Last Friday, I posted about my process for organizing for a move. Today, I want to share with you all the little tricks I use to making this decluttering/organizing/packing process a little easier.
First of all, try to organize for no more than four hours each day. Packing is tiring enough, but sorting and making decisions about what to keep can be emotionally and cognitively exhausting. This is why even professional organizers only work in 4-hour chunks of time with clients.
Don’t skip around the room. And definitely don’t skip around the house. Otherwise, you might have little to show after an afternoon of packing, which can be very discouraging.
Be sure to take a short 10-minute break every hour in order to drink, stretch your legs and clear your mind. All that decision-making will be easier if you can “rest your thoughts” for a few minutes every hour.
If possible, work with a friend. Not only will it go faster, but a friend can provide some honest feedback if you find yourself wanting to keep everything. A friend will also boost your morale and make the process more fun. Or at least more tolerable.
Once you have finished sorting all the contents in the room and packing things into boxes, make sure each box is labeled clearly with the name of the room it is destined for. Be sure to place the label on the side of boxes, not on the top, so you can read the labels when the boxes are stacked.
Some people find it helpful to hire a professional organizer to do a walk-through of their new home with them, so the organizer can explain how to use each room, what systems to set up (e.g. kitchen hub, homework zones, recycling areas, etc.), and where to place the furniture. Being armed with all of that vital information before you move in can make your actual moving day operate much more efficiently.
On the other hand, some people find it more helpful to hire a professional organizer to come in after the family has moved in to help them unpack and set up key spaces, such as the kitchen or home office. The organizer can set up custom systems as she unpacks the family’s belongings and make a shopping list of organizing products they might need, such as drawer dividers or spice racks.
There are lots of tips and tricks to organizing for your big move, but don’t feel like you have to follow all of them. Choose the ones that make the most sense to you and rest easy knowing that employing even a few organizing strategies will vastly improve your moving experience. Happy Moving!
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