Best practices for moving cross-country
February 27, 2020 10:11 AM Subscribe
Basically looking for best practices for moving cross-country. We have about four months to prepare and then move. What hacks/tips/tricks have helped you? What one weird thing worked? Details below.
Basically just looking for tips and hacks that I may have missed as we prepare to move.
Details:
Moving a household with some heavy furniture.
One kid with all attendant toys, etc.
One elderly dog.
Two cats.
Moving cross-country (Miami to Los Angeles) in July.
We will have a house when we arrive, as well as somewhere to stay while we get settled.
What kind of boxes work best? What things did you do that were genius? What would you tell your BFF who was moving? If you wrote a Buzzfeed list about moving, what sound bites would you put on it? Looking for ideas we can implement now and also as we get closer to the date AND during the actual move.
Basically just looking for tips and hacks that I may have missed as we prepare to move.
Details:
Moving a household with some heavy furniture.
One kid with all attendant toys, etc.
One elderly dog.
Two cats.
Moving cross-country (Miami to Los Angeles) in July.
We will have a house when we arrive, as well as somewhere to stay while we get settled.
What kind of boxes work best? What things did you do that were genius? What would you tell your BFF who was moving? If you wrote a Buzzfeed list about moving, what sound bites would you put on it? Looking for ideas we can implement now and also as we get closer to the date AND during the actual move.
You want to NOT use liquor store boxes. Just go ahead and buy a selection of the small / medium / large moving boxes and use those up, replenish as needed.
Label every box with some kind of summary of what it is, even if it's just "Junk Drawer." Put a label on it for what room you think it goes in as well. This helps reduce mental load when you are loading in your new house, which will be a stressful day.
Start the keep / sell or donate / toss process now. Go through your off-season stuff (like holiday decor) and decide what you're keeping. Pack it in a shiny new box, not the crappy box it's been living in for the last five years. Take your donations as often as you need to to keep the clutter down. Start selling things NOW if that is your jam, otherwise it's all off to the thrift. Similarly if you start trashing stuff bit by bit now, you wont have to pay for a bulk pickup (maybe) toward the end since you'll be throwing out in smaller increments. Designate one room to start filling up with your boxes and add to your pile slowly and you won't have a Packing Panic.
posted by Medieval Maven at 10:38 AM on February 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Label every box with some kind of summary of what it is, even if it's just "Junk Drawer." Put a label on it for what room you think it goes in as well. This helps reduce mental load when you are loading in your new house, which will be a stressful day.
Start the keep / sell or donate / toss process now. Go through your off-season stuff (like holiday decor) and decide what you're keeping. Pack it in a shiny new box, not the crappy box it's been living in for the last five years. Take your donations as often as you need to to keep the clutter down. Start selling things NOW if that is your jam, otherwise it's all off to the thrift. Similarly if you start trashing stuff bit by bit now, you wont have to pay for a bulk pickup (maybe) toward the end since you'll be throwing out in smaller increments. Designate one room to start filling up with your boxes and add to your pile slowly and you won't have a Packing Panic.
posted by Medieval Maven at 10:38 AM on February 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Travel as lightly as possible, understanding that the kid kind of redefines that. I packed a small household in my bag (I flew across country), which was a bear to wrangle on top of my drugged-up cat. If I could do it again, I would order stuff like an air mattress, bedding, even food/cooking basics, to an Amazon locker and pick them up when I arrived. With my very light bag.
Seconding Amtrak. For various reasons that didn't work for me (you really need a way to pick it up at either end), but I've never heard anything bad about it, and it would probably be faster than my method, which was a moving company that took 6 weeks. (I knew it would take that long! But man, 6 weeks is a lot.)
posted by kalimac at 10:39 AM on February 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Seconding Amtrak. For various reasons that didn't work for me (you really need a way to pick it up at either end), but I've never heard anything bad about it, and it would probably be faster than my method, which was a moving company that took 6 weeks. (I knew it would take that long! But man, 6 weeks is a lot.)
posted by kalimac at 10:39 AM on February 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
I've moved cross-country twice in the past four years with a kid and three pets and a household worth of furniture.
