the move. Keep out what you need. I'm using the term "pack up", pretty loosely.

When you get the keys, move the stuff you didn't pack first, and cram as much In to your car as you safely can with each trip.

My mom used to go over and put the curtains up first and clean everything. (Paint if necessary). Dishes went into a laundry basket with towels. They went straight into the cabinets when they got there and towels into the closet.

Clothes didn't come out of the drawers. The drawer went into the bottom of the trunk (full) with lighter things on top. As soon as the dressers were placed the drawers were pushed back in.

Basically, don't move things you don't need to keep. Remember that you only need to keep things from breaking for 10 minutes in the car. The more time you spend packing it up, the longer it well take you to move it.

A week isn't much of an overlap, even without renovations.

If you have little kids that can't carry things, hire someone to watch them.

Short moves are so much easier than long moves, but they can still be pretty stressful.

I've had 13 addresses in the last 17 years. Some have been across town, some have been international. I was a military brat, I'm not sure how many times we moved when I was growing up.

Hopefully you Find some of it useful.

Move your own jewelry and put it someplace out of the way. (My parents lost some jewelry during one move)

Don't try to cook. Make peace with convenience foods for the week, and use paper plates and disposable cups.

I know for one move, all of the linens and extra bedding went into big black trash bags. I went through the house....stuffed everything that I could toss into a trash bag (without breaking it) into bags, threw it into the car and set it in the garage when we got there. Once we were out of the other home and the furniture had been placed, I started going through bags and putting stuff away.

Lol, got some looks from the neighbors when they saw us carrying trash into the new house... sometimes it's just about getting it done.

But seriously. ..A week is a really short overlap. If at all possible. ..you might want to rethink that one.

Hey, I lived in San Angelo for 6 months and 11 days, 22 years ago.  Not that I was counting or anything! We are military and have moved 14 times in 24 years.

If you have a 9 and 10 year old, you have more stuff than you think.  Rent a truck or you will be making a jillion trips back and forth.  If need be, you can leave your stuff on the truck for an extra day or two until the tile/painting/carpet is done.  It will be cheaper to rent the truck for an extra day or two than to pay an extra week on a mortgage.

Either hire someone to help you or bribe your friends heavily.  But not with alcohol until you are moved in!  You are going to be butt tired at the end of a week and won't get everything done that you want to get done.

Start packing now.  If you are doing it yourself, it will take longer than you think.  Especially with kids who want to be fed daily and schlepped from one place to another.  Farm them out to friends for the week if possible.  They will be of some help, but are still pretty young to be of any real help for an extended period (or week.)  Purge outgrown clothes, toys, etc before you move them.  Sure you can have a garage sale at the new house, but that takes time.  Better to just give them to someone in need.

Don't use printed newspaper to pack anything.  The ink gets on your dishes and your hands and your clothes and you need to wash everything to get it off.  A Uhaul store sells plain newspaper. It's worth it.  You can also get boxes for free off of Craigslist.  Especially if you are in a military town.  We sold our boxes for $1 and made over $400.  I put all our paper into boxes and gave them that as well.  Then just sell them again on Craigslist and you won't have to hunt up boxes.  They will all be the same size and stack nicely.  Rubbermaid totes need to be packed tightly or they will collapse under the weight of the stuff on top of them.  Hanging clothes are the least of your worries.  They move easily and are almost an instant thing to unpack.  The bags are a good idea so that you don't need to buy wardrobe boxes, which were $18 a box for our last move.

Rugs are the last thing to go on a truck and the first thing off.  Then you won't have to move everything to put the rugs down.

Have a "Last Box".  We use a Rubbermaid tote because we are in and out of it constantly.  Put extension cords, hardware from the disassembled furniture, tools, shims for bookshelves, a landline phone, paper towels...  You get the idea.  We always find puzzle pieces and marbles under the furniture and I toss it all into that box.  We also put the coffee pot, coffee and filters in there as well.  Put the nuts and bolts and screws from the furniture into ziplock bags and LABEL them.  Sometimes we tape them to the furniture, sometimes we put them in the Last Box.  Sometimes we do a bit of both.  Just know where the hardware is and keep it all together for each piece of furniture.  I also have a tote for paper plates, napkins, cups, utensils, etc.  It helps to keep all of that in one spot and accessible.  Pack the bedding for each bed all in one box and set up the beds first thing.  You will be tired and it's wonderful to just open up a box and have clean sheets, pillows, blankets, etc.  Mark another box with towels and set that one aside as well.  You will want to shower at the end of the day.

If you have lived in the house for 10+ years (based on the age of the kids and that this is your first move) hire a cleaning company to clean the house for the new owners.  You won't believe the filth you will find when you start moving beds and the entertainment center.  Gird yourself now--I still find it appalling after all these years, and I've never lived anywhere longer than 4 years.

Move or hide the precious things yourself so that they don't get lost/stolen/broken.  I cried when one mover shoved my 4 year old's paper snowman into a box and broke off his stick arms.  DS never did crafts and I treasured that stupid snowman.   And I may have been a little tired.  Have I mentioned how tired  you will be?

Lock the cats into a bathroom or closet when you are actively moving with the doors open, and put a big sign on the door.  That way, they can't escape.

Good luck!

What is your concern with the fridge? Is it a hot garage? We live in Phoenix area and we have a full-size fridge in the garage. It's fine. We have friends who keep a mini fridge on their back patio year round for drinks. No issues.