// Always pack the essentials first!

Moving six times in a three year period (including an 800 mile move!) teaches you a thing or two about moving. Through all of the boxes, packing and unpacking, I’ve figured out some key tips and tricks about how to make the process as painless as possible and wanted to share some advice on surviving a move:

• Skip packing your clothes! For items on hangers, zip tie the hangers together, cut a hole in the top of a clean garbage bag and use as a garment bag. If you’re using movers (or have super strong friends), leave everything folded in your drawers as they’re likely to just shrink wrap the entire dresser to keep everything in place. Need to remove the drawers to lighten things up? Use saran wrap to create a seal around each drawer to keep contents from spilling.
• Pack all fragile items together. This one always scares me a bit (what if the box gets dropped!) but I’ve found it’s best to keep fragile items in the same box together – the wrapping around each item will cushion everything to prevent breakage due to contents shifting during transit. Make sure the box is as full as possible to keep things from moving around a lot by using towels or extra crumpled up newspaper/packing materials.
• Movers are worth every. single. penny. This is one thing that I only truly appreciated with my most recent move and has completely changed my outlook on moving – movers are super humans & everything will go much, much faster. Do some research using Yelp or Angie’s List and stick with a mover with a good reputation – don’t be afraid to shop around and get estimates from at least three different companies. Don’t let price be the only factor in your decision – ask the right questions and take reviews seriously.
• Store things inside of other things as much as possible. We’re talking tupperware in the crock pot and kitchen odds & ends inside of that tupperware. Consolidate things as much as possible.
• Stock up on garbage bags, newspaper and gallon sized plastic bags. These, my friends, are the true essentials. Cheapo plastic bags are awesome for keeping random items together, garbage bags are great for clothes, linens & towels and newspaper is your best friend for fragile items. Pro tip: you can buy entire rolls of unprinted newspaper!
• Get specific with your labeling and try and stay organized through categorized boxes. There’s nothing worse than mystery boxes when it comes time to unpack! Planning ahead & labeling each box with a basic description of what’s inside beyond what room it’s meant for will make your life much easier.
• Reusable boxes are the way to go. I worked with a Chicago company called Redi-Box* during this last move – they offer really durable, reusable plastic boxes that you can rent for two weeks with delivery & pick up included in the service. This meant no wrangling up boxes from random places, no packing tape and most importantly, no breaking down & throwing away a gazillion boxes. Bonus points for being really strong  (I may have had several boxes completely full of books and magazines – sorry movers!), stackable and eco-friendly.
• Have an “unpack me first!” box. Set aside the essentials and keep things that you absolutely need immediately together in one box (make sure this includes toilet paper!). Having a go to box for everything that you use daily will help make you feel less stressed and more settled right from the start.

Overall it’s important to stay focused and do your best not to get overwhelmed  Set small goals for yourself to help keep your expectations realistic (i.e. I’m going to pack five boxes tonight). When you manage to get in the groove with packing or unpacking, go with it, but don’t feel like you need to immediately get everything done at once.

* I received a discount on my Redi-Box order – all opinions and product reviews are honest and my own.