Packing for a Move
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Packing for a Move

Welcome to my website. I’m hoping to provide you with some useful packing tips. My name is Ellen Monday. My family and I moved from a very large home to a large home. My point being, although we still live in a large house, we did downsize. It was almost like packing for two moves because we had belongings going to the new house and some going to storage. We had to make decisions about what we wanted to keep, store and get rid of. I have some tips on how we made those decisions, and the best ways we found to pack. Items that were going into storage were packed differently than those we were moving to the new house. Boxes had to be carefully and clearly marked so we didn’t end up storing our everyday dishes or something tragic like that! Hope you enjoy my blog.

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Packing for a Move

Lightening Your Load: How To Downsize Your Belongings Before A Move

Aaron Carroll

Whether you are moving across town or across the country, this is a great opportunity to downsize your belongings. As years go by, many people accumulate items that they don't actually need or want. Moving into a new home is a fresh start in more ways than one; before you put any of your possessions in the home, it will be a clean slate. Aim to keep it that way by reducing clutter now, and reap benefits ranging from lower moving costs to a more streamlined way of living. Here's how.

Be Realistic

Particularly if you are using professional movers, but even if you are moving yourself, it's important to put things into perspective. Each item that you bring with you will be taking up room in the moving truck. Taking along items that you don't really care much about is not only going to cost you space in your new home, but also money and increased labor.

Internalizing that truth can go a long way in helping you decide which items will be going with you and which will be left behind. With that perspective, go through each room and make some decisions about what belongings you are going to need (and want) in your new home. If you aren't sure about an item, ask yourself if you love it or use it regularly. If the answer is no, out it should go.

Have a Garage Sale

Many people who are going to move choose to have a garage sale to get rid of unwanted items. This is a great way to not only clean out, but also make some money. Having a successful garage sale takes more than putting up a few signs and waiting for the haggling to begin, however.

RealSimple.com has compiled a list of tips for holding a garage sale. They include tips on advertising well, laying out your merchandise properly and even pricing. For example, you might not have thought of being sure there's an electric outlet nearby so buyers can test out electronics or of wearing an apron with pockets to allow for ease in keeping cash on your person.

Donate Unwanted Items

If you don't want to devote an entire day to having a garage sale or you have a lot of items left over from the sale that you already had, the next most logical place to bring your belongings is to a thrift shop. Here are a couple of tips that could prove helpful:

  • Consider donating to a local shop, as opposed to a national chain. This can ensure that the money raised by your items goes into your local community. If you do donate to a chain, look into their practices to find out what percentage of their proceeds go to charity, if that is important to you.
  • Make sure all items are clean and in good repair. Unless your thrift shop asks for things like broken bicycles or electronics (and some do!), try not to pass off junk to a charity. It takes the volunteers and workers time to go through all donations, so making things easier on them by being sure that your clothing is recently washed and other items work is important.
  • Ask for a receipt for tax purposes. If you itemize your deductions, you could save money on your tax bill by deducting the value of charitable donations.
  • Once you decide that something will be donated, take care of it right away. Either call the thrift shop to come get your items or put them in your car and make a specific plan to drop them off within the next several days. Otherwise, you might be tempted to take something back out of the box or end up with the items residing in your vehicle for an extended period of time.

A move can be overwhelming, but by reducing the number of items you take with you, you can make it easier on everyone involved. Taking the time to do this in advance of the move will lessen your stress and reduce the amount of work involved later.

Check out sites like http://midwaymoving.com for more info on professional movers to help you get started.


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