Use U-pack to move your stuff: they drop a truck, you have three days to fill it, then they pick it up to deliver to your destination on your designated delivery date, and you have three days to unpack it. It's way cheaper and easier than any other moving option (if you have a full house of stuff; admittedly I don't know much about knownassociate's Amtrak suggestion but as far as I know that's a better option only if you have a relatively small amount of stuff, not enough stuff to fill a truck).
Drive across the country, stopping at hotels 400-ish miles apart each night (car shipping is insanely expensive). Most hotels only accept two pets, so only tell them you have one cat and one dog. We planned our hotels ahead of time and made all the reservations, and on one trip it worked out just right and on the other we had a day's delay due to weather so I had to redo half of them, but at least then you have the hotel's info and it's just a matter of changing the date when you call from the road.
Depending on how old your kid is: buy and wrap one present per car trip day, that kid can play with in the car all day. It made our trip SO MUCH more bearable when kid had something to look forward to every day, and the novelty of a new toy to stave off the boredom.
Last box out of the old house, first box into the new house should have all the essentials that you'll need to survive a day or three: coffee maker if that's your thing, towels and soap, whatever. And a box cutter for opening all the other boxes!
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:41 AM on February 27, 2020 [5 favorites]
Use U-pack to move your stuff: they drop a truck, you have three days to fill it, then they pick it up to deliver to your destination on your designated delivery date, and you have three days to unpack it. It's way cheaper and easier than any other moving option (if you have a full house of stuff; admittedly I don't know much about knownassociate's Amtrak suggestion but as far as I know that's a better option only if you have a relatively small amount of stuff, not enough stuff to fill a truck).
Drive across the country, stopping at hotels 400-ish miles apart each night (car shipping is insanely expensive). Most hotels only accept two pets, so only tell them you have one cat and one dog. We planned our hotels ahead of time and made all the reservations, and on one trip it worked out just right and on the other we had a day's delay due to weather so I had to redo half of them, but at least then you have the hotel's info and it's just a matter of changing the date when you call from the road.
Depending on how old your kid is: buy and wrap one present per car trip day, that kid can play with in the car all day. It made our trip SO MUCH more bearable when kid had something to look forward to every day, and the novelty of a new toy to stave off the boredom.
Last box out of the old house, first box into the new house should have all the essentials that you'll need to survive a day or three: coffee maker if that's your thing, towels and soap, whatever. And a box cutter for opening all the other boxes!
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:41 AM on February 27, 2020 [5 favorites]
Start mercilessly getting rid of stuff NOW. Moving things costs a lot. It often costs more to move something than to replace it. Unless you have a job that's coordinating a pack and ship for you, I'd hesitate to use a traditional moving company after hearing so many horror stories of terrible damage and items held hostage until many more thousands are paid. With corporate moves, your hiring company has leverage to stop that nonsense, but as an individual, you have very few options. I'd either do a pods move or consider Amtrak.
I like packing as many items as I can in file boxes. Even if they're filled with stones, they're small enough to be easy to carry when they're heavy. Plus, after you tape the lids down, it's easy to cut the tape and get in and out and retape if needed. They're also identically sized, so packing them is very easy, no frustrating tetris with odd sized boxes. There are some moving tote companies that will rent you plastic totes that you return after your move, I'd also consider that. To cut down on using paper and bubble tape, pack your fragile items in clothing and linens. In my experience, packing always takes much longer that you expect it to. Starting now seems intense, but you'll be happy that you gave yourself a lot of time.
posted by quince at 10:41 AM on February 27, 2020 [5 favorites]
I like packing as many items as I can in file boxes. Even if they're filled with stones, they're small enough to be easy to carry when they're heavy. Plus, after you tape the lids down, it's easy to cut the tape and get in and out and retape if needed. They're also identically sized, so packing them is very easy, no frustrating tetris with odd sized boxes. There are some moving tote companies that will rent you plastic totes that you return after your move, I'd also consider that. To cut down on using paper and bubble tape, pack your fragile items in clothing and linens. In my experience, packing always takes much longer that you expect it to. Starting now seems intense, but you'll be happy that you gave yourself a lot of time.
posted by quince at 10:41 AM on February 27, 2020 [5 favorites]
A lot depends on how you're moving / being moved. Is this a DIY move or are you having packers / loaders put your stuff on a truck?
