Let’s take a break from talking strictly about moving supplies for a moment.  If your moving day is quickly approaching, you may have certain questions you would like to get answered to help make your move a success.  Sure, there are plenty of collections of moving tips out there, but they rarely address a broader range of issues.  Here, we’ve collected a few tips on some moving topics that are often not covered in a typical guide…

Moving With Children

A lot of the difficulty of moving with children actually has to do with the lead up to moving day.  Depending on their age, they may not want to move or even understand why the family has to move at all.  If they are especially young, you may want to arrange for a sitter or a family member to watch them on moving day.  Movers-Edge.com also suggests it can be helpful to have favorite or familiar items ready to be unpacked first at your new place, helping your children get accustomed to their new surroundings.  To see the rest of the Movers-Edge tips, click here.

Selling Your Old Place

One thing that is rarely found in moving tips is any mention of selling your current home.  Unless you’re especially wealthy, you probably don’t have any interest in taking on two mortgages, meaning you’ll have to sell your old place before moving to your new one (hopefully).  How is this a moving tip?  Well, imagine how much lower your stress and anxiety will be if you don’t still have a For Sale sign in your front yard.  Especially in today’s real estate market, it can be tough to stand out.  But you’ll want to have every advantage possible in order to make sure you sell your house in a timely manner.  FlyLady.net says that ordering a dumpster may be an important first step for those of us having difficulty de-cluttering the house for showings.  Check out some other helpful moving tips from FlyLady by clicking here.

Pre-Packing for Your Move

Pre-packing could easily be the most effective way to limit stress on your moving day.  I mean, you’d love to wake up on your moving day and have all your boxes already packed, wouldn’t you?  It’s not quite that easy, but you can certainly start packing some things away weeks before your move.  Some people will even get themselves down to just the bare essentials for the last few days in their house.  Maybe you’re not ready to go to that drastic of a measure, but you’d like some tips on packing up some clothes before your move.  MovingDayBoxes.com suggests an “80/20″ rule for clothes.  They say most people wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time, and will therefore likely need them sometime before their move.  The rest can go into boxes.  Check out more moving tips from Moving Day Boxes by clicking here.

With these and other helpful moving tips available online, you should be well on your way to a more relaxed and stress-free move.

So, your move has come and gone and everything actually went pretty well.  You’ve even got most of your boxes unpacked and almost everything is put away.  Now what do you do with your extra moving boxes and supplies?  It certainly seems wasteful to just throw away the supplies and put the boxes out with the recycling.  But is it really worth the effort to research alternatives?  Lucky for you, we’ve assembled some information that may help you solve this post-move riddle…

1. Craigslist

Craigslist has exploded in popularity in recent years.  While most people use the site to sell things, you could certainly list free used boxes if you so desire.  Of course, no one ever said used moving boxes are worthless, so feel free to try to get something for them.  You could also include any remaining useful moving supplies, like bubble wrap or packing peanuts.

2. Boxcycle

Sites like Boxcycle allow those with used moving boxes to connect with those who need used moving boxes.  A few minutes is all it takes to find out if anyone is in need of boxes in your area.  This will remove the hassle of breaking down all your boxes and putting them out for recycling or keeping them in a pile in your basement.

3. Recycling Center

If you do decide to simply recycle your used moving boxes, keep in mind that it may not be an easy task.  Some communities will not pick up large quantities of cardboard at the curb.  This means you will be responsible for transporting your boxes to the neighborhood recycling center.

4. Household Uses

Last but not least, used moving boxes do still have some potential inside a new house.  Maybe you have a furniture delivery coming up and you want to protect your carpets.  How about some cardboard rugs for a few hours?  Or, maybe your window treatments aren’t ordered yet, but you don’t want the new neighbors to get a front row view into your bathroom.  Cardboard makes a dandy temporary window shade.

These and other helpful tips can be found with simple online searches.  Congratulations on your successful move!

Moving boxes – These are probably the most important moving supplies that you’ll need. These are specialized boxes that are used specifically for moving, they come in various sizes and are readily available at your local moving supply store. Don’t make the mistake of using old boxes at your house just to save a few dollars, used boxes are not sturdy and will not provide the much needed support, especially when you start stacking boxes on top of them.

Bubble wrap – Breakable items such as porcelain vases, glass jars, mirrors, and other electronic items like laptops should be wrapped in a bubble wrap before being placed in a box. This is to make sure that they don’t break during the move.

Packaging tape – Make sure to seal your moving boxes with a packaging tape to prevent items from falling off during the move. Your things could scatter inside the moving van and that’s something that you don’t want to happen.

Marker – Labeling your moving boxes is very important. There’s nothing more stressful than having 10 or 20 anonymous boxes right in front of you. Label the boxes after you fill them up and it’s also wise to pack related items together.

Edge protectors – These are used to protect edges, as the name suggests, and are used with tables and other furniture. Bumps and grinds when moving are unavoidable so better be prepared.

Moving supplies play a big role in making your move efficient and hassle free so preparing them beforehand is important. What I always do is I list down everything that I need before going to a moving supply store, this saves me from a trip backs due to forgotten items. I suggest you do the same or just purchase moving kits as they generally have everything you need.