Packing and Unpacking a House...

[plantationcatt]

If there is already a similar post, please direct me and forgive the duplication...but I did search.

Since my husband and I have just bought our first house we''re beginning to pack up...and we''re hoping for some experienced advice-givers in regards to what we should and shouldn''t do in the weeks ahead. We don''t have enough stuff or enough money to merit a professional company moving us, plus we''re moving maybe a 10 minute drive away, so we''ll just rent a big U-Haul truck... We also want to lay down 500 ft of laminate floor and paint a couple rooms before we move all of our stuff in. Any idea how long that takes to clear the air afterwards?

Thanks in advance! Hopefully this list will be useful to other PSers!

 

[Elmorton]

Here's a thread of tips that were very helpful when we moved:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/moving-tips.71316/

We color coded with post-it notes (and a big poster that explained the colors) so all boxes went to the correct room, and I was unpacked within 24 hours. One of my friends who helped us said "You know, while I was hating green postits (basement) that system worked really, really well."

I also use garbage bags around hangers so I can just hang everything up and if something falls off of the hanger it falls into the bag.

Craiglist for boxes is an excellent tip - we had already purchased a ton, so we didn't use it, but later I found sooo many posts in our area of people giving away boxes for free.

U-Haul's dishsaver boxes are totally worth purchasing, but we needed about 3 more than what we bought.

Taping remotes to TVs and screws and bolts to the item itself is also a helpful tip - unfortunately, I think I taped the antique screws/bolt for my great-grandmother's dresser to the MOVING BLANKET...we couldn't find them anywhere and I had to have my dad create new bolts. Rrrrg.

Make sure all of your tools are out and ready to go - we had to take hinges off doors, etc at both places.

ETA: And, do kitchen first - at BOTH ends. I was up until 4am the night before we moved packing the kitchen, and I finished packing it as the truck was nearly ready to go. I took some PSer advice and unpacked the kitchen first the next morning (clearly bedding was numero uno so we could sleep) and the rest of the house was soooo easy to finish!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Yes, there have been several other threads. We have always done our own moving as well. We buy big plastic tubs. Easy to carry, we save them for the next move or storage, water tight. Unpack the kitchen first. Have a separate bag with your must haves (toothbrushes, change of clothes, bedding, etc...) Move slowly if you can.

Re: laminate flooring
If the price is not a huge difference or if you can swing it I would try to do hardwoods. You''ll get a better return with resale. If not they are pretty easy to install. Let the boxes sit in the room for a few days before (for swelling reasons). When installing open up a few boxes and mix them (in case of color variations). Depending on the room it should be able to be done in a day or two.

 

[pennquaker09]

If you''re going to be using latex paint, then it won''t take a long tome to air out. If you buy paint with no or low VOCs then there will be no odor at all.

 

[plantationcatt]

Elmorton, Thank you so much for directing me to the other thread! Also, I''m going tonight to buy a big pack of colored paper. I am a super-oraganized, list-making machine, so that system is perfect. Taping of screws & remotes seems like excellent advice. And considering how much we cook we will definitly be needing the most work in the kitchen...

Tacori, We still have a small collection of tubs from when we last moved. We almost returned them to Target six months ago because they were so expensive, but I''m glad we didn''t! Regarding the laminate, we would prefer hardwood, but the house already has brand-new laminate in the dining room, living room, hall, office & kitchen. It''s the back three bedrooms that we want to do--they''re currently carpet. It''s no more than 600 sqft total we want to change, for under $1000 total. Plus we have some friends that know how to lay laminate. I think if the rest of the house wasn''t already laminate, we would go with real wood...but oh well. Thanks for the advice about mixing boxes, that is so smart & simple!

pennquaker, we''re currently searching for the right paint color & hope to find some low/no VOCs. Between that and no-glue laminate, we shouldn''t have a problem. Thanks!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

We buy ours from Wal-Mart. I think they are around $4 a piece. We probably have over 50 (that we bought over the years). I love how they are so easy to stack too (when empty).

 

[firebirdgold]

Get rid of as much as possible. Donate or throw out everything you possibly can! When packing, always have a donate and trash bag/box on hand.
A hard lesson learned: if you have cats they might get a bit distressed by the packing and pee on or in boxes left lying around.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Date: 2/20/2008 11:34:34 AM
Author: IndieJones
Get rid of as much as possible. Donate or throw out everything you possibly can! When packing, always have a donate and trash bag/box on hand.
A hard lesson learned: if you have cats they might get a bit distressed by the packing and pee on or in boxes left lying around.

And to add to that, if you have a puppy, he may "steal" everything he can out of one box to chew on it. We''ve been sort of packing the things we never use and storing them for our upcoming move, too. The more you can do in phases, the less overwhelmed you''ll feel.

I so wish more sellers would allow a family who they know has already been approved for their mortgage and the closing is in like a week would just allow the new family to put boxes in the basement. It would make moving SO much easier!

I am so excited for you about this move, Plantation. It looks like a pretty house and a first home is just so exciting!

 

[plantationcatt]

Yall are great--thanks so much for the advice. So far the most we have of anything is books....trying to cull...