Oh yes, my friends, this was one of my top “glad I did it” packing moves. I bought a massive roll of bubble wrap (which, by the way is super pricey, it’s like $22 a roll…for bubble wrap!) and proceeded to pack all of the glassware we owned. I bubble wrapped each cup or glass individually and I wrapped plates with a layer of bubble wrap in between them. Once this was done I felt a huge sense of relief because the fragile stuff that I worried about most was packed away and safe.
And I don’t mean like Prada or Gucci. I mean label all of your freaking boxes like a psycho. I included what was in the box, where the box had to go (which room or area) and what floor of the house it belonged on (which was key, since we moved from a two-story to a three story). I even labeled some boxes with certain things that were in them because I knew it might be something I’d need right away.
Keep it together.
I literally packed 90% of my floral arrangements as-is. Meaning I kept the actual fake flowers in the vase and then just bubble wrapped the vase. When unpacking, it was like BOOM! Flower arrangement, done! Ready to go! The same thing goes for things like storage and jewelry boxes. Just keep them as-is.
Throw that crap out (or donate).
Ask yourself: “am I really going to use/wear this again?” Most of the time, the answer is no. Do you really want to bring all of that crap you’ve accumulated over the years into your new home? We threw out and donated so much stuff before we moved, that it felt like we were on a cleanse diet. For example, we had these super old dishes and mugs that had chips in them but we kept using them instead of the new dishes we got from our wedding registry. We threw away the ones that were damaged and donated the ones in good condition. We also donated an old king-sized bed frame we had and a bunch of other items. I’ve never had a hard time throwing things away, but I know it’s more difficult for some people. Just remember…clutter around you makes your life feel cluttered. You won’t likely use that candle holder with someone else’s wedding date on it or that hot pink rhinestone picture frame you had in college. It’s time to let go.
Hire movers.
I know it’s not in every budget, but if you can, hire movers. We paid $90/hour for a team of three guys to move our stuff. It did not take them long at all and they wrapped all of our furniture and didn’t scratch walls or anything. It made things so much easier to have all of our stuff where we needed it. If we would have had to move all of our stuff, we wouldn’t have had the energy to unpack like we did.
Many of you know that I unpacked about 75% of my house in 24 hours. Yes, that might seem a little crazy (or like…extremely insane) but I didn’t want to live around boxes and wanted our house to feel like the clean, airy, open space it was. Listen, it takes a ton of work, but it is worth it to just unpack everything you can in the first two days. As our movers were bringing boxes up, I was lining the shelves in my kitchen, unpacking and organizing everything. The second floor of our home looked nearly perfect in less than a day.
Meanwhile, Hubs and in laws were assembling beds and helping out with lots of other stuff. It’s a team effort. But believe me, you will be less stressed and feel happier and more comfortable if you just unpack as soon as you can instead of letting the boxes linger. Full disclosure: my office still looks like a box factory…
I was also asked to comment a bit more about how we staged our home in preparation for listing it on the market. Our home was already pretty well decorated, but here’s how we made it a little more polished for showings:
More elegant bathrooms:
We purchased a bunch of glass canisters and filled them with things like Q-tips and cotton swabs. It made our bathrooms look more hotel-like and pretty. I also added coral in one of our bathrooms and made sure there were crisp white towels everywhere. It really makes a difference. See pics below for additional examples of what we did:
Clean like you’ve never cleaned before:
You’d be surprised how much a deep clean can make a difference even if nothing else has changed. This is an “every nook and cranny” kind of cleaning job and quite frankly, it’s kind of disgusting to find the stuff that’s been lingering in some of those nooks and crannies, but it makes a difference and it’s worth it. If you can’t do it, hire a cleaning service to come and do a deep clean and then just maintain it from there.
Leave some of your other crap.
Thanks for reading and please leave any other tips or tricks you have in the comments below! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Veronika.
