my moving book

This week I've been starting to plan where I will put furniture in my new apartment, and I was suddenly inspired to make notes in one of my art journals. Normally I fill the journals with thoughts, and then make images over top of the writing; I often prep several pages ahead of time with scraps of colourful paper for inspiration, as well. Flipping through the pages of this particular journal, I saw blank spots where I could sketch floor plans and make lists, and my moving book was born. Above is the first spread, where I'm trying to map out my moving day and the personnel who will help me at each end. The numbered circles indicate where everyone will be "stationed."



The next spread already had these random Post-Its pasted in, so I'm using it to make lists of supplies I need. (I'm also keeping all my lists in my BlackBerry, which goes with me everywhere, but it's great to see everything collected in the book as well.)



Then I've inserted the page I filled out for my apartment when I was conducting my apartment search. The flip side of the page (below) has the living room measurements I took the last time I was there, signing the lease.



Also included in the above spread is my one-and-only to-scale floor plan, of the living room. I wanted to know how my desk and shelves would fit in the room, and I can't wait to see the final result.



Next is my bedroom, which will be very spare, with only my bed, a small metal locker, and a couple of small dressers that I'm getting from a friend. A wooden chair, for dressing, will probably round out the furniture in that room.



On this bright orange page I've mapped out my kitchen, which is also going to be very spare; there's enough room for an eat-in table and chairs, but I think I'm going to put one of my shelving units and a wicker armchair in the empty space instead. On the right side I've planned where I will put everything on the shelves.



This is my spare room, which will be a combination library and yoga/meditation room. My bookshelves will line half the walls, and one armchair will give me a spot to read, while leaving lots of space to do yoga.



The living room is my favorite area so far. It's going to be a combination home office and studio, and my current "kitchen" table will again serve double-duty as a work table and an eating surface. (I use only non-toxic materials in my art.)



Finally, I'm in the process of mapping out where I will put things on the shelves in my living room. I'm playing the shelves and their contents here in my old apartment, so that I can try out different arrangements before my actual move. Even with all this activity going on, when someone came in to view my apartment recently, their first comment was, "You have everything very well organized."

No kidding.

michelle is moving

I'm moving back to my hometown of London, Ontario in approximately two months. I'm sad to be leaving behind the life that I have enjoyed here in Toronto, but I'm excited by the thought of the new things that will happen to me soon.

And the professional organizer in me is chomping at the bit to get started on plans for moving. Who am I kidding? I love it all: the purging, the organizing, the packing, the moving, the unpacking, the sorting - a move is a professional organizer's heaven. Even if it's my own move. Especially if it's my own move.

I'm already excited to see if I can improve on how things went the last time I moved. In my favour is the fact that I have significantly less stuff than before - which means I have less to pack, and less to organize in my new home. It's also going to be easier for me to edit my things before packing, because nearly everything I own is currently being used in my apartment. (Last time, many of my things were stored away in boxes, so I couldn't access them easily to do a really good pre-move purge.)

My mind is already buzzing with plans, and you can be sure I'm going to hone the techniques I've learned through my work with clients and my own previous moves. (See my earlier posts on moving, here and here, for additional tips on packing and organizing.)

Expect more to come, as my moving day draws closer!

moving

I helped a good friend move across the city yesterday. Her home is no longer a tiny basement apartment in a bungalow, but a beautiful two-bedroom second-storey apartment in a heritage building with not one, but (count 'em) TWO balconies! I'm excited for her, although I can only imagine how tired she is this morning.

The move went very smoothly, even though she hadn't been able to rent a truck to transport everything. Instead she depended on a handful of friends with vans and cars. In the end, that was probably the best choice, since her new street is a very narrow one-way, where street parking is at a premium. Finding a spot to unload a big truck would have been a headache.

As the day went on I found myself reflecting on the subject of moving. I've compiled a grab-bag of tips which, while not exhaustive, will hopefully point people in the direction of a less-stressful move.

Book your truck early.
My friend waited until moving week to make her call, and by that time everything was already taken. When I moved last September, I called the truck rental company four weeks in advance, and had my choice of trucks and dates.

Don't book a U-Haul for a self-move. I hate to say it, but anyone I've ever known who has tried to rent from U-Haul has had problems with this company. Read more frustrated consumer stories at Don't Use UHaul (a site I just discovered as I was writing this post).

A friend of mine booked a U-Haul for a move a couple of years ago, and when he showed up the morning of the move to pick up his truck, they had nothing for him. They didn't even help him find a location where he COULD rent a U-Haul. He ended up driving clear across the city, scrambling at the last minute to find a truck, leaving his helpers cooling their heels amongst the piles of boxes at his old apartment.

