Moving Tomorrow! Any Tips?

[volcanicweather]

Hiring movers gets shit done. I've helped friends move in the past and sometimes its smooth but other times it's a disaster where we are sitting around because they don't know how to coordinate people and/or are under prepared. Just be ready and whatever solution you choose will be fine.

[aduidarnenye]

We have one friend coming over to help. There will be KFC and beer afterwards.

Right now we live in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment and haven't really got a lot of stuff. The big things will be the mattress, the treadmill, and the armchair. We're throwing out our sofa to buy a new one, so we won't have to take that.

I've spent the last year getting ready for this move, throwing out or donating everything I can. I must have gotten rid of almost a thousand books (but I still have about the same amount left). Books are actually our largest item group. We put them neatly into those lifetime grocery bags and stacked them against the wall. There are about a dozen of the bags, but they're strong and easy to carry.

[Ksandra]

Get as many dolley/two-wheelers/carts/whatever you want to call them as you can. No one has to bust their back if everything is on wheels.

this reminds me, if you can find someone who has one borrow theirs. A lot of U-haul trucks come with one, but it has like a plastic strip you gotta break in order to use it, and if you do they charge you extra.

[Francisco]

For after the move - here is some advice:

1: Setup and unpack your bed/bedding/blankets/pillows etc first. The first thing you want done is having your bed ready. No matter what doesn't get finished/unpacked that day, at least you can crash the moment you get tired. The only thing that takes priority over your bed is any food you need to stick in the fridge.

2: Clothes and toiletries next - so you don't need to fumble around whenever you need to get ready for work or whatever...

3: Everything else - I'll be a hypocrite and say TV/Video Games/Computer last - as they'll distract you from finishing unpacking completely.

[Ksandra]

If you can't get some, they're totally worth 5-10 bucks each to rent one for a day. Your move will take half the time and no one will have to kill themselves.

ya I didn't mean to say you shouldn't, just that to be aware that if you know someone who does it'll save you a few bucks.

[Mytiwar]

I'm amazed by all the people telling OP to hire professionnal movers when he's moving tomorrow.

Do companies really do that shit at one day's notice?

[Aksannyi]

1: Setup and unpack your bed/bedding/blankets/pillows etc first. The first thing you want done is having your bed ready. No matter what doesn't get finished/unpacked that day, at least you can crash the moment you get tired. The only thing that takes priority over your bed is any food you need to stick in the fridge.

Truth.

[archibaldcrane]

Professional movers?

You mean Mexicans at home depot right?

[Mytiwar]

Professional movers?

You mean Mexicans at home depot right?

We don't have slaves in Canada

[Toxictaru]

My mom had an emergency move a while back and I had a mover hired for her in a matter of hours. I think if you look through the book, you can find someone who'll do it with a day's notice.

[Talus]

Label everything clearly, so it makes unpacking easier (and you'll be less likely to put it off). We often underestimate how much stuff we can accumulate over time. My dad jokingly (or was it a joke?) suggested to me that I should move every 5 years so I don't end up hanging on to things for sentimental reasons or other reasons. I guess he suggested that because he lived in the same house, which I grew up in, for 30-some years before moving to another state and it was a huge pain in the ass to get everything packed up AFTER my sisters and I were over there several weekends going through stuff like kindergarten report cards. We did find some cool stuff though, like love letters my dad wrote my mom when he was in grad school and she was at home with my oldest sister, they were very sweet and showed us another side of our dad.

But oh yeah, moving tips. The inventory thing is a great idea, one friend used those circular colored stickers that I've seen at the optometrist with a different color for each room plus wrote "Breakables" or "Fragile" on those kind of boxes. Get a banker's box and put all your important documents in it, and keep it with you or within sight so you know exactly where it is, i.e. birth certificates, passports, bank records, financial records, social security cards, etc.

I guess you're renting a box truck? Make sure you give yourself plenty of distance to brake when you're driving to your new place. You don't want to make a stressful day worse with an avoidable accident.

Also, second lift with your legs, not your back. Don't let someone lift particularly heavy/awkward items by themselves.

[aduidarnenye]

Move survived with minimal problems. We only managed to break a light bulb and later a lamp. It took 8 hours to get everything from one apartment to the other and we had our kitchen and bedroom more or less set up the same evening.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Apelila]

Hope you scheduled cable/other service transfers in advance. You wouldn't believe the amount of people who call in 'ok, we're moved in you can turn the cable on'.

[Fhloston]

One thing I'll learn from moving, don't pick a day when a family event (Quincenera in my case) is going on. Everyone was partying down while the wife and I busted our asses lol.