Even if you're DIYing it - some key day before / day of stuff:
Figure out what you're taking with you personally (i.e. in the car with the people) and put it in a separate place / box.
Things to remember
* Keys (all copies of house / car keys, mailbox keys, work keys, etc)
* Medications enough for what you think you'll need + a week or two
* Basic kitchen stuff (couple pots / pans, silverware / plates for everyone, basic measuring / cooking utensils)
* Paperwork you might need as you close out old place and settle into new place (account numbers, mortgage stuff (as appropriate), bank records, work paperwork (old / new as appropriate)
* Clothing that is appropriate to your new home (i.e. if you're moving from cold to warm or warm to cold, make sure you've got the right stuff at hand in the new place)
* Stuff for pets (especially if they've got any special foods / meds)
Basically you want to be able to live out of what you bring with you for a week or two because there's nothing worse flailing about trying to find that box that has that paper / Spots medications / a pan so you can cook, etc.
Another key point - once you have all of the things that you want to bring with you - pack the car with everything: kids, pets, bags, boxes, whatever. Do a dry run a week or two ahead so if you need to, you can ship a box or two to your destination to meet you there.
posted by macfly at 11:45 AM on February 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Even if you're DIYing it - some key day before / day of stuff:
Figure out what you're taking with you personally (i.e. in the car with the people) and put it in a separate place / box.
Things to remember
* Keys (all copies of house / car keys, mailbox keys, work keys, etc)
* Medications enough for what you think you'll need + a week or two
* Basic kitchen stuff (couple pots / pans, silverware / plates for everyone, basic measuring / cooking utensils)
* Paperwork you might need as you close out old place and settle into new place (account numbers, mortgage stuff (as appropriate), bank records, work paperwork (old / new as appropriate)
* Clothing that is appropriate to your new home (i.e. if you're moving from cold to warm or warm to cold, make sure you've got the right stuff at hand in the new place)
* Stuff for pets (especially if they've got any special foods / meds)
Basically you want to be able to live out of what you bring with you for a week or two because there's nothing worse flailing about trying to find that box that has that paper / Spots medications / a pan so you can cook, etc.
Another key point - once you have all of the things that you want to bring with you - pack the car with everything: kids, pets, bags, boxes, whatever. Do a dry run a week or two ahead so if you need to, you can ship a box or two to your destination to meet you there.
posted by macfly at 11:45 AM on February 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
What kind of boxes work best?
Big box hardware stores sell lots of moving supplies and the boxes are a good deal. Be sure to get plenty of small boxes for your heavy stuff and only a few giant boxes for the light stuff. You'll need a few tape rolls with a dispenser and be sure everyone knows how to tape the bottoms of the boxes together.
They also sell a big roll of plastic wrap with a handle that you can use to wrap cords to appliances and random piles of things like chair legs together.
If you have lots of framed items, you can get a picture box. It is like 4 pizza boxes each missing two sides. You place them on each corner of a frame and they overlap in the middle so you can tape them. You can fit multiple frames in one box.
Four months from now is June, so anything you won't need until next Fall should be packed as soon as you can. Dedicate a room or part of a room for packed boxes.
Get the cats used to their carrier(s) by setting it out and putting a towel in there. That can start like a month or less before the move.
posted by soelo at 11:49 AM on February 27, 2020
Big box hardware stores sell lots of moving supplies and the boxes are a good deal. Be sure to get plenty of small boxes for your heavy stuff and only a few giant boxes for the light stuff. You'll need a few tape rolls with a dispenser and be sure everyone knows how to tape the bottoms of the boxes together.
They also sell a big roll of plastic wrap with a handle that you can use to wrap cords to appliances and random piles of things like chair legs together.
