Moving Joys and Tips

I admit that lifting boxes and dealing with dirt, dust, and bugs isn't my favorite situation to be in. Still, I love moving.

It's enormously satisfying to get rid of junk. Especially those unused things that we keep "just in case." Just in case what?

I look at our extra items, and I have to wonder what sort of calamity we're preparing for that can be solved with extra cork removers, random corner tables, and a box of pens--half of which probably no longer work. Aspiring to MacGyvering our way out of a pinch is nothing but clutter... that takes up square footage.

And then my favorite part: breaking in the new place. I admit, despite the rough night--new noises wake me up--I love that odd, dreamy feeling of waking up in a new place on day two.

As for the less pleasant aspects, it helps that hubby and I have moved a lot in our lives, so we're great packers. Here's a brief collection of our favorite moving short cuts:

• Shrink wrap clothes on hangers. - When you hang them in the new place, just rip the plastic off and tah-dah! Your closet is unpacked.

• Leave clothes in their drawers. - Remove them from the piece of furniture and shrink wrap the filled drawers. Fewer boxes and, yes, rip the plastic off and your dresser is unpacked.

• Use left over plastic grocery store bags to pack shoes in large boxes. - It keeps everything clean and takes up less space than individual shoe boxes.

• Use left over plastic grocery bags for dishes. - Your hands won't be black with newspaper ink.
  

• Pack a welcome home box. - It's great to have a few plastic dishes, a couple of sets of silverware, napkins, soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, and other immediately necessary or handy items in one box to make day one more pleasant.

• Start a coin jar. - I find coins everywhere. It makes a nice moving snack stash after several days of packing.

So those are the ones I can think of off hand. We are, of course, in the midst of this. So packing advice is most welcome. What saves you time or effort?

Pic by ahhyeah.