Moving Tips and Tricks + Printable Checklists!

I shared my moving story in a recent post. Just in case you’re looking to move houses soon too, I thought I’d share all the tips and tricks I learned in the process, plus a couple of printable checklists based on the spreadsheets I made for my move!

Taking Stock of Furniture + Bulky Items

The first step I’d recommend when moving is to make a list of all of the big items in your house. This includes all of your furniture and other bulky decor items like mirrors, lamps, and curtains. Go room-by-room and log all of your big items and what’s happening to them, whether you’re:

• Taking them with you to the new house,

• Selling them on something like Facebook Marketplace or donating them to a specific location, or

• Curbing them, putting them on the street for people to take or for trash pickup.

When we were moving, we sold a few items online and gave a few others to family members, but the vast majority of furniture we weren’t taking were put out on the curb. We lived on a busy street and once people heard we were moving, some people would check back every day to see what was new. Some pieces were picked up by the time I reached the door to go back inside after putting them out.

We were pretty cut-throat about getting rid of furniture, but focused mostly on function than style.

If it wasn’t the prettiest, but was in good shape and would need to be replaced immediately after we moved in, it came with us. I knew we’d be buying a lot of new items that we didn’t already have functional versions of, and I’d rather spend my money on the things that needed to be purchased as soon as possible.

If I liked the piece of furniture, but it wasn’t functioning the way I wanted it to in the old house or if I knew it wouldn’t have a defined, necessary function in the new house, we got rid of it and hoped it went to a new home where it was needed. And, of course, if something was broken or hated, it wasn’t coming with us to the new house.

Decluttering

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” - William Morris

While you’re making decisions about furniture, you can also start decluttering. Decluttering is a deeply personal process, but here are some good questions to ask while you go through your things:

Have I used this in the last year?

The first question to ask for most items is, is this item being used? A good time to give each item is all four seasons, if you didn’t use it this past winter, spring, summer, or fall, you probably won’t use it (or miss it) next spring, summer, or fall.

I’ve found this question is especially helpful for seasonal items like swimsuits and coats, items that usually just sit around for a good portion of the year. If I wore a swimsuit last summer, it stayed. If I hadn’t worn it in two or three summers, I probably wasn’t wearing it again anyway.

Is this expensive to replace?

If an item isn’t used often, but you know that theoretically it is useful, another question to ask yourself is “is this expensive to replace?” Is this item worth the cost of storing and moving it around even if it may be useful one day in the future?

I’ve found this question is useful for things like pens. The thirty promotional pens in that junk drawer may be useful one day. But when that one day comes, wouldn’t you prefer to buy a pack of new pens that you like? Or easy and quick just to start a promotional pen collection from scratch?

Chase’s rule for this was that if it costs less than $20 to replace and was an item of infrequent use, it was tossed or donated.

Can this item be digitized?

Paper clutter is real. When we were moving, I had some sentimental papers taking up space in my desk that didn’t really need to be there. So I made an album in my phone, took pictures of them, and tossed them. I can still look back on them from time to time, but the physical item is no longer taking up space.

Is this item already digitized? Is also useful for items like appliance manuals. You can find just about any manual online and save it to a folder in your computer labeled “Manuals,” so if you ever need it again, you’ll have it even after you throw away the bulky physical item.

Do I even like it?

Finally, ask yourself if you actually like the item. Marie Kondo asks “does it bring joy?” Emily Ley asks if it’s “the best, the favorite, or necessary?” William Morris, as quoted previously, said “have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

Give yourself permission to get rid of the things that you don’t take any enjoyment or pleasure from. If you have the room, eventually, that choice may give you the opportunity to replace that item with something you do love.

Figure Out Storage

Once you’ve started to figure out what’s coming with you, figure out a storage solution for while you’re moving. Packing can take a long time, especially if you’re doing it all yourself. This may mean putting boxes in a guest bedroom or attic.

For us, it meant renting a storage unit. If you’re moving and not planning on keeping the unit long term, a lot of storage rental places offer deals for the first couple of months that can make using them pretty cost effective for the convenience of not living in a forest of boxes for an unknown amount of time.

Start Packing

Once you’re ready to start packing, some of the best advice I can give is to:

• Buy boxes. It may seem tempting to reuse Amazon boxes, but having boxes of uniform shape and size is very useful.

• Invest in more smaller boxes. We bought mostly medium and small boxes instead of throwing as much as we could in larger boxes. They’re easier to carry, easier to organize, and you’ll appreciate the choice in the long run.

• Pack items that aren’t currently in use ASAP. The moment you decide to move, start packing. You have more stuff and the process will take you longer than you ever thought. When you’re on a time crunch and trying to finish packing the last rooms as quickly as possible, you’ll be thankful that you started as soon as you did.

• Think about permanent storage. When buying boxes, think about buying permanent storage solutions as well. Out-of-season clothing, linens, seasonal decor, craft supplies, tools, hobby supplies, and more are all items that may not need to be unpacked and would do better in storage options they can stay in long after the move. Take this chance, invest a little more, and you may discover an organizational opportunity that will help you for decades to come.

• Label everything. We hired movers to help with our move. When things were labeled, they could bring them to the area they needed to go. When things weren’t labeled, they had to stop and ask me where they needed to go. Sometimes I didn’t know, so I ended up with a miscellaneous pile in the living room, and had to take them where they needed to go myself later on. It can be hard to label everything, especially when the new house may not have rooms that directly correlate to rooms in the old house, but try your best and you’ll be grateful for the effort.

