Help me organize my move please!

August 7, 2009 8:25 PM

I need advice on how to organize myself for moving myself and my ten-year-old son very quickly.

Unfortunately, my son and I will be moving in with my mother to weather a storm caused by declining pay and a deadbeat dad.

I am moving from a two bedroom townhouse, and will have to rent a storage unit. I need to organize my packing extremely well since the majority of the items will need to be put in the storage unit. I'd like to have a yard sale before I put items in storage. I would like to be mostly moved by the weekend of August 22nd, and I am looking for suggestions on how to organize my packing and moving. What items I should take with me as comforts (My favorite baking pans and pasta machine? A favorite painting? Framed photos?), what I should make due without (scrapbooks, books, dishes), and what I should sell (Do I sell old bureaus? Lawn care items? The tv I won't be using?)

Our stay could be as long as a year.

My mother detests clutter, so I need to take a minimalist approach, and avoid having boxes or anything with an unorganized appearance.

Mom lives 2 miles away, and the storage unit I plan to rent will be two miles in the opposite direction, so not impossible to reach once I've moved in, simply a hassle to move things about.


I appreciate your advice and suggestions as well as your prayers.

posted by littleflowers to home & garden (15 comments total)

First thing, plan on having some of necessities bag or box, with a few changes of clothes, toiletries, any medications, maybe a few of your son's toys/books/games. That way you aren't scrambling the night you get to mom's looking for a toothbrush and pajamas. Really eases the pressure on the first few days after the move.

As far as organizing for the move itself the biggest help for me was clearly labeled boxes and a yellow legal pad, with each box and detailed list of its contents. Obviously you can go more high tech, but knowing what is where is key.

My system was such:

Kitchen1, Kitchen2, ..., KitchenN. The list might say be something like Kitchen1: plates, glasses; Kitchen2: silverware, large saucepan, small pot.

Be very specific (I listed in such detail as every book that was in a box), and try not to mix different categories. You would want boxes for your bedroom and your son's. Clothes boxes. Linens. Books, CDs, DVDs. Err. Toys. And so on.

My last move I was not able to unpack all of my boxes for a few months, until I got a larger place. It was really nice being able to say "I wonder where my XYZ is" and pull out my pad, skim through, and figure out it was in Household3.

The garage sale is a good idea. Be more ruthless than you think you should because every move involves many later "Why in the world did I bother to pack that?" moments. Price things to move, not too low but not wishfully high. Take excess to a thrift store.

The last thing to figure out is what you'll really want and need (and have space for) at your mom's. As an example, she presumably already has a kitchen setup so all the kitchen boxes can go to storage (which is also why you don't want to randomly mix items because then inevitably you'll end up with your son's favorite something in a kitchen box at the very back of the storage unit).
posted by 6550 at 9:06 PM on August 7 [1 favorite]

Be ruthless about crap.
You will pay a lot for keeping stuff you should have sold/got rid of in storage,

My ruthless rule for moving:
If you haven't touched something in 6 months (and it's not a very sentimental thing) sell it or get rid of it.
I see Yard sales as ways of getting rid of stuff instead of making money (you are making money by not having to pay to store it), if someone touches something at the yard sale, let them have it if they hesitate for even a second about whether to guy it or not.

Take pictures of things if you think you will have trouble letting go mentally from them. You at least have the picture of it to remind you.

You can always fill your new place in a year with as good of items from craigslist or freecycle.

Good luck.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 9:11 PM on August 7 [1 favorite]

Not exactly an answer, but hopefully a bit of encouragement. When my partner and I moved in together it was into her townhouse (and out of my apartment for me). We had already furnished the townhouse, so there simply wasn't any need to have most of the things in my apartment. I photographed and listed everything on Craigslist, asking a modest amount of money for each piece of furniture. I listed each thing separately, so the title of each listing could clearly describe what I was selling... much better than creating one big listing with lots of different items for sale, plus you can have photos of each item. Long story short, I sold all of my furniture and much of my kitchen stuff over the course of about 5 days. I also donated about 1/2 of my clothing. I moved using my station wagon instead of needing a mid-sized moving van.

I felt a lot of resistance to selling my stuff (I might need it later!), but the more I sold the easier it became. I boxed up all of my books, which are one of the things that I really care about but could easily put in the back of a storage unit for a year or so.

Advice: Sell all of the lawn care stuff unless your could upgrade things at your mom's house. Only keep the TV if you don't think would want to afford another one next year. The space it will take up in your storage building will just be costing you money... Unless you have really nice stuff you'll probably be able to replace a lot of things you sell simply by buying them back on Craigslist next year. I bet you'll decide you can do without a lot, too.