If you have lots of framed items, you can get a picture box. It is like 4 pizza boxes each missing two sides. You place them on each corner of a frame and they overlap in the middle so you can tape them. You can fit multiple frames in one box.
Four months from now is June, so anything you won't need until next Fall should be packed as soon as you can. Dedicate a room or part of a room for packed boxes.
Get the cats used to their carrier(s) by setting it out and putting a towel in there. That can start like a month or less before the move.
posted by soelo at 11:49 AM on February 27, 2020
- Don't cheap out on boxes. Boxes all from the same place (storage center, big box store, etc), will all be designed to fit together nicely (two smalls on a large, for example)
- You'll need more tape and packing materials than you think you'll need, and you'll keep losing sharpies in your house
- Boxes get heavy quickly, you'll want mostly small except for clothes and bedding and huge awkward things
If you want to really level up your moving, here's the patented radioamy packing methology. It seems like a lot of work up front, but it's so much easier than writing the contents of your box on sharpie. And it's so much easier to know where boxes go, and to figure out what box something is in quickly! You'll need
- Large white address/shipping labels (like 2"x3")
- Large colored labels in at least 4 colors (like Post It Labels)
- Shared spreadsheet
- Printer
- Sharpie
1. Print your name and new address on the shipping labels, 2-3 to a box
2. On another set of shipping labels, number them, 3 to a box. (e.g. the first 3 say "1", the second 3 say "2", etc?). You can print or handwrite.
3. Decide which color each room/person/area will get. For example, Blue = Bedroom, Pink = Kitchen, Yellow = Bedroom, Green = Living Room
4. In the spreadsheet, your columns should be: Box #, room, contents
5. Before you fill a box, make sure it has numbered labels and address labels.
6. Slap on the box 3 colored labels and write the abbreviation of the room (e.g. BR on a blue label, K on a pink label
7. Write the contents in your spreadsheet. Bonus points if you color code the "Room" cell to match the label
posted by radioamy at 12:15 PM on February 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
- You'll need more tape and packing materials than you think you'll need, and you'll keep losing sharpies in your house
- Boxes get heavy quickly, you'll want mostly small except for clothes and bedding and huge awkward things
If you want to really level up your moving, here's the patented radioamy packing methology. It seems like a lot of work up front, but it's so much easier than writing the contents of your box on sharpie. And it's so much easier to know where boxes go, and to figure out what box something is in quickly! You'll need
- Large white address/shipping labels (like 2"x3")
- Large colored labels in at least 4 colors (like Post It Labels)
- Shared spreadsheet
- Printer
- Sharpie
1. Print your name and new address on the shipping labels, 2-3 to a box
2. On another set of shipping labels, number them, 3 to a box. (e.g. the first 3 say "1", the second 3 say "2", etc?). You can print or handwrite.
3. Decide which color each room/person/area will get. For example, Blue = Bedroom, Pink = Kitchen, Yellow = Bedroom, Green = Living Room
4. In the spreadsheet, your columns should be: Box #, room, contents
5. Before you fill a box, make sure it has numbered labels and address labels.
6. Slap on the box 3 colored labels and write the abbreviation of the room (e.g. BR on a blue label, K on a pink label
7. Write the contents in your spreadsheet. Bonus points if you color code the "Room" cell to match the label
posted by radioamy at 12:15 PM on February 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Nting stretch wrap. Buy six times as much as you think you could possibly need and wrap the hell out of everything. It's great for keeping weird things together, holding bumpers and blankets in place, and keeping things clean.
The thing that really surprised me the first couple of long moves was how filthy everything got. The most recent two moves we taped the hell out of absolutely everything and smothered most of it in an extra layer of plastic, which made unpacking a lot nicer. (Whether better or worse for the environment than the equivalent in washing cycles and cleaning products, I'm not sure. Definitely nicer.) Moving blankets help a little, but anything that breathes or has holes in it will look like it's been stored in a coal mine when it arrives. If you're moving a mattress, get a proper bag for it and then tape over every opening.