• Use towels, dish cloths, and napkins to wrap delicate items. Don’t throw any bathroom or kitchen towels into their own box! At least not before packing all of your dishes, vases, and other fragile items.

Some of the items we purchased to move…

• Flat pack clothing/blanket boxes

• Bankers boxes

• Medium sized boxes

• Wardrobe boxes

• Clear plastic boxes

• Scotch Packing Tape

• Packing labels

• Sharpies
  

Tips for Hiring Movers

• Ask friends and family for recommendations for moving services they’ve used and trust.

• Schedule ASAP, especially if moving in the summer busy season.

• Have cash ready to tip movers (20%).

• If you need to move twice (if you’ll be staying someplace temporarily in-between moves) ask if they can give you a discount on the second move.

• Again, label everything so they know where to take things when moving you in!

Checklists for Everything Else

There are so many little odds and ends when it comes to moving. Have you made arrangements with both locations for the power company? Registered to vote at the new address? Changed the address on your drivers’ license? Notified Aunt Mildred so she doesn’t send her Christmas card to the wrong address?

I’ve taken everything on my spreadsheet (plus a few things I didn’t realize I needed to do until I had an “oops” moment!) and created a checklist.

I’ve separated them into an “Old” House Checklist and a “New” House Checklist.

“Old” House

Before Move-Out Date is Set

• Buy moving boxes + supplies.

• Make a list of furniture and whether it's coming or not.

• Declutter and donate items in "old" home.

• Rent storage unit (if necessary).

• Pack and store non-essential items.

After Move-Out Date is Set

• Schedule movers.

• Get cash to tip movers from bank

• Schedule end of service date for utilities.

• (water, gas, electricity, cable, internet)

• Pack essential items.

• Schedule cleaning service for day before property transfer

• Remove delivery address on online retail websites.

• (Amazon, PayPal, Apple Pay, Target, Walmart)

• Stop subscriptions and services.

• Remove smart devices from your account.

• (cameras, thermostats, locks, etc.)

“New” House

Before Moving-In

• Make list of essential furniture to purchase.

• Watch for sales at furniture retailers.

• Schedule utilities start dates.

• (water, gas, electricity, cable, internet)

• Schedule moving company.

• Get cash to tip movers from bank.

• Add delivery address to online retail websites.

• Schedule deep clean (if necessary).

• Write down addresses for essential services nearby.

• (nearest pharmacy, bank, grocery store, vet, ER, etc.)

• Learn trash/recycling pick up schedules.

• Buy and ship essentials for moving in. (After closing only)

After Moving-in

• Forward mail at USPS

• Change your voter registration

• Change driver's license address

• Change address at: work, banks, hospital

• Change locks.

• Send "we moved!" notices (if you want people to know).

Here are the download-ables, so you can print them for convenience:

If you’re getting ready for a big move, I hope this advice and these checklists help make the process smoother and less stressful for you.

If you have any other moving tips, let me know in the comments!

xx

Julia

House Hunting Checklist & Notes Downloadables!

Some fun freebies!

I am always just a tad too organized.

When we were house hunting, I gave my real estate agent a 17-slide presentation with information about our budget, what our essentials in a new house were, what our wishlist included, dealbreakers, and even some of our thoughts on houses currently on the market.

It was… a lot.

If you want to be just the right amount of impressively organized, however, I’ve created two downloadable for you!

The first is a New House Wishlist, where you can write down everything you’re looking for in a new house.

The second is a House Tour Notes page, where you can keep track of your thoughts in any houses you tour while house shopping.

Enjoy!

Love,

Julia

We Moved!!

I have a big life change to announce—we’ve moved!

Move in day!

Our last home was not only a family home, which belonged to my great-grandparents and then to my grandfather, but also my first post-college home, where I spent the majority of my 20s, met my husband, buried my childhood pet, got married, and had a baby. I’d put a lot of love and work into our last home, which you can see some of in the nursery reveal I posted less than a year ago.

It was hard to say goodbye—at times, I had to pause packing because I was crying so hard—but I took comfort in reminding myself that it was just a house. The only special, magical element in it was love. The love I put into it and the love for the people who lived there. When we left, we took that with us and brought it to the new house, and it may not be as mature a love yet, but those seeds will grow and blossom again.

Already, it’s obvious that the move was exactly the right choice for our family. There’s enough space for me to get an office again, so I can write and paint and craft. For a play area for Charlie. For our piano to rest fully against a wall and not out into the hallway. For Chase to finally buy a rowing machine. For a big, cozy pit sofa. Our bedroom is actually big enough for our bed. Our kitchen window looks out into our own backyard, not our neighbor’s. I get a two-story home with stairs, something I’ve dreamed about my entire life.

I’ll be Instagramming about the house on a new IG handle: @magnoliaarchhome so I can share pictures publicly (my personal IG has gone private so I can share pictures and videos of Charlie with trusted friends and family).

Good things are ahead of us.

Which brings me to another big life change…

I’m leaving my job to stay at home!

For the next few years, I plan to focus on parenting my son, taking care of my family’s new home, and pursuing creative passions. I’m in an extremely privileged position where this is something I’m able to do, and I don’t plan on wasting a single day of this opportunity.

I’ll update again soon (maybe with moving tips?), but I’ve been watching a lot of Winnie the Pooh with Charlie lately, so all I have left to say for now is T-T-F-N. Ta-ta for now!

Love,

Julia

P.S. if you know me in real life, send me a message on the contact page and I’ll let you know the new address!