Good luck!
posted by pkingdesign at 9:12 PM on August 7

I recently went through the garage sale / move / storage unit process. It can be very stressful, especially with a son, especially moving in with your mom. But it's totally doable. Here's my late night brain dump. :)

Seconding being ruthless at the yard sale. Most of the items I sold were $1 or less with only about 5 items costing more than $5, and NOTHING more than $15. I made almost $200! I definitely had the "I am not moving this crap again" kind of attitude. A good rule to follow is if it's more expensive to move than replace, sell it! If there's a multi-family or neighborhood yard sale happening, try to get in on it to minimize the marketing you have to do. Also, DO NOT leave the pricing to the night before. It takes WAY longer than you think it will. Do it a couple days in advance, or as you are throwing things into the yard sale pile.

Go through all of your financial documents now and shred everything you don't need. Then buy yourself a safe to keep everything in and keep at your mother's house. (Or at a safety deposit box.) Do not put anything like that into storage; 1)you'll need it 2)it would be awful if someone somehow broke into the storage unit and got that information.

How you are moving your stuff will dictate how you pack. I did not pay for movers, so I rid myself of any furniture too big for me and a friend to move ourselves (sold it on Craigslist - pick-up only!!). I am also a huge fan of Whole Foods reusable grocery bags. They work best for books, but I really packed a ton of my stuff in these things. I like them because I can easily carry them (I'd rather make more trips with light stuff than break myself with heavy boxes). You can also throw them over your shoulder so your arms don't get so darn tired. Important thing to remember: packing/moving will always take longer than you think it will.

If you end up paying movers, you can buy boxes from U-Haul (they will buy back the ones you don't use) and make them as heavy as you want. No matter how you pack though, listen to 6550 and pack and label your boxes/bags/whatever in an orderly way. You will be SO GRATEFUL you did this.

Speaking of movers, if you do use them, be careful to do your research online to make sure you won't get ripped off. The same goes for storage units. MovingScam.com seems to be a great resource. I called around to get quotes on various storage units, and then looked up the companies on google and the Better Business Bureau. Turns out the chain storage unit that seemed super-legitimate had 3 or 4 unresolved disputes with the BBB. I went with a mom and pop shop instead. Their facility isn't pretty at all, but I'm getting a 5x10 space, air conditioned for $60/month. It seemed the pushier the sales guy was, the worse the company was. Also, everyone seemed very willing to negotiate so it's worth doing your homework calling around.

Make some plans for how/when you will clean the townhouse once it's vacated. Might be worth calling in some friend favors and getting some help with the last-day cleaning.

I have access to my storage unit once a month (it's in a different city than where I live as it's cheaper there). Since you are so close, you can go more often. I basically have with me at all times enough stuff for say a two-week long vacation. I also have things I cannot live without like my horse riding equipment and my roller skates. Since it's summer, make sure you have a bathing suit handy (if that's your thing). I then switch up my clothes every once in a while with what I have in storage and occasionally grab things I realized I actually couldn't live without (my 9 inch saute pan, my ice-cream maker). Make sure these kinds of things (things you may want but aren't sure) are in the front of the storage unit, with furniture towards the back.

I also store a lot of stuff in the trunk of my car. This may be a way of getting around the clutter issue with your mother. You just have to get used having things in multiple places.

Some notes on the emotional toll this will take. I have learned to accept the fact that I'm in a transitory, impermanent state. It will be frustrating (and often sad) that you don't have access to your things. When this happens to me, I try my best to feel the feelings, let them be with me for a moment or two, and then just breathe them out of my body. There's nothing you can do about it, you know?

I was also really upset and stressed leading up to my move and got some extremely helpful advice from my post to AskMe looking for some help. Might be helpful for you too; you never know.

My thoughts are most definitely with you and your son, littleflowers. I am sure I will think of something else tomorrow with a less sleepy mind, but please feel free to memail if you'd like.
posted by anthropoid at 10:55 PM on August 7 [1 favorite]

Oh, and I would definitely take your baking pans and pasta maker if there's room. If cooking/baking is your comfort, make sure you let yourself have that.

And upon posting I realize I didn't exactly answer your specific questions and really just told you how I handled my move. Hopefully some of it is relevant and helpful!
posted by anthropoid at 11:02 PM on August 7

Books - keep your favourite cookbooks that you use often, and then any other books you enjoy re-reading for comfort.

A few decorative items (painting or knickknack) - choose the ones that you'd be most likely to grab if the house was on fire.