My even more anecdotal experience was that trying to let a cat out in a (parked) car was a terrible idea. But, that probably depends very much on the cat. Borrowing a big-enough-to-stand-up-in crate and securing it well in a place with a view seemed to make ours surprisingly comfortable for a week of travel days. I've also flown cross country with a cat a few times and debated driving the last time. I'm pretty sure the car was better for everybody.
Best of luck!
posted by eotvos at 12:21 PM on February 27, 2020
The thing that really surprised me the first couple of long moves was how filthy everything got. The most recent two moves we taped the hell out of absolutely everything and smothered most of it in an extra layer of plastic, which made unpacking a lot nicer. (Whether better or worse for the environment than the equivalent in washing cycles and cleaning products, I'm not sure. Definitely nicer.) Moving blankets help a little, but anything that breathes or has holes in it will look like it's been stored in a coal mine when it arrives. If you're moving a mattress, get a proper bag for it and then tape over every opening.
My even more anecdotal experience was that trying to let a cat out in a (parked) car was a terrible idea. But, that probably depends very much on the cat. Borrowing a big-enough-to-stand-up-in crate and securing it well in a place with a view seemed to make ours surprisingly comfortable for a week of travel days. I've also flown cross country with a cat a few times and debated driving the last time. I'm pretty sure the car was better for everybody.
Best of luck!
posted by eotvos at 12:21 PM on February 27, 2020
The cheapest place I've found to buy boxes was at Lowes and Home Depot. Buy mostly medium boxes, as very large boxes are easy to overfill.
If you work at (or have any connection to any kind of medical facility), they often have boxes to spare, but you have to make sure you won't get in trouble for stealing boxes they intend to recycle (ask me how I know).
Regarding pets:
I moved in June/July from Chicago to Tucson, and then three years later from Tucson to Memphis. I was worried about my cats overheating, and so I put ice packs wrapped in towels in the backs of their crates.
- I also (because I was *super* paranoid) went to the vet and asked to be taught how to give subcutaneous fluids and bought a couple of liters of saline, just in case we ran into trouble - we didn't, but I was glad to have the reassurance.
- I bought several disposable litter pans to use in hotel rooms while we were driving and until I was able to get the cat litter situation figured out in the new place - highly recommend.
They didn't eat much while we were on the road, and they survived just fine each time.
LaQuinta was the best place for us to stay when I moved with my cats in two cross-country moves.
posted by honeybee413 at 12:38 PM on February 27, 2020
If you work at (or have any connection to any kind of medical facility), they often have boxes to spare, but you have to make sure you won't get in trouble for stealing boxes they intend to recycle (ask me how I know).
Regarding pets:
I moved in June/July from Chicago to Tucson, and then three years later from Tucson to Memphis. I was worried about my cats overheating, and so I put ice packs wrapped in towels in the backs of their crates.
- I also (because I was *super* paranoid) went to the vet and asked to be taught how to give subcutaneous fluids and bought a couple of liters of saline, just in case we ran into trouble - we didn't, but I was glad to have the reassurance.
- I bought several disposable litter pans to use in hotel rooms while we were driving and until I was able to get the cat litter situation figured out in the new place - highly recommend.
They didn't eat much while we were on the road, and they survived just fine each time.
LaQuinta was the best place for us to stay when I moved with my cats in two cross-country moves.
posted by honeybee413 at 12:38 PM on February 27, 2020
OH - for the second trip, we got a big soft-sided carrier and put both cats in so that they could chill out and keep each other company. It worked well for that purpose, but it was very heavy, so YMMV.
posted by honeybee413 at 12:39 PM on February 27, 2020
posted by honeybee413 at 12:39 PM on February 27, 2020
Your cats must be on leads whenever you are in the car, even if they’re in carriers. Cats are great escapists and road trips are hard for them, so please be especially cautious. Sedatives are not recommended, cats can get really dehydrated and if they’re asleep all day that doesn’t help.
posted by bile and syntax at 12:39 PM on February 27, 2020
posted by bile and syntax at 12:39 PM on February 27, 2020
Declutter as much as possible. For every item, ask yourself “Is this really worth paying to haul thousands of miles?”