Wow great tips and tricks! We have been shopping around for homes and the majority of them are cluttered, not updated, messy, and some are even kind of dirty looking (i'm a neat freak, OCD lunatic, so thats by my standards). So, I think you're right, the staging makes all the difference. Your new home is absolutely gorgeous. I can't wait to see it all decorated. I never thought of a model home before but now we are on the lookout for one. I really want a new construction after seeing the disasters that we've seen.
Sounds like your move went smoothly thanks to all your planning in advance! I bet it felt good to de-clutter too!
Another packing tip I like to do is to use towels and throw blankets as either filler in boxes or to actually wrap larger glass items like vases or lamps:)
great tips! i've moved 9 times and agree 100% with all of your tips. i've done the same things (except the pillow ones, but that's a good one!) and if you've never moved before save this page! taking the time to pack correctly and label your boxes saves you time in unpacking!!
Hey Veronika!
I was just wondering where you got those glass jars, they r exactly what im looking for. Everything i find is much bulkier….
Thanks, Leah
Your unrelenting use of the phrase "my friends" is gag-worthy. Otherwise, great post.
Great post V! Moving is so tough – these tips will definitely come in handy when I move in November 🙂
thanks for sharing!
really good tips!
mindofmr.blogspot.com
Awesome tips, we are not planning to put our house on the market for at least 18 months but it would be nice to get started now, that way we can enjoy our beautiful home before we sell it 🙂
Thanks!
where did you purchase your glass canisters for the q-tips in your bathroom? I've been looking for some!
Great tips- I especially agree with the de-clutter and donate one. I hate clutter and hate hanging onto things- if you haven't used it in a year, get rid of it!
This is a great post!!!! Thanks for the awesome tips 🙂 xoxo
I absolutely adore your blog and follow you on bloglovin 🙂 Please keep the excellent posts coming!!
https://mplusbdiaries.blogspot.com/
Love the bathroom rug. Where did you get it? Looking for similar ones with gray accents.
Style Dish- it's from West Elm. 🙂
We moved last year and packing is my favorite event in comparison to unpacking. I packed all of our dishes/glasses/breakables in newspaper. Several pieces of newspaper and they survived the trip. We moved 2hrs away so there was quite a drive involved. I bought a few newspapers, but not $22 worth. Just an idea for someone who doesn't want to fork out $22 for bubble wrap like myself.
I also got rid of so much stuff prior to moving. It was so nice to get rid of clothes, and other miscellaneous crap that we had in the house. Great time to purge.
I WISH we could have hired movers. that would have rocked. Thankfully my brother in law is pretty awesome and he came over and helped my husband load all of our stuff into two trucks and 14ft trailer. We drove to our new house @ 11pm to avoid traffic. Our new house is a stilt house so every thing had to be carried upstairs. movers would have come in handy there.
hi Veronika – would you mind telling us where you go the pretty soap dispenser, and the other glass canisters, as well as the white tray? thank you! also where do you get your monogrammed towels. (sorry for the million and one question! :))
soap dispensers are from marshalls home goods and bed bath and beyond
glass canisters are from crate & barrel
white tray is from west elm
I think you mentioned everything one must consider and take note during packing. You clearly are an expert on this, Veronika. 😀 Packing is really not as easy as it looks. It would be best if you take it slow, and make sure that everything is organized and in its proper place. Do not forget the label. It’s the most essential part of packing to avoid confusion when unpacking.
Ericka Muldowney
Great blog and post! I happen to live in Houston also, and we are also in the process of moving-so thanks for the tips! Doyou still have the contact info for the movers you used? Also, you had mentioned a painter in an earlier blog and we need one of those as well-not crazy expensive! Love your interior style-so pretty!
great post! I'm moving this weekend and will be putting these tips to use!
Hit your local dollar store for glass jars and vases on the cheap!
Pack one room at a time. This is one of the most important packing tips which for some reason often gets neglected. Doing this will help you stay organised and will later tell the movers, or anyone unloading, which box goes where.