Wow. MOVING DAY has arrived. Hard to believe how time flies and now it's time for your life's possessions to be packed into boxes (if they aren't already), loaded on a truck, and to head out for your new home. Kinda scary in some way, even though you have been planning for your Carlsbad relocation for months.

MOVING DAY can cause a great deal of anxiety. It's very unsettling to see everything you own go into boxes after living with it for so long. If you are working with movers, which many folks do when they relocate, you will likely find it hard to stand by and watch as things are packed for you. Someone else is taking YOUR STUFF and putting in boxes, not you. That in itself is sorta freaky, especially if it is a new experience for you.

Someone who is dispassionate about your things (that's not to say they aren't careful but they just don't have personal feelings about YOUR STUFF like you do) is wrapping it in paper and tossing it in those brown standard moving boxes without regard to what it means to you. Movers will pack just about anything - that trash can that still has trash in it? Yep. All the clothing in your dresser drawers? Yep. no matter what the mess, it will go into boxes.

It can be very disconcerting to walk into a favorite room where so much of your life took place and see nothing but stacks of boxes.

If I can provide more information about the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360
or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

Packing for your move can be a real tough job, especially if you have LOTS of clutter. Hopefully you have come away with some great tips from Kathi on how to get prepared for your move.

Unless you are having the movers pack everything, you are going to need to deal with some stuff yourself. And why pay to have stuff packed and moved it you really don't want it?

As we continue the discussion on how to prevent disorganization from ruining your relocation, Kathi shares some great tips on actually packing for your move.  Enjoy!

If you missed part 1 of this section  you can read it here: Organizing for Your Move

Here are the posts in the first part of the series on Preparing Your House for Sale:

Packing Tips

1. Some of your closets and cabinets might already be packed from your pre-move organizing project
2. As you continue packing, mark each box with three lines

• Priority for unpacking

                                                              i.       “Unpack First” or “No Worries”

• Room destination

                                      i.      Consider moving the “No Worries’ boxes into that room’s closet

• Brief description of contents

                                                              i.      Mark ‘Fragile’ or ‘This End Up’ if necessary

3. Tape dresser drawers and cabinet doors closed with painters tape to avoid damage during the move.
4. Shop on-line or Craig’s List for gently used boxes, peanuts and bubble wrap

• This saves money and makes less environmental impact

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If I can provide more information about the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360
or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

Anyone need boxes for storage?

Are you planning to move?

I have a bunch of boxes that I used when I moved (they are different sizes and are the real moving company boxes) as well as some I have recyclced from clients. If you need some, let me know. I also have the wrapping paper for packing and lots of bubble wrap. And once you are done I will come pick the used boxes up (as long as you are within 1 hour of where I live here in Carlsbad.

I mentioned in a previous post on packing that using labels on the exterior ends of the boxes can be a big time saver. Here's a related thought for moving.

When moving into your new home, especially if you cannot be there all the time when the movers are bringing your hundreds of boxes in, do what we did - we put signs on every room, even the obvious ones (living, dining, master, master closet, front closet, kids room #1, kids#2, etc). That way the movers could easily determine where to put the boxes if we were not there to point them in the right direction. This saved us a lot of time. We also set up a separate space for all those boxes we didn't know what to do with and labeled that (since we came from a house with a basement and were moving into a California home, which of course DOESN'T have a basement, this was a problem). Worked like a charm.

Note: The movers will label everything with small stickers and put all the items on a master inventory. So they an put MBR items in your new MBR without trouble. But we found that having our own labels and using the method I mentioned was more efficient since we set the system up and knew where everything was going.

Didja know?  The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

Here are a few thoughts on packing stuff yourself, form someone who has done it at least 12 times!

1. One thing to keep in mind - this can save you a fair amount of money with the movers, since they will charge you for packing. So do what you can yourself. But see #2!!

2. Things that YOU pack will likely NOT be covered under the liability insurance provided by the carrier. Make sure you pack WELL, and do not pack things that are better covered under the insurance.

3. Most movers will provide the appropriate boxes and wrapping paper to you in advance (they may deliver to your door). You will be charged for these just as you are for all moving supplies the movers use in their packing. Be sure to ask for all you need and more - they will take back what is not used and you will not be charged for that. Other great sources of boxes include some liquor stores, copy paper boxes from work (great for magazines and books). NOTE - one of the relocation services I provide is to provide recycled moving boxes, bubble wrap and packing paper to my clients (I have tons from my moves and from recycling boxes from my clients who have moved) for FREE. I drop them off and pick them up so if you are in my local area here in San Diego, let me know.

4. Packing stuff early is GREAT for helping to sell your home. You have to move anyway, so why not get all the clutter out of the closets, off the shelves, out from under the beds, out of the garage, etc. The more you can pack away the better your home will look. While it is not the same as staging, if you can de-personalize your home it will show better to buyers and they will be able to think about living there themselves, as opposed to getting distracted by all your personal photos.

5. Label ALL the boxes carefully and thoroughly. We make big blank labels on the computer with information such as ROOM, FLOOR, CONTENTS, etc. Then we tape a blank form on each box and fill in the information as we go. It's amazing how you can forget what is in a particular box, and inevitably you will get to your new home and HAVE to find a particular item before all the unpacking is done, but won't know where to look.

6. Put the labels on the END of the boxes so when they are stacked you can see the labels (putting the label on top defeats the purpose). MARK FRAGILE BOXES on multiple sides using a dark magic marker or similar pen. BTW the boxes you pack will be marked by the mover as PBO (packed by owner) in their inventory.

7. Be generous in use of wrapping paper and bubble wrap. Newspaper is OK but it gets ink all over everything so I advise against it, especially on your glassware and dishes.

8. Pack your paintings or other artwork in the special boxes provided by the mover or let them pack them (again, a liability issue). When packing painting in bubble wrap, it is smart to put several sheets of packing paper (NOT NEWSPAPER) directly on the painting if not under glass before wrapping in bubble wrap - this is important especially if moving in warmer months where moisture can gather under the bubble wrap, which you DON'T want to get on the oil painting itself. Check with the mover on what expensive items should be noted (e.g., they will likely want a list on the day of packing, e.g., items valued at $1500 or more, for insurance purposes).

9. Check on what items CANNOT be packed and moved (e.g., hazardous items such as paints, gasoline, certain cleaning products). also check about plants - moving to some states will prohibit bringing in agricultural products from other states (e.g., California). other states will require the movers to check gardening equipment and outdoor furniture for Gypsy moths, larvae, etc. before packing.

10. Pack a special box for each family member that you carry yourself - toiletries, TP, tissues, bandaids, shampoo, medicines, special toys for kids - and at least one for the kitchen (coffee maker perhaps, coffee and filters, can opener, bottle opener, wine opener for the celebratory bottle when you arrive, and other things you expect you will need right away). Pack pet supplies (food, dishes, leashes) in a separate box and carry with you too. Stuff you forget you can buy when you arrive if the movers are going to be late arriving.