That question helped me let go of tons of stuff that was “someday I’ll be the kind of person who uses this” stuff, or “I used to be the kind of person who uses this,” or “someday I’ll figure out how to fix this or make a craft out of it.” If it didn’t get used in my real life as it is right now, then it wasn’t worth hauling thousands of miles.
Cat transport: You can get dog crates that are big enough for a cat to stand up and turn around in, that also fold down for storage. Put old towels in the bottom for padding, and get some disposable puppy pads to put atop the towels in case your cat gets carsick.
Pet friendly hotels: All LaQuinta Inns are pet-friendly.
Bring duct tape and tape the hotel bed base so that your cats can’t crawl up and hide in the box spring. That was my nightmare scenario moving with two cats — having to take the hotel bed apart to retrieve a hiding cat — and the duct tape stopped it.
posted by snowmentality at 12:42 PM on February 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
That question helped me let go of tons of stuff that was “someday I’ll be the kind of person who uses this” stuff, or “I used to be the kind of person who uses this,” or “someday I’ll figure out how to fix this or make a craft out of it.” If it didn’t get used in my real life as it is right now, then it wasn’t worth hauling thousands of miles.
Cat transport: You can get dog crates that are big enough for a cat to stand up and turn around in, that also fold down for storage. Put old towels in the bottom for padding, and get some disposable puppy pads to put atop the towels in case your cat gets carsick.
Pet friendly hotels: All LaQuinta Inns are pet-friendly.
Bring duct tape and tape the hotel bed base so that your cats can’t crawl up and hide in the box spring. That was my nightmare scenario moving with two cats — having to take the hotel bed apart to retrieve a hiding cat — and the duct tape stopped it.
posted by snowmentality at 12:42 PM on February 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Another vote for LaQuinta, I had a great experience staying in them when I moved cross-country. One even noticed we had marked that we had dogs, and they put us on the first floor near the side exit so it would be easy for us to take the dogs out.
I moved in late June through the South, and it was definitely hot AF, but it was fine.. You basically have to tag team who gets up and goes to the bathroom, does a food run, etc, because you can't leave the pets in the car without the AC running. Also plan to stop for gas well before you think you will run out, just as a precaution.
Plan for how you'll clean up if one of the pets (or your kid) gets carsick. That happened to my little guy, we just wiped him up with a towel and baby wipes and had some Lysol wipes for the kennel, and we threw that all out and used a backup towel.
posted by radioamy at 1:10 PM on February 27, 2020
I moved in late June through the South, and it was definitely hot AF, but it was fine.. You basically have to tag team who gets up and goes to the bathroom, does a food run, etc, because you can't leave the pets in the car without the AC running. Also plan to stop for gas well before you think you will run out, just as a precaution.
Plan for how you'll clean up if one of the pets (or your kid) gets carsick. That happened to my little guy, we just wiped him up with a towel and baby wipes and had some Lysol wipes for the kennel, and we threw that all out and used a backup towel.
posted by radioamy at 1:10 PM on February 27, 2020
How many cars are involved here? If it's one, consider flying out here with partner, kid, and cats under the airplane seats, then just one of the adults flies home to drive back with the dog (and a buddy, if you know someone who can take the time off and you can afford to fly them home). Even if it's two cars, if you've got the buddy, it's easier to just get it done with the least amount of moving parts.
You can buy rolls of tape that say "bedroom 1", "kitchen", "dining room" etc. Use that on 2 corners of every box, and use the tape on printer paper or pieces of cardboard to make signs you label the rooms with on the unpacking end.
It is generally cheaper and less hassle to use an unpiloted move strategy (shipping, PODS etc, Amtrak) with movers hired at each end to load/unload; beware moving companies who maintain any sort of contractual out that allows them to just stop somewhere along the way and refuse to continue without more money, which is a thing drivers can do even if the moving company swears it would never happen.
