Moving to a new home is definitely one of life’s most stressful experiences. Researchers have tried to quantify exactly how stressful life’s big events are, and moving is almost always in the top ten or twenty. I just moved last week, and I can tell you that moving definitely deserves to make the list.
No matter how organized and detail-oriented you are, when you move, things are going to go wrong. Your possessions will get broken, or they’ll go missing. You will spend more money than you planned to. You will discover unpleasant things about your new home that you overlooked during the inspection. On top of all that, moving is a massive logistical and physical undertaking that’s exhausting no matter what.
Don’t move. But if you have to anyway, you’re in luck. People way smarter than me have come up with moving hacks that will make the experience slightly easier. And when you’re in the middle of the move, you need all the help you can get.
1. Put your hanging clothes into trash bags so you don’t have to re-hang them.
Photo Credit: manda_gee
If I had known about this tip last week, it would have saved me approximately 400 hours of work.
2. Use toilet paper rolls to stop your cables from turning into a tangled mess.
Photo Credit: createstorage
3. Protect the edges of framed paintings with a cut-up pool noodle.
Photo Credit: jodeclifford
4. Create a color-coded system to keep track of which boxes go in which rooms.
Photo Credit: mthw378
5. Use a Post-it note to catch dust from drilling.
Photo Credit: Kim’s Kitchen Sink
6. Fill a bag with essentials for the first night in your new place.
Photo Credit: liikkua.de
7. If you’re removing a difficult screw, use a wide rubber band to give the screwdriver more grip.
Photo Credit: Apartment Therapy
8. Put small, heavy items like canned goods in a rolling suitcase.
Photo Credit: exploringdomesticity
9. Use nail polish to color coordinate your keys.
Photo Credit: Buzzfeed
10. Running out of bubble wrap? Use soft things like towels, sheets, and socks.
Photo Credit: Home Esthetics
11. Use zip ties to keep your silverware together.
Photo Credit: byechaos
12. Use rubber bands to keep pots and lids together.
Photo Credit: Awesome Inventions
13. Oven mitts make a great knife carrier.
Photo Credit: Updater
14. Use a box cutter to make handles for cardboard boxes.
Photo Credit: Awesome Inventions
15. Put styrofoam plates between breakable plates for extra padding.
Photo Credit: Pinterest
h/t: Buzzfeed