Here are a few tips and tricks I found out along the way that I wish someone would have told me!
The last time we moved was almost 6 years ago and two kids prior. We had sold our first home in May of 2016>Moved into an apartment while we built our home> then moved (while pregnant) with most things that were already packed away. So needless to say this was a much different transition!
These are the tips I wish I knew before!
Tip #1 - Find boxes for cheap or even FREE!
Check Facebook Marketplace or even community groups you might be in. I did not get any "free" boxes but I did buy quite a few from someone with other moving supplies and it was much cheaper. Then after I unboxed everything we gave the boxes away so that others could use them.
Tip #2 - Pack at least 1-2 boxes a day.
When we first bought our new house I immediately got a hold of boxes and started to "declutter" the things that I knew we would not need and that would take up a ton of space. We then rented a storage shed so that our previous home appeared to have more space than we ever thought it would haha! I then got on the train of packing at least a few boxes every day so that when it came down to M-Day (moving day ;) ) I would feel "as stressed". I definitely was still stressed on moving day but it didn't seem as bad as it could have been!
Tip #3 - Buy the correct packing tape.
I never would have thought that packing tape would matter so much but it seriously does. I had bought a different brand and towards the end I decided to spend more and get Gorilla Packing tape and it is a complete GAME CHANGER. Seriously, instead of using 3-4 strips on each box I used one and it held!
Tip #4 - Buy labels or different colored duct tape.
I learned this from the person I bought the boxes off of. She told me that in all her moving she had found that using different colored tape was super helpful because then people/movers would know where to put the boxes. I bought the tape...then quickly decided to just get labels because it was even easier than just duct tape! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GJGJLIU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Tip #
5 - Send your kids away for a week
If you can do this one... DO IT! We couldn't but it definitely would have been helpful. We did however, have some amazing friends who kept the kids during the bulk of the day while we were moving which helped a ton. We kept our littlest in "baby jail" for most of the morning where he would "growl" at the movers haha. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JRZBHW4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Moving/ Packing sucks but...
Moving and packing does suck but it really is so much nicer to have all of the space we have now and even outside. Currently working on fundraising ideas so that I can convince my husband we need a pool haha!