[MomToTwoBoys]

We're due to be out of the house (if the inspection goes awesomely) on the 21st of December. We have someone coming in and moving our items for us, but what do you do about the ones you don't want touched?

We've decided to bring with us the items that we don't want to be touched by the movers. This includes the paperwork, the computers and any food items (they won't move those anyways).

But how do you downsize on those items before moving?

We need food, but it's a matter of using up the perishables and trying to figure out how not to bring more into the house. I don't want these to go to waste.

I also have TONS of clothes. We'll be basically homeless from the 18th (that's the weekend DH is picking us up and bringing us to his parents) until we can get into the new place. I'm not even sure when that'll be. If we can get a place with immediate possession, that'd be fantastic. But what do you do as far as clothing goes until then? Do you just pack a couple of outfits and hope for the best?

I'm a little dumbfounded atm and a lot lost. Help me?

 

[Missy]

Pack a five day rotation of clothes for each person, plus warm jackets, hats, boots, regular shoes, It's not too much for each person, gves clothes to be worn while others are washing.

Call the goodwill, arc, or oter thrift shop (one that picks up) and tell them you have x number of boxes. THEN get started making that true. It'll give you a goal and a deadline. donate whatever you can't see yourself needing in the next ____whatever timeframe you deem fit______. And get to tossin.

Good call about the paperwork. You got that figured out already. Food too. How much of it is storable? You can get that into big Rubbermade type totes and stick that in a corner of the inlaws garage, or basement or wherever you can find a spot.

Or, if you don't want things to go to waste, concider a food panrtry to donate to...

 

[monkeywrangler71]

Are you being packed and moved, or packing yourself and being moved. Who is paying the movers.

If you are being packed and not paying I wouldn't bother purging on this end at all. You don't have time. If you are paying the movers yourself, call this week for a charity pick up and purge your bulkiest and heaviest items.

In the meantime, just start eating. Begin with your freezer and cone up with meals every day that use what you have, don't buy anything if you can possibly substitute with something you've already got. Eat your non perishables last, the movers will take them, except peanut butter.

Go minimal on the clothes, a weeks worth each, but don't skimp on mittens, etc. for the kids. Shoes are a pain if your going to be in close quarters, try to stick with one pair each plus boots.

Are you going into storage? If so, make a list of where important items are so you can dig in and find them if you need to. You can also send things you are going to need with the movers but just have it clearly labelled so you can grab it when it comes off the truck instead of going into storage (that doesn't work if the moving company is storing it, then you'll likely have no access).

Keep important papers nearby in the car, anything related to the house sale and movers, as well as any lists you made of packed items. I had a binder for the move that kept everything together. It was especially handy after the move when we were living at my parents', because my normal filing routines were missing. Everything important was in the binder and nothing got lost.

If you are paying your own expenses, including the real estate fees, etc. save your receipts. It is a massive tax deduction. Look up the tax guide for a list of which expenses are eligible.

 

[MomToTwoBoys]

We're actually having someone move for us and DH's work is paying the cost. I keep all receipts usually and they're like crack to me. I can't get enough. :lol:

Sadly, DH's parents don't have the room for us to store some items, so I'm going to have DH get a storage unit for us for the small items that can't be stored with the moving company. We get one month's free storage, so it'll help but that's only on the items that are packed by the movers. The dry goods, spices, etc are going to be going with us.

I have file folder binder things that I keep all of my paperwork in, plus a couple of top-opening storage boxes. The kids are going to be lost without their Wii or XBox 360 and the computer that they use, but they'll deal.

I have to go through all of our clothes anyways because of the issue in the closet with the mold. I decided I was going to get rid of clothes one more time before we moved. I'm ditching anything with holes and anything too small for DS12 will be saved for DS7. The stuff that DS7 has outgrown and ran into the ground will also get tossed.

I'm going through the freezers one more time this week and making a meal plan to suffice for the rest of the week. After that, I'll probably stick to stuff that doesn't need a lot of ingredients. I do have things like pasta and baking mix, so I'll use those up as well.

Thanks for the ideas so far!

 

[monkeywrangler71]

We get one month's free storage, so it'll help but that's only on the items that are packed by the movers.

Check the terms on the free storage with the movers. We were offered that as well, but it turned out that if we weren't ready in a month it was going to be extra expensive - drop fees, delivery fees, and the monthly storage fee was twice the going rate - plus no access to your stuff. Knowing that it was unlikely that we would be able to get into a place in under a month, it was cheaper and more convenient for us to have the movers put all our stuff into a third party storage unit, then just move it ourselves when we got a permanent place. Turned out we needed that flexibility as the seasons changed before we moved and we needed to dig out our warmer clothes.

 

[madjen]

I personally wouldn't bother moving things that need purged anyways... You have 3 weeks before you move. Just make the best of your time and it'll get done. You might want to check out FlyLady if you haven't already heard of her.

 

[The Muse]

Earlier this year, I moved from the US to Denmark, so I know a bit about preparing for a large move

My company also paid for the packing and moving, and I disagree with the advice not to purge this side of the move. Setting up a new house is no small task and you do not want to deal with unnecessary junk on the other end of this. Take this opportunity to make a fresh start. Ruthlessly purge your belongings and give the non-keepers away either to friends or charity. You will not miss this stuff, I swear!

It took 6 weeks for my shipping container to arrive. Until then, I was living out of a suitcase, it wasn't fun, but it was doable. If you have laundry facilities, a week or so of clothes for each of you should cover it.

I carried my laptop, external hard drive, important papers, etc. on the plane with me. And I also pointed out to the movers which things were dear to me and could not be broken. Moving from CT to DK, the only casualties were a vase and the top of a teapot. Not too shabby!

Good luck with your move, take it in bite-size chunks and it will be ok. Thinking about the whole thing will likely freak you out, so don't do that. One task at a time...

