Cheap Moving Boxes 4

Here’s a question for you. Have you ever had to pack up and move a family of 9 all the way across the country? No? Well, I have and let me tell you this, it was one of the craziest, hardest, most annoying, and hilarious things my family and I have ever done. Every single one of us was in tears at one point or another, including my 6’5 former military husband. (Hey, even Chuck Norris would cry being stuck in a van with 7 screaming children for 20 hours.) It was something I would never want to do again but wouldn’t actually trade the experience. Mostly because through the move I gained a plethora of wisdom on how to handle a stressful experience, like moving, with grace, poise, iPads, and about 100 gallons of coffee. And if you’ll let me, I would love to share with you some of that wisdom of how to handle a stressful move.  

 

First thing you must always do is plan ahead before even packing a single box. You want to have a packing method in place, otherwise you’ll just wind up throwing a bunch of random stuff in boxes, which is fine for getting it out of the house, but it’s a nightmare on the other end. So, I am going to share with you the best packing method secret out there. Get yourself a notebook, a pen, and about a million cheap moving boxes. Then assign each room in the house a number. I started with 100. Each box in that room will then be assigned a number within that value range. Then, instead of writing on the box everything you put in there, you’ll instead write in the notebook the box number and everything that’s in the box. Then all you have to do is write the number on the box, and nothing else. 

 

For example, let’s say you assign your master bedroom the number 100. The first box you then pack will be box 100. In it goes sheets, pillows, and your duvet cover. You would then mark in your journal, “Box 100. Sheets, pillows, duvet cover.” After that box is full, you’d move on to box 101, 102, etc. This may seem like a lot of work, but when you get to your destination, not only will you know where everything is, but you’ll be able to tell the movers exactly where all the boxes go by saying “All 100 boxes go in the master bedroom.” Viola! Your nightmare of unpacking just ended.  You’re welcome. 

 

Aside from that, which is honestly the reason I’m still a sane person, you need to make sure you’re staying organized with your time. You can wait for the movers, but the movers won’t wait for you to finish packing all those cheap moving boxes. So, ask for lots of help (yes, it’s ok) and try to have your packing done at least a day in advance before the movers arrive. If you need to sleep in the house, just have your mattresses on the floor and use sleeping bags. (We just told the kids we were camping, and they loved it.) As far as food, get takeout and use disposable everything. (Shh, don’t tell mother earth I said that.)

 

The task of moving doesn’t have to be the death of you, your spouse, or your children. You just need a solid packing method, be organized with your time, make sure the kids have something distracting them at all times, ASK FOR HELP, and don’t strangle your spouse… trust me you’ll need them for the drive.