Go with a local, established truck rental company. When I moved from London, Ontario I was very pleased with my choice, Bennett Truck Rentals. They don't overbook their trucks, they're very strict about return times, and they bent over backwards to address all my questions and concerns. Renting their beautifully-maintained vehicles cost more than U-Haul, but I considered that a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Their experienced staff were also able to recommend the best size of truck for me to take, based on the kind of move I was making.

Purge early.
I promise you that on moving day, you don't want to be transporting anything superfluous. Each unnecessary box you have to pack, carry, and unpack is a supreme waste of your time, energy and money.

Not everyone is as lucky as a client of mine who moved after a divorce. For several months she and her son stayed with her parents while her new house was being built. Luckily the parents had ample storage in their basement for all her things, because she decided to wait and purge after she moved into her new house, when she knew how much space she really had. She hosted a yard sale after the final move.

All I can think about is the stuff she moved TWICE before she finally got rid of it. I know how difficult it is to purge. If your mind is already swimming with a million details, trying to make well-thought-out decisions about your possessions can seem like a ticket to insanity. Do try, though. The friends who help you move will thank you for it.

Pack early.
If you have the time, pack as much as possible, as soon as possible. If you're like most of us, you have a LOT of stuff. It's going to take a long time to pack - probably two or three times longer than you think. Save yourself the headache of doing it all at the last minute. The mind balks and becomes fatigued after three or four hours, so don't plan on doing all your packing the day before you move, when I can guarantee you'll be up for twenty-four hours straight, brain-fried.

There's going to be some stuff you can't pack until the last minute - your regular dishes and cooking supplies, your toiletries, the things you use every day. Keep those aside, and pack everything else. Your necessities are good candidates for storage totes or bankers boxes, which have lids and can be reopened as needed.

Pack your suitcase.
Pretend the last few days before the move are a "vacation." Pack a suitcase with everything you would need for a trip, and then the morning of the move you won't have to scramble to pack your last-minute toiletries and clothes. Just pop everything in the suitcase and you're good to go - plus you'll know exactly where to find these important things at the other end.

packing for a move

A friend of mine is moving soon, and earlier this week I helped her start packing. (I love packing. Yes, I'm weird.)

Here's a list of things to assemble for a packing job:

• boxes
• packing tape and gun
• newspaper or plain newsprint
• gloves (optional)
• masking tape (optional)
• markers and/or stickers
• large, clear plastic lawn refuse bags

Before you start, put the rolls of tape, tape gun, and markers or stickers in a small, clear plastic container like one of these, so that you don't "lose" them in the chaos of packing. There's nothing more irritating than reaching for your marker and realizing you can't find it because you don't remember where you last set it down. Just remember to keep putting everything back into the plastic container, and you'll always know where it is.

Boxes.
You can buy new boxes from moving companies, moving supply stores, or many storage rental facilities. You can also get free boxes from grocery stores or liquor stores, but I don't recommend it, since the boxes will be all different sizes and will make packing the truck more difficult on moving day. The ideal is to have uniform boxes in two or three sizes: smaller ones for heavy items like books, and larger ones for lighter and bulkier items.

I've always had success buying used boxes from box brokers or recyclers. Many of the "used" ones aren't even used - they're overruns from packaging companies. They're also much cheaper than retail. Look in the yellow pages under "Boxes - Used" or do an online search using the keywords "used boxes."

Packing tape and gun.
Hearken to what I say: do not be a cheapskate when it comes to packing tape and packing guns. I bought a six-pack of Staples' least-expensive tape when I first started my organizing business, and it was a decision I regretted whenever I used the stuff. I still have a couple of those rolls kicking around, and they are the source of much under-the-breath cursing every time I lose the end of the tape and have to spend five minutes scraping up the (frequently splitting) edge with my fingernail.

Splurge on the expensive brands. Your nerves with thank you.

By the same token, a cheap tape gun will also drive you up the wall - the tape will stick to the mechanism, or it won't roll freely on the spindle. Do you actually need a tape gun? Yes. It's much quicker and neater than applying the tape manually, and the cutting edge saves you the endless contortions of trying to find the scissors you've lost somewhere on the floor underneath your piles of stuff.

If you really don't want to spring for the tape gun, try this little tape dispenser from Staples; it comes with one roll of the horrible Staples tape (I recommend pitching the latter - or gifting it to someone you dislike), but I love the minimalist design of the dispenser, and it really does the job.
Some notes on tape gun form (don't laugh, but I've seen too many people use the guns awkwardly or improperly): touch the end of the tape where you'd like to begin taping (I recommend you give yourself a good four or five inches of tape on the sides, before you come up and over the top), and press down on the box with the roller as you begin to draw the tape along the centre line where the two flap edges meet.

