Moving Hacks!

We've moved... again, but this time to a new State! Hello Kentucky. We are the King's. We are very excited to find all the fun food places here and find out what there is to do in the state. While I'm exploring this new state, I thought I'd share my moving tips with you since I've done it a few times. 

I have moved six times within our seven years of marriage. I was lucky to stay in the same childhood home while growing up. I am very grateful for that, but in my adult years I have moved a lot. My husband moved a lot growing up, so he isn't afraid to make changes. I did live in Oregon for a couple of summers, moved away for college, went on a mission and now being married we have moved to a few different cities in Utah and now Kentucky! I have a few tricks up my sleeve to help the moves go better. 

Packing Clothes Hack: I don't pack my clothes... I keep them on the hangers and walk them straight to the car that way. For our across country move I got big cardboard boxes with little handles and no lid and laid my clothes on the hangers inside. It worked perfectly! When you get to the new house they are easy to hang right back up. We use cube shelve storage bins from Ikea for our comfy clothes which are easy to move each bin without packing those clothes. I do have a seasonal bin with my off season clothes that moves very easily, as well. Go through your clothes before packing them and you can always use luggage to pack the stragglers.

Reusable Bins: We have accumulated reusable storage bins over the years and just use those instead of all cardboard boxes. I have used only a few cardboard boxes in our moves for the little things that don't get in the bins. I prefer not to buy cardboard boxes or like in Kentucky they don't recycle so it was perfect to not have cardboard. We bought a bunch of bins from Costco when they had them on sale this past move. Remember, you will have to store the bins once they are empty so it's bitter sweet. 

Declutter Before Packing: I like to go through everything we have and get rid of the old and unused items. It helps to make a list of new items that I need to purchase when we move. This last move we got rid of all of our glass cups since we had broke a lot of them and I found new ones at Costco for cheap. I like to go through the clothes and take them to donation centers before packing those. 

Declutter After the Move: I like to go through our stuff once we have moved, as well. I sometimes pack things that I think we will need or use and then decide we don't need it once we are in our new spot. I try to reuse as much as we can from our previous homes. 

Knives Hack: I always put my knives in a plastic bin. This last move I used our tubber ware bin and added all my utensils, spatulas, and kitchen items that fit into the bin. Previous moves I have used a plastic storage container that usually holds crayons or craft supplies. They both have worked and keeps you safe when unpacking. 

Car Packing: If you are moving only a little bit away and plan to make a few trips then this tip works. I would pack my little jeep up every time I knew I was heading out towards the new house. We would usually have a gap time where we could move over the week or so. On one day moves we would take a few trips within the same day. We borrowed a truck a couple of times for our shorter drive moves for the bigger items. For our cross country move we rented a U-Haul and shipped our cars. 

Deep Clean Before Unpacking: In the new house, I have found it is easier to deep clean first before unpacking. My husband usually unpacks the cars while I start to clean. I always leave the cleaning supplies unpacked so I can clean the previous house last and then the new house first thing. Even across country I had my cleaning supplies as the first thing to pull out of the U-Haul. 

Luggage: If you have some luggage to move, pack them! I used our luggage for our books. It worked so well. They were a little bit heavier so I just rolled them around. The books stayed well without bending or ruining the books through the move that way. We could of put blankets, clothes, décor items, and really anything would work for luggage. 

Food: I would suggest to eat through your food storage before moving, if you have time. We did this for our across country move and I'm glad we did. We started about two months before moving, eating through it and we almost had it gone before we moved. I did pack the unopened items and put the opened stuff into baggies. If you move quickly, then there won't be time to eat through it. If so, use plastic bins or cardboard boxes to move it. I like putting my spices either in the crockpot with the lid taped down or with my large tubber wear container to keep them from spilling everywhere. I love the reusable bags from grocery stores to get food moved, as well. 

U-Haul: We got a U-Haul to travel to Kentucky. I was super impressed with how comfy the truck was to travel in. We were able to pack the truck well without things moving around on the drive. The pickup and drop off of the truck was really simple. We bought a lock for the back since we were travelling a few days which worked out good. 

Ship Cars: When we drove across the country for our move we wanted to drive together, so we had our cars shipped. It was an easy process, but did take planning. They pickup your cars a couple of days before you move and sometimes don't make it until a couple of days after you move. We were lucky to borrow a car, but know that is the case. The driver will inspect your car very thoroughly to make sure no new scratches or anything happen along the way. Our cars did well and we were happy with the process. 

Road Trip Snacks: If you are moving across country, road trip snacks are a must! We had some good healthy options and the sweets, too. I filled our water bottles with ice and had those as drinks, then we stopped at the gas stations along the drive, as well. We cut up fruit, grapes, crackers, candy, and whatever else you like. We found this drive that it was good to have the variety to help keep us awake. We only stopped three times to eat for a twenty-five hour drive because of our snacks. 

Save the T.V. Box: My husband had us hold onto our tv box since we had storage in our last house. It came in handy when it was time to pack up the tv. We have laid pillows down in the back of our jeep and had the tv lay on those for our shorter moves. 

Use your Gift Cards: If you are moving to a new state, don't forget to use your gift cards! We had our little punch cards and app rewards for a couple of Utah food spots that we used before we moved. It made it fun to go to our favorite spots again before leaving so we could have one last taste of them. We have replaced our Utah apps with now Kentucky apps now that we have moved. 

Change Address: Since we have moved a lot I just made a check off list on my phone for all the places I needed to remember to change our addresses on. It makes it super easy to just go through the list when we move somewhere new. Lot's of phone calls the first little bit. The United Post Office just started doing informed delivery when you forward your mail. They email you on days that you have mail coming and send pictures of the envelopes. It is really neat. 

Appointments Done Before Moving: If you are moving out of state or too far from your previous area, get all your appointments done. Get all of your doctors, hair, eye exams, dentist's appointments scheduled and done before you move out of town. Even when I stayed in Utah and just moved cities I would get in all that I could before moving. Then I'd switch to a closer place for appointments. 

Goodbye Party: Make sure to say your goodbyes when you are moving out of state. We made sure to go out to eat with family and visited friends. Also, get your favorite foods that are only in your state one last time before you go. I had a list of my last things to do in Utah that came in handy. It made the last couple of weeks in Utah really fun and I had no regrets when we finally moved. 

What are your moving hacks? What would you like to know about Kentucky?