Kitchen stuff - check what your mum has and don't duplicate, but if you have something like an espresso machine that you love and she doesn't have one, keep that.
posted by AnnaRat at 11:41 PM on August 7 [1 favorite]

What 6550 said "Be more ruthless than you think you should" is key. Sell and give away stuff -- it's ALL stuff, your heart is what matters. "Home is where the heart is", not where the stuff is. Storage costs add up, and replacement is not hard. Be a minimalist from the get-go and you'll do fine. Don't take pans or many framed photos; take AND store less than you think you need.
posted by anadem at 3:06 AM on August 8

Sell everything that isn't necessary, and that's hardly anything. Depending on the size of the storage unit you've decided to rent, keep stuff accordingly--stuff that would be costly to replace (and so cheaper to store) or stuff that would be difficult to replace, altogether. The more you can safely/easily sell, the smaller a storage unit you will have need for, and the more cash on hand you will have in the meantime. You'll probably find that there are many things you don't really need, anyway. Most things you'll be able to re-buy at the same price, when you're ready to have it again, or even cheaper for a better product (especially true for electronics). Try to get rid of the large stuff that isn't needed or can be easily replaced, I'd say.

To your mother's house, definitely take a box of sentimental things, such as photos, letters, etc., as well as all medical/identity/etc. papers. Having these things with you will be comforting, but also safer. In regard to living a life of constant or frequent change, I also recommend scanning your most important papers, if you can, and keeping a digital copy somewhere safe, preferably encrypted on your computer. It will give you some peace of mind.

Considering your mother is very anti-clutter, I'd take only small things that can comfortably fit within your or your son's room. Also give precedence to items that have some "doing" value, as in puzzle books, books you enjoy reading, computer game disks and so on; this will give you things to do that won't cost money, which it sounds like you may need to keep in mind. I'd definitely take your baking pans and pasta machine if you enjoy using them often and your mother won't bother you in the kitchen when trying to cook something.

You didn't say how your son is taking this. If he's having any issues with the changes that are occurring (or those that will occur), I'd really recommend your calling his school teachers to apprise them of the situation.

Oh, and if "deadbeat dad" isn't paying child support when he can, you may have some good legal options, depending on your state (see wiki); a free legal aid center would be able to help steer you in the right direction. Then again, some states can be extraordinarily unhelpful in this department, too, so it really just depends on where you are.

Good luck. Try to keep control of the things you can, but of the things you can't, try not to worry about them too much. (It's hard, though, I know. Hell, I need to take my own advice.) I think everyone goes through periods of extreme uncertainty, but most always things settle down after a year or two. It seems like a long time, but it won't be in the scheme of things, and you can help set yourself and your son up well for when you move again.
posted by metalheart at 3:17 AM on August 8 [1 favorite]

Have you heard of the 100 thing challenge? I could never make myself officially adhere to the rules, but I did think about it when I was moving. I've tried to really focus on what items I need and what items make me happy.

You could also spend a few days writing down all the items you use everyday and then checking to make sure you're not duplicating what your mother has.

Spend extra time when you're putting boxes in the storage unit to anticipate what you'll most likely need. You may not need a box of Christmas supplies, for example, until next December but you'll want it to be within easy access when you go to get it.

If you have anything left over after the garage sale, consider putting it on freecycle. We gave away a lot of our furniture before a move a few years ago and peopl were really grateful for it.
posted by betsybetsy at 7:01 AM on August 8

Thank you all so very much. What wonderful ideas and words of encouragement you all have shared!

***One additional follow up question.***

I need to dispose of a computer that was infected with a virus, that I believe can no longer operate. Part of my problem in donating it is that there are photos and documents that, while I do not need, I want absolutely prevent from being ever recovered. EVER.
posted by littleflowers at 7:15 AM on August 8

You might want to wait a week and post your update as a completely separate question. I have no idea how to answer it, but I imagine many people around here would have thoughts on it, but they wouldn't think of a computer-related question being in this thread.
posted by palliser at 7:47 AM on August 8

I came here to recommend the Container Store (or Target knock-offs) for relatively cheap but attractive storage boxes that might help you keep peace with your mother when it comes to the things you want to bring with you rather than keeping in storage. These and these types of boxes can be great for when you just want easy access to your stuff and you don't necessarily have it organized enough to be all laid out on a shelf.

My resident computer geek is sitting next to me and, for your computer question, recommends this. It's supposed to completely erase everything on your hard drive and should work even with the virus.
posted by Meg_Murry at 8:01 AM on August 8 [1 favorite]

Computer: You can open it up and pull out the hard drive before donating/junking it. I don't think doing that takes any real knowledge or skills -- just a screwdriver.
posted by kestrel251 at 11:54 AM on August 8

FlyLady.com has some good moving tips (e.g., on how to code boxes for easy retrieval - saved us a lot of time.) Click on Table of Contents on the left-hand side, and you'll find them under Getting Started/as you progress. Best of luck.
posted by dreamphone at 4:29 PM on August 8

For your followup:

Find a bootable program that writes straight 1's and straight 0's to your disk and just run it a ridiculous amount of times (or until you feel sufficiently protected).

Meg_Murry's suggestion was very good. Run it a dozen times and no one but the NSA will be able to get to your files. Run it a hundred and they won't, but that's overkill.
posted by Precision at 6:56 PM on August 8