 

[2ndGenGranola]

I agree to purge now. We moved everything to the garage and started calling charities. Some only picked up big items, some only wanted little items, a school had a fundraiser garage sale and got 1 or 2 pickup trucks full...

I have a lot of books so I layered the bottom of boxes with books then lighter stuff on top. This kept me from having some super heavy boxes and some super light. It worked out. I also purchased a lot of sterilite boxes since I planned on organizing with them in this new house. These went right into the closet with label out and are still being used that way.

 

[monkeywrangler71]

Normally I think purging before a move is great, but when time is limited you need to prioritize. You have 20 days to get out; you're closing 4 days before Christmas; you are preparing for temporary living arrangements without access to your belongings; you have two children (one with autism) to get prepared and adjusted for both moving houses and transferring schools; and best of all - you get to do absolutely every little thing all by yourself while your husband works out of town.

Make a list of everything that must get done for the move to happen and concentrate on that first. Do not stress over things that can be done afterwards or put unrealistic expectations on yourself, you will explode.

 

[MomToTwoBoys]

I already feel like I'm going to explode and all I've done is set up the moving company's packing and transportation date.

They're coming to pack on the 17th and then they'll pick it all up on the 18th. I told DH we might as well get a hotel room that night unless we want to sleep on mattresses here at the house. I'm having the cable and internet and all of that turned off on the 18th. The utility bill will have to be put on hold because we're under a contract with Enmax, so I'll contact them this week to get that situated.

I'm just sort of concerned because as of right now, I don't know how the housing inspection turned out. I guess he only found some maintenance issues and well, she was measuring curtains while she was here (the buyer, I mean). :lol:

I've gone through the kids' clothes and a lot of ours is currently in plastic bags, waiting to be washed. I told DH we might as well just toss what we don't wear anymore. He'll be in this weekend to go through all of that.

I'm starting to use up the meat in the freezer. I've purged the fridge's freezer and the downstairs one will be done today too.

The current house we live in is about 1186 square feet. The houses we're looking at? Bungalows that are around 874 square feet with finished and partially finished basements. They have garages, which would be great for storage, but I'd rather get the stuff I don't want to store after the move out of the house before the movers even touch it.

I've started on my list. I'm having the mail forwarded to the inlaws this morning. The pre-approval for the next mortgage will be done this weekend. The Condition Day is before 9pm on the 3rd, so that's two days away. I already purged the house pretty much when we renovated, but there are items that I think we could get rid of even more.

 

[LuLuBleen]

MTTB - do you even need to bring all your furniture? I only ask because we ended up leaving behind several pieces during our last move. Some things would never have worked here (we had measurements). If you're moving to a smaller home, it's something to consider.

If you're up for it, you could be done purging/donating this weekend and have a yard sale the weekend of the 11th. Daunting? Yes! Could be worth it, though.

Good luck! Moving is a nightmare. But it'll get better.

 

[Hamada]

Once you have everything you are taking with you place them altogether in an area where you can get to and put all the items in the car BEFORE the movers come. Just make sure to lock the car. That way you know where it is and nothing gets put in the movers van that you do not want.

Keep that list handy so you can look at it whenever you need to. Seeing that something is done will help you to relax. Pack what you think you will need. You can also UPS a couple boxes of clothes for pretty cheap to your in-laws to be sure you have enough. Or just UPS your clothes to your in-laws and then put your stockpile in your car and drive off into the sunset. I am sure you will be able to keep using up the food at your in-laws!

 

[Nishu]

Have you ever been moved by the movers before? You probably won't need to get a hotel room. What will happen is they'll pack up just about everything but they'll leave one box open for each of the bedrooms. The linens wills stay on your mattresses and your beds will probably still be assembled. The morning of the move, you just strip your linens and toss them in the open boxes.

If you're not paying for the move, I probably wouldn't focus too much on purging either unless you have a weight limit that you might come close to. On the other end of the trip, you'll probably have to go through all your stuff one by one and put it away so it might be easier on the other side.

Good luck with your move. I hope the sell goes smoothly.

 

[Coddy]

I moved with movers a month ago. I agree with the replies not to purge now - but focus on writing down what you absolutely need. Especially for your special child So much more important that he/she has everything than that you have some boxes of junk moved to the new house.
all the best...and remember - one box at a time!!!
I wouldn't stay in the house the night before the movers come. they come early and are all business. Just a thought.

 

[MomToTwoBoys]

Thanks everyone.

I've never dealt with these movers before and the last time I had a moving company experience, it was just moving my items across town. When I moved from NY to here, it was everything in the back of a Crown Victoria. We would just have to be here super early because of the alarm system on the house. DH will be in town that Friday night too.

The big thing for us right now is waiting for the conditions to be met. That has to be done by 9pm tomorrow night. It's nervewrecking.

We're leaving the large blue computer desk behind. I already promised that to the buyer and having a yard sale is impossible with all of the snow outside. :lol:

 

[LuLuBleen]

You're doing great! Sounds like you're really on top of everything. Hang in...moving is SO HARD. But worth it.

...having a yard sale is impossible with all of the snow outside.

You know, sometimes I forget that there are other types of weather than So Cal's. Sorry. :rollsmile

 

[Bachelor]

I hate to sound paranoid...

I may be moving soon and using a moving company. One concern I have is picking up bedbugs from the moving truck. Any ideas besides sealing everything in plastic?

 

[krbshappy71]

I may be moving soon and using a moving company. One concern I have is picking up bedbugs from the moving truck. Any ideas besides sealing everything in plastic?

Have you checked out Space Bags? My daughter used them to move and also to bring stuff with her from home without having to check in an extra bag on the plane. I thought they were silly items but man did we pack a LOT into a space bag!