Roll the gun a few inches down the opposite side, and press down with the guard to tear the tape against the cutting edge and flatten the cut end. The beauty of a tape gun is that you only need one hand for the entire action; if you find yourself doing anything more with your other hand than holding the flaps or keeping the box steady, you're probably doing it wrong.

You also shouldn't need more than one pass of the tape over the opening, unless the first line was crooked and didn't catch both flaps evenly. The exception is if the box is going to hold something heavy (like books or magazines, or a rock collection); in that case, add a few extra swipes of tape (parallel to the centre line) on the sides of each flap when you're closing the bottom.

Make sure that all the tape ends are adhered; if they're loose, they'll catch on something at an inopportune moment and pull the entire strip of tape off when you least expect it. Whatever you do, don't fold the box (top or bottom) shut with that nifty, tuck-in-the-four-corners technique you were so proud to master as a kid: it weakens the cardboard, and is less structurally sound than folding the flaps flat.

And don't even think about moving open or lidless boxes. Shame on you.

Newspaper or plain newsprint.
You can buy plain newsprint wherever you buy new boxes, but if you're wrapping items that won't be stained by the ink, it's okay to use newspaper instead. I recommend using gloves (see below for details), especially if you choose the newspaper. Your hands are going to get very dirty from the dust on your things and the newspaper ink, and if you don't wear gloves you're going to get VERY cranky by the sixth or seventh time you wash your (now-chapping) hands.

Paper is necessary not only for wrapping breakable items, but also (crumpled into balls) for cushioning them, and for filling in empty spaces in all the boxes.

My dad worked as a mover when he was in his early 20s, and one of the best skills he ever taught me was how to pack a box. Above all, make sure that the boxes are packed "square": fill every nook and cranny with crumpled newspaper, so that the cardboard won't sag and damage the contents, or cause the boxes tip over when they are stacked miles-high on moving day.

I always make sure I have way more paper than I think I'll ever need; you don't want to be in the middle of packing one night and realize you've just run out.

Gloves.
I like those surgical-style latex or nitrile ones you can buy in boxes of 100. You can never have too many of them - they're handy for all sorts of odd jobs around the house.

Masking tape.
Because I always save my moving boxes and reuse them for other things, I don't like to write with a permanent marker directly on the box. Instead I use a strip of wide masking tape on the top of each box, and write a label on the tape with the marker. Afterwards the tape can be pulled off without damaging the box.

*later addition to this tip (got it from my sister after she moved in July 2007): You can also write directly on the clear packing tape with a Sharpie marker. Then when you remove the tape, the label is gone at the same time.

Markers and/or stickers.
I use Sharpies for marking. I hate them because of the VOCs (volatile organic compounds, aka smelly solvents), but they do the job.

If you want to get fancy and print labels for your boxes, go ahead. Myself, I find it takes too much time, plus I like the flexibility of handwriting the information on masking tape. Some organizers recommend using colour-coded stickers to indicate which boxes came from/go into which rooms. This is especially useful if there are multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, and your movers aren't going to want to take the time to interpret directions such as "the smaller bedroom" or "the north-east ensuite." Post the corresponding colour on the door of each room, and it's a no-brainer.

When labelling a box I also like to include a brief description of its contents. This saves time when I'm unpacking and I want to get the essentials out first and save the less-important stuff for later. It also helps if you need to unpack a particular item very quickly, since you don't have to go searching through several boxes before you find the one thing.

Large, clear plastic lawn refuse bags.
These bags are one of my all-time favorite organizing items. (Click here for another use I mentioned in a recent post.) They're quick, large, lightweight, versatile, and re-usable - plus when you use the clear ones (rather than opaque garbage bags) you can immediately see what's inside.

I love them for moving, and have used them to transport clothes (just don't pack them too full, or they'll be too heavy), wicker baskets, hangers, bedding, pillows and cushions, and some of my fabric and yarn stash. I've also used them to wrap large items like ironing boards, lamps, and brooms or mops. Just don't pack anything breakable in them - although the great thing is, if you use clear bags, at least you can SEE that the items are breakable.

As an addendum to this category, I should mention that I've also used clear plastic disposable drop cloths (I get them at paint stores) to wrap really large items like mattresses.

Finally, I love using large plastic totes for moving, but you might not want to go to the expense of buying them for a single use (the move). If you know you need more storage bins, by all means buy them before the move and use them for storage afterwards. They're great because they stack well and pile high.

copyright 2007 Michelle Lynne Goodfellow