If you do plan to hire people to do your loading, it can be worth paying for one hour of one person's time to just come to your house weeks in advance and just tell you how to pack things: which furniture items are likely to be better off padded/clingwrapped/carboard-buffered, what doors and drawers to tape closed, what stuff should go in the truck/container/etc first and therefore have a clear path to it or be staged in a garage or large room, what to take apart. Well-reviewed companies will be happy to do it, it makes their lives better, and an experienced mover knows a million tricks.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:44 PM on February 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
You can buy rolls of tape that say "bedroom 1", "kitchen", "dining room" etc. Use that on 2 corners of every box, and use the tape on printer paper or pieces of cardboard to make signs you label the rooms with on the unpacking end.
It is generally cheaper and less hassle to use an unpiloted move strategy (shipping, PODS etc, Amtrak) with movers hired at each end to load/unload; beware moving companies who maintain any sort of contractual out that allows them to just stop somewhere along the way and refuse to continue without more money, which is a thing drivers can do even if the moving company swears it would never happen.
If you do plan to hire people to do your loading, it can be worth paying for one hour of one person's time to just come to your house weeks in advance and just tell you how to pack things: which furniture items are likely to be better off padded/clingwrapped/carboard-buffered, what doors and drawers to tape closed, what stuff should go in the truck/container/etc first and therefore have a clear path to it or be staged in a garage or large room, what to take apart. Well-reviewed companies will be happy to do it, it makes their lives better, and an experienced mover knows a million tricks.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:44 PM on February 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Nthing the don't cheap out on boxes. (I prefer the small banker box style for books and other things of that size). Being able to stack them cohesively is a huge win.
When I've done long distance moves, the cats (two different cats, one cat each move) have been vastly happier in a harness, strapped into the seatbelt, but with some space to move around (and not enough to climb the back of the driver's seat...), and definitely an ability to see what was going on.
Much less stressful for them (but for the 2.5 day drive in summer, meant I had to drive with someone, because the cat could not be left in the car without the AC running.) The crate idea would also work fine, but a standard pet carrier drove both of mine into fits of plaintive constant meowing almost immediately. Disposable litter boxes are great for the transit/hotel bits. Pre-packaging food (baggies of what you'd give them ) for overnight, and offering water every time you stop, also good, but they may not eat much in transit.
Figure out what stuff you need the last night or two, and the first night or two (toilet paper, meds, clothing suitable for the moving, water bottles, etc.) and pack that in a box that is decorated to be instantly spottable.
posted by jenettsilver at 8:02 AM on February 28, 2020
When I've done long distance moves, the cats (two different cats, one cat each move) have been vastly happier in a harness, strapped into the seatbelt, but with some space to move around (and not enough to climb the back of the driver's seat...), and definitely an ability to see what was going on.
Much less stressful for them (but for the 2.5 day drive in summer, meant I had to drive with someone, because the cat could not be left in the car without the AC running.) The crate idea would also work fine, but a standard pet carrier drove both of mine into fits of plaintive constant meowing almost immediately. Disposable litter boxes are great for the transit/hotel bits. Pre-packaging food (baggies of what you'd give them ) for overnight, and offering water every time you stop, also good, but they may not eat much in transit.
Figure out what stuff you need the last night or two, and the first night or two (toilet paper, meds, clothing suitable for the moving, water bottles, etc.) and pack that in a box that is decorated to be instantly spottable.
posted by jenettsilver at 8:02 AM on February 28, 2020
n-thing Amtrak shipping. Amazingly cheap.
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 10:34 AM on February 28, 2020
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 10:34 AM on February 28, 2020
What I learned from a recent multi-state, multi-pet move:
1. The heavy-duty boxes from Lowe's/Home Depot are very strong and should be your #1 choice. Most of those that I unpacked on this end were broken down and given away in like-new condition. The "regular" L/HD boxes were noticeably less sturdy, and the official U-Haul boxes were borderline crap. Skip those unless you really need the weird shape/size.
2. Make sure the animals are microchipped and the info on their file is up to date. Make sure they have physical ID tags with your cell phone number on it.
3. Cats wear harnesses with ID tags whenever they are in the car, and they are attached to a leash that gets physically attached to your body any time the carrier gets opened. And you only open the carrier when the car door is closed. That sounds drastic, but not as drastic as trying to get a cat out of a tree in a motel parking lot in the middle of the night. You can start now to get them used to wearing the harnesses.
