Day In The Life (Moving + Household Organization}

Christy and I were brainstorming what topic to share this month for our regular “Day in the Life” post where we share our strategies for managing all the “things” in daily life and while no, I am not moving (and hopefully won’t be for a long time) as you all know, she is. She is in the final stages of preparing their family for an overseas move, their next military assignment, so this topic is timely. Over the years we’ve been blogging we’ve both moved countless times, her for military related moves and for us, well, we have less noble reasons but we’ve still somehow moved six times.

So we thought we’d share some tips for those of you who are moving soon, and then some of the ways we keeps our homes organized once they are unpacked for those of you who are staying put. We’ve been in this house now for two years as of this month, and this recent enforced time at home has definitely helped me knock out some of those last few organizing projects.

Since we wrote a dedicated moving post years ago, when I collected advice from our readers I’ll start with again sharing the moving organization tips we gathered then, there is some great info in here by some experienced pros!

Take everything off the walls and keep together. Label boxes with each room. Live off paper plates and paper products. Pack up the kids room leave out only a few toys. Pack and stack boxes in your garage while kids are at school. Pack suitcase of clothes for each kid and yourself and live out of and wash only that. Pack the rest. Use towels to pack breakable vases and such. ~Megan (9 military moves)
Pack your bedding in the dresser that goes in that bedroom.~Suzanne
I put all our clean clothes into those giant ziplock bags {you can get those HERE} with dryer sheets, that way they stay reasonably folded and clean and don’t have that cardboard box smell. The movers just put the bags into boxes and also strange men aren’t pawing all the clothes. This has made unpacking the clothing of a family of 5 way easier on the other side. Good luck, we are up this summer, moving to Germany! ~ Allison
Go around the house now, open every drawer and closet and photograph- will really help if your whole shipment disappears or, more likely, you have a few missing or damaged items.~Mary (11 military moves)
Pack silverware and kitchen utensils in gallon ziplock bags {those available HERE} and they stay clean….just empty into the new drawer at your destination.~Kate
Give the house a good cleaning before you start packing or packers and movers show up! Everywhere should be exactly where it’s “supposed” to be before you start packing (even if it hasn’t been in the right spot in years lol) It will keep you motivated and bring your stress level down when everything seems a little more organized and clean to start.~Tianna
Put all your breakables that are treasures in one spot, like on the dining room table. Have the packers pack them first when they are fresh for the day.~Lezlie
One of the best helps I’ve come up with is having 2 boxes. ONE for bedding and any household supplies, packed and ready to use upon arrival AND a box that I mark “PARTS”. Every top of a lampshade, every screw, every key, plug, wire etc etc etc goes into that box. Both boxes are LAST on the truck and first to come off. ~Kathleen

Christy best tip is below, she will share more in detail in her post next but this tip is worth remembering!

I always try to pack and LABEL a box that has a hammer, nails, drill, picture hanging hooks, drywall anchors, doublestick tape and Command hooks, spackle and putty knife, etc. so that I can start hanging stuff as soon as I unpack it. And last, but definitely most important, keep your corkscrew, shaker, and coffee maker out because alcohol (and caffeine) consumption spikes sharply during a move! 🙂 ~Christy

Here is my number one moving tip: prior to all of my moves, I take the kitchen layout and take a few minute to plot and plan where my kitchen items will go. It saves a ton of time when actually are unpacking not to have to think on the spot what cabinets to put the glasses in, what drawer for the silverware etc.

Above is my diagram I did prior to moving into a former home, I know it’s hard to see as I wrote in pencil so I could adjust things accordingly. I had the cabinet layout provided by our builder, and as you can see below it mimics my kitchen layout perfectly. You can also just work off a picture of the kitchen and just draw boxes/squares for cabinets and drawer out on a plain piece of paper and mark where things should go.

(I loved this kitchen, this was the home we moved from way back in 2013)

As far as my tips for keeping my home organized, the strategy I found that works best for me is to get things generally where they need to be as fast as you can after you move. Put clothes in closets they go in, dishes in cabinets, etc. and then once the dust has settled you can go back and fine tune each space. Starting with your most used spaces (like your closet) and finish up in your storage spaces as time permits.

Other organizing projects seem to be dictated by the season, like we always need to cleaning out the garage after a long winter or my kids closets need a good purge at the start of a school year. I much as I’d love to say it isn’t the case, realistically most of our spaces need a tune up at least yearly. It never takes as long as it seems like it will, and giving all those spaces like linen closets, the pantry, and storage spaces a good clean out always feels great when it is done. This way I also can continue to purge and donate things that are just sitting around here unused.

Here are a few of my favorite organizing projects in this home so far~

Cleaning Closet using the ELFA Back of Door Rack (this is portable BTW)– has been a great way to add space for cleaning materials and keep them right at hand, easy to grab. I see why people add these throughout their homes!

Laundry Room Organization–I do a lot of laundry, so having both the folding shelf and the cabinets above to hold detergent etc. has been so convenient.

Garage Organization — We are far from having a beautifully organized garage but this overhead rack did add much needed storage for out of season items and helps keep the bikes in one place. This has made a big difference out here.

Wrapping Paper –I use the drawers in an antique armoire in our bedroom to hold all my wrapping, gift cards, tags as well as everything I need to wrap a present (scissors, tape, ribbon, cards) so that I can knock it out in no time. I also keep extra generic gift cards (Amazon, iTunes around for those last minute “I need a gift” moments that seem to frequently pop up with teenagers).

Moving overseas is an entirely different ballgame from moving across town, so I am sure Christy will have some interesting insights into the process in her upcoming post. In the meantime, you can see all of our Day in the Life posts here.

XO,

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