You hate the idea but it comes in everyone's life at one point or another. Leaving your home because of divorce can be tough! Look at it this way though - you could be facing a move for college, or going into the armed services, moving to your first apartment, buying your first home, upgrading to accommodate your growing family, new city with a job change, death, and even into assisted living, all requires adjustment and packing your treasures so that they arrive in the new place in one piece.
Every move, no matter how daunting can be made simpler with the right tools. You will need the following:
Boxes - pack in same size boxes for the most part. I prefer smaller boxes so they can be handled easily. Begin with a very bundles of small boxes and purchase more as you pack. I use medium and large boxes very sparingly. You can find free boxes on Craigslist under Free sometimes but you are getting what someone else used and it may not be easy to stack or pack. I purchased boxes and have kept the same ones for a number of moves by storing them. If you rent, there is a good chance you will move again so why purchase twice.
Colored Tape and/or Markers. You will need a number of colors for the various rooms. Coordinate the marker and tape colors with each room - kitchen, dining room, living room, bathrooms and each bedroom. If you have a garage you will want additional supplies for that and another for basement if needed. Colored duct tape can be purchased at Wal-Mart or U-Haul has a system of preprinted tapes you can buy in a bundle for the various rooms. Uhaul also carries a line that will indicate upon arrival at your new location to "OPEN FIRST".
Suitcase for each family member. Now the fun part! Pack a suitcase for each member of the household. Tell everyone to pack what they need for a long trip because they can only use what is in their suitcase. When you get to the new residence it will cut down on not being able to function while you are unpacking boxes. Also create one box with the following items for immediate needs upon arrival: Toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, dish soap, paper towels, Windex, light bulbs, garbage bags, flashlight, towels, washcloth, first aid kit, and pet food if needed. This will all go in the family car when the move happens.
PACKING
Depending on how much you have to pack and how much advance notice you have, begin with designating a corner in each room for filled boxes. This might require some creative arranging but will be worth the efforts. You should also designate a spot for things you do not want to move in another part of the house such as a garage outdoor patio/porch. This will be sorted later into yard sale, Craigslist offerings, and donations, but for the time being put it all together. Notify everyone in the family of this spot for their offerings.
Start by putting empty boxes in the room and assign the color for that room. It's a good bet if you are moving to a home of a similar house to the house you are leaving, you will have items going into similar rooms. This means you tag the furniture, beds, desks, dressers, chairs etc with the appropriate colored tape too.
Now set up the rules for everyone about what is okay to pack. Small children can participate without stressing if you let them choose their toys they want to pack, allowing them to keep their two favorite things out for play. Everything else gets packed for opening on move day. (My daughter loved this game because I hung a calendar with big stars on it showing the move date and it was like waiting for Christmas as she did the countdown to move and unpack. Let them know you have the "Open First" tape but dole it out carefully.
Now go through your rooms and pack everything in the boxes in that room and stack them in the corner out of the way. You can get detailed on writing everything down but simple groupings make it go faster. Such as "winter clothes" "shoes" "toys" "lamps" etc. Write in easy to read box letters on the side of the box. Writing on the top does not work since you would be stacking boxes. Also write on two opposite sides so that no matter how they are stacked, knowing what is in the box will be easy to figure out.
You might need medium or even large boxes for a very few things but for reasons of physical manageability try to keep these boxes to a minimum. Leave one open box in each room to be sealed up at the last moment for those final things that need to be packed at the last minute.
For your living room and dining room you might have some fragile knick knacks that you will want to carefully pack. Outside of purchasing bubble wrap you can use towels, blankets and sheets to wrap and protect them. I put towels between my paintings before wrapping them with a blanket and taping around them with the colored living room tape and it worked very well.
In the kitchen plan on working with a single frying pan, a spatula, a can opener and a couple sharp knives while everything is being packed. It is real easy to plan meals around take out, paper plates and cutlery. When I moved I liked to cook everything on a barbeque. Hamburgers and salad were mainstays during my moves with Ravioli and PBJ's for lunch and fruit with cereal and pancakes for breakfasts. The day of the move it is easy to toss it in a box and put it in the car with suitcases so that you have something to use in the new kitchen the moment you arrive.
If you are moving a long distance where packages of food will not travel well or your things are going into storage for a period of time, I suggest you put those things in a box and take them to the local food bank, soup kitchen or women's shelter for their use. They will definitely appreciate your donation and you don't have to move food that will be expired or inedible when you get to unpack. They usually can't accept open containers of food but things like cake mixes, unopened flour, sugar and cereal, and canned goods are great. If nothing else find a young couple with little children or an elderly person in your neighborhood that you can give these things to.
THE MOVE
Whether you are moving across town, across the state or across the country, how your things are transported is of course dependent on your budget. Of course there are a number of rental companies that have everything from dollies to trucks for you to do it yourself, and even refer people to hire to help you load your packed items. I found it well worth the money to allow to strong young men to help me load furniture and make everything fit tightly and safely for the move, let alone save my strength for the drive and unpacking at the other end. These services are available at the other end of your journey as well. Just check with your local U Haul dealer to get a list of names and phone numbers at both ends. This contract will not be through U haul, these are independent contractors that work outside of U Haul to provide these services.
UNPACKING
Now you have reached your destination and you are ready to unload. Start by going though the new residence and take a piece of the colored tape and put on the door of the room assigned to that color. Put everyone's suitcase in their individual bedroom.
Next have the truck unloaded and put all boxes aside until you get the furniture into the house and into the appropriate room. Assemble beds, and make a stab at placing your furniture where you want it in the rooms. You can do the arranging later.
Once all the furniture (big stuff) is in place, bring in the boxes and put them in the rooms assigned by color. In a very short time everything will be sorted and you will be ready to unpack into your new environment. This also makes searching for previously "unrealized critical items" easier to find since the boxes are in the appropriate room and correctly marked.
Prioritize the unpacking to the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room before you worry about bedrooms. Each member has a suitcase so the main focus would be on hygiene and food. Tackle the home centers first so that your family can function with school and work.
Unpacking can be daunting and the old adage of "Eating an elephant one bite at a time" holds well here - try to think about unpacking a couple of boxes each day. Focus on one room at a time, one box at a time and before long you new home will be functioning as good as or even better than your last residence.
Elliette Sinclair
DivorceEducator.com
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