4. Another vote for LaQuinta. I stayed in LaQuintas with 2 dogs and 2 cats (in carriers) in just one room, no one ever asked me for any details.
5. Another vote for blocking the access to under/behind furniture in the motel room. When you first get to the room, let the cats out inside the closed bathroom to eat and potty while you are blocking all the no-go spots in the main room. When they have stretched their legs, eaten and pottied, if they are calm, you can let them out to explore the rest of the room.
6. When packing/unpacking, spend the extra money to get multiple tape guns and utility knives so you can have a set in every room. I spent soooooo much time the first day wandering around looking for the knife to cut open boxes, and the second day I bought 6 more cheap ones and left one on a windowsill in every room. HUGE improvement.
7. If at all possible, have any painting/floor refinishing done at the new house before you move in. It's so easy to say you'll just move the furniture and get to that later, and then 10 years will go by with the previous person's ugly paint color on the walls. Also have the windows cleaned when you first move in -- it's amazing what a difference that makes.
8. I paid a fortune for a name-brand company (Allied Van Lines) to move me, and they lost/broke multiple things, including 2 sofas. I thought I could avoid problems with the move by throwing money at it, but that did not work at all. If I were doing it again right now, I would have made a more hands-on/DIY plan that gave me more control, even if it were more of a pain in the ass on the front end.
Good luck!! You can do it!!
posted by mccxxiii at 1:10 PM on February 28, 2020
1. The heavy-duty boxes from Lowe's/Home Depot are very strong and should be your #1 choice. Most of those that I unpacked on this end were broken down and given away in like-new condition. The "regular" L/HD boxes were noticeably less sturdy, and the official U-Haul boxes were borderline crap. Skip those unless you really need the weird shape/size.
2. Make sure the animals are microchipped and the info on their file is up to date. Make sure they have physical ID tags with your cell phone number on it.
3. Cats wear harnesses with ID tags whenever they are in the car, and they are attached to a leash that gets physically attached to your body any time the carrier gets opened. And you only open the carrier when the car door is closed. That sounds drastic, but not as drastic as trying to get a cat out of a tree in a motel parking lot in the middle of the night. You can start now to get them used to wearing the harnesses.
4. Another vote for LaQuinta. I stayed in LaQuintas with 2 dogs and 2 cats (in carriers) in just one room, no one ever asked me for any details.
5. Another vote for blocking the access to under/behind furniture in the motel room. When you first get to the room, let the cats out inside the closed bathroom to eat and potty while you are blocking all the no-go spots in the main room. When they have stretched their legs, eaten and pottied, if they are calm, you can let them out to explore the rest of the room.
6. When packing/unpacking, spend the extra money to get multiple tape guns and utility knives so you can have a set in every room. I spent soooooo much time the first day wandering around looking for the knife to cut open boxes, and the second day I bought 6 more cheap ones and left one on a windowsill in every room. HUGE improvement.
7. If at all possible, have any painting/floor refinishing done at the new house before you move in. It's so easy to say you'll just move the furniture and get to that later, and then 10 years will go by with the previous person's ugly paint color on the walls. Also have the windows cleaned when you first move in -- it's amazing what a difference that makes.
8. I paid a fortune for a name-brand company (Allied Van Lines) to move me, and they lost/broke multiple things, including 2 sofas. I thought I could avoid problems with the move by throwing money at it, but that did not work at all. If I were doing it again right now, I would have made a more hands-on/DIY plan that gave me more control, even if it were more of a pain in the ass on the front end.
Good luck!! You can do it!!
posted by mccxxiii at 1:10 PM on February 28, 2020
One weird trick: I was able to fit a lot of weird sized art at once into a wardrobe box, which was sturdy. I taped the heck out of the bottom thigh and it was / is heavy. I used t shirts as padding.
posted by gregglind at 9:55 PM on February 29, 2020
posted by gregglind at 9:55 PM on February 29, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by knownassociate at 10:24 AM on February 27, 2020 [2 favorites]