The Best Moving Tips and Tricks

Ford provided the vehicle shared in this moving tips and tricks post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Moving can be so much fun and such a drag, all at the same time. Moving to somewhere new and exciting, or ending up in a beautiful new home, is incredible, but the journey to get there can be rough. I have some moving tips and tricks that will make the whole ordeal run a little more smoothly but I’d also love to hear your best tips so be sure to leave a comment for us on this post! {And be sure to click over to check out more moving tips straight from a professional organizer!}

The Best Moving Tips and Tricks

Gather all the packing supplies you’ll need before you start.

Nothing’s worse than getting into the flow of packing than to realize you don’t have the supplies you need and you’re going to have to run to the store. Gather up a pile of boxes, a few rolls of packing tape, packing paper or newsprint, sharpies, and labels before you tackle a room.

Check local garage sale facebook sites for free or cheap moving boxes.

Most areas have local trading pages on facebook and they can be a great way to get used boxes without paying much {or anything}. If your area doesn’t have a trading page, ask friends on facebook if they have boxes … you’ll be amazed at how many people are looking to get rid of moving boxes in their garage or attic {or who might have access to used boxes through their job}.

Host a packing party.

If packing up an entire house seems overwhelming, grab a handful of friends and host a packing party. It’s a fun way to hang out with your besties and get the job done all at the same time!

Purge and clean as you go.

Before you ever start packing, decide whether all the big items are going and sell whatever you don’t want. As you pack, purge smaller items. You’ll be so glad when you unpack on the other end and don’t have boxes full of items that you’re never going to use.

Make a floor plan of the new space and only take what you can use.

Along the lines of purging, draw a floor plan of each room in the new house, and sketch your furniture into the space. {Check out the online listing if you don’t remember dimensions and room set-ups.} Don’t move furniture that’s going to end up sitting in the garage or being sold on the other end. If you have time, you can also update pieces before they get packed up. Before my last move, I painted tons of my furniture and gave my dining room table a complete makeover to fit the style of my new house.

Skip expensive boxes.

Skip expensive wardrobe boxes. Instead, pull large trash bags up around groups of clothes while they remain on hangers and tie them right under the hanger hooks. When you arrive at the new location, you can simple hang them up, slide the trash bags off, and the unpacking is done. {This idea works great for a local move but you may have to rethink it for a long distance move.}

Label the boxes well.

Labeling well on the packing end makes unpacking so much simpler. Use colored tape or colored labels to mark specific rooms {blue for the living room, red for the kitchen} and make notes on the box about important things that are inside. The notes will help you know which boxes to unpack first.

Let the items you own double as packing supplies.

Suitcases, small crates, and picnic baskets make great boxes and tea towels, socks, and small clothing items are perfect for wrapping around fragile items to prevent breakage.

Keep a bag or box with the necessities.

Have one box, tote bag, or storage container that contains things you’ll need immediately after the move and keep it close by. This box should hold important items like medications, special items kids need to sleep {unless those are traveling in the car with you}, cables, and important documents. Anything that you’re going to want immediately upon arrival in the new home should be packed into this box. And then don’t lose that box {wink}!

Take a photo of the back of your television or computer or any other device that has cord configurations.

This might be my favorite moving tip ever! Setting up all those electronics can be daunting but much less so if you have a photo of the cord configurations.

Buy, rent, or borrow a truck for moving day.

When my son recently moved out of one college house and into another, Ford gave me a 2019 Velocity Blue Ford F-150 to use for the move. You may want to hire professional movers for the large items but having a truck for a local move makes things so easy!

A truck makes it really simple to load up piles of furniture and boxes and strap everything in using the pickup box tie down hooks {don’t forget rope and/or bungee cords}. I loved the ease of loading up the bed without having to work around trunk space and height limitations. And this SuperCrew F-150 also had lots of passenger space for the people we roped into helping with the move {wink}!

We considered using the Ford’s incredible towing capacity to pull a small rental trailer behind but didn’t need the extra space for items. College kids live fairly lightly!

We loaded up, turned on some tunes, cooled off with the ventilated seats, and got the job done, thanks to this awesome vehicle.