Hellobee Boards

We moved a while ago with a similar situation (moving into a place for a short while before moving again).

I went room by room and made 3 groups: Stuff We Haven't Used, Stuff We Can Live Without for a While, Stuff We Need. Then I packed according to those piles (minus the junk we threw out/gave away). I also am a freak and color-coded the markers I labeled the boxes with (blue marker = deep storage, red marker = keep in our house, but don't unpack, etc).

It made for a lot of variety in box sizes (and a lot of boxes!), but it definitely helped when it came to unpacking/moving again/unpacking for good.

ETA: I packed stuff we don't use first, then later the things we can go without, and finally the essentials last.

I'm not a terribly good packer, but at this point, you can do yourself a big favor and go through EVERYTHING and sort out what you want to get rid of / give away / sell. That way, once you get to actually packing, you know you are keeping everything. I started doing that for my last move, I got side tracked and at the end was just tossing things in boxes.

Also, start cleaning and packing out of season clothes. It will be tough deciding what to keep with you vs storage, but you should be able to have the winter stuff all boxed up now. Label the boxes really well-- like, 'Winter Sweaters and dresses', not 'winter clothes'. I boxed up all my non maternity clothes that way before we moved.

I don't have any mind-blowing special techniques, but we just completed a move last week with a just turned 9 month old (!) (we moved in at the end of last week and are still unpacking) . . . and here are a couple of things I did (although I didn't have enough time to devote a week to any one room/project).

First, let me just tell you that you have a lot more *stuff* than you think!

Pick one room at a time (maybe for a week, and work on it as you have time), and trash/donate what you haven't used in six months/one year (or know you realistically won't until after you move out of your parents' house). Then do the same for the next room, like your office, and start shredding documents/mail that has any personal information (this is also great for extra packing material). Some rooms may not require a week (say, the living room and/or your linen closets, for example).

For your donations, write down the items/approximate age so that when you take them to be donated, you can get a *receipt* for a tax deduction.

After you have been through the contents of a room, at the end of the time period (like the end of the week), start packing away things you won't use or need in the next few weeks (you really can make do with very little), like packing away all but 2 sets of sheets, 3 or 4 towel sets, a basic set of dishes and cookware, etc. (you get the idea). I did the same thing with my wardrobe (especially casual clothes, seasonal clothes, and bags and shoes), linen closets, and LO's closet (I didn't have time to tackle the kitchen in the same manner, although I sure wish I did!).

You could also take a week or so to keep track of essential items that you use daily (or most days), so that you will know what items to set aside for the next few weeks!

@looch: That is a great tip! We did this in the living room and in our bedroom (and the nursery, save for a couple of small boxes). Seeing order and clear space is great for a mental pick-me-up!

I obviously SUCK at packing, since we were still moving at 11 p.m. the day our lease ended.

My two biggest recommendations would be to move stuff you don't use often/every day ASAP. Move out anything that isn't a daily necessity now, so you have less stuff to worry about later.

Also, as you are going through all of your stuff, donate or throw away anything you haven't used/worn in the last year. That was my rule of thumb and I ended up getting rid of a TON of stuff that I'll never miss. (Of course I still have a TON of stuff left, but that's another story altogether.)

If you're moving things into a storage unit, definitely label boxes in detail. The excel spreadsheet inventory sounds awesome, but I'm too lazy to do that...

The tip of having a room be a clean/organized sanctuary while you move is awesome too. I wish we had done that.

I agree with packing needing to be organized!! We've moved a lot in the past few years, and while I'm not an expert, I do tend to be a little nuts about it.

Here's what I do:
1. A very, very thorough Goodwill sorting first. It's so much easier to get rid of things before you pack.

2. I like to pack in clear Rubbermaid containers, especially for things going in storage. When we moved two years ago, all of our belongings had to be in a PODS storage unit for a month. I felt a lot better knowing that they wouldn't get dirty from the cardboard or damaged if a box broke. Plus, you can easily see what is in it.

3. I did all the decorations right after the holiday ended last time we moved, because I knew we would be moving again before it was time to decorate for Christmas again. I did a lot of donations from my decorations, too. It turns out we had a lot of random stuff that we collected in the decorations department that didn't hold up well/we didn't like/we didn't use.

4. I tend to like to pack clean things. So, I washed all the sweaters before I packed them. Same with the bedding and blankets. Maybe it's just me, because I know some people like to wash things when they come out, too. But it makes me feel more organized and intentional about the whole thing.

5. Only items from one room in a box. And be deliberate about it-my downfall comes when I start throwing random things into a box. That box usually becomes the bane of my existence on the other side.

6. Label, label, label. A sharpie and a roll of masking tape are my best friends when moving.

One last thing-when we moved the last two times, we got really frustrated at the end because it was hot (over 100 degrees) and we were tired. This led us to just want to donate a bunch of things at the end that we hadn't packed because we were too tired to deal with them. As a result, we somehow inexplicably got rid of our crock pot. Clearly, we weren't thinking right. So, my advice (to you, and to myself for the next time) is pack things early so the heat doesn't cloud your judgement! It's a fine line to walk, though, because I also don't want to live out of boxes. So maybe pack the non-necessities early, and that way, you know that you do absolutely still need what's left at the end!

I hope this helps. Good luck!!

my only tip is to be ruthless in purging (throw out/donate) as you pack! the less stuff that needs to move the better.

so much easier to unpack afterwards!