How to organize a move from start to finish

Organize a move step by step

Anyone who is thinking about moving will be curious about how to organize the move in an orderly and effective manner. For this reason, we have written this article with the main tips that will help make this experience more bearable.

To make it more complete, we have combined Mar Ferré’s experience as a personal organizer and our own, as a moving company with more than 35 years of experience.

The Secret: The Pre-Move Phase

Reviewing everything we can contribute to help you in your move, we both agree that it is a priority to organize the move in advance and focus efforts on the pre-move phase. If we manage to establish order and discipline in the previous phase, everything will be easier when we arrive at the new home.

“Give me 6 hours to cut down a tree and I’ll spend 4 sharpening the axe”

This is one of Abraham Lincoln’s famous quotes. In it, he refers to the importance of preparing and planning a job in advance in order to complete it effectively. This is, without a doubt, the same approach that we should apply to moving.

To ensure a correct order, the involvement of the customer will be necessary, since order is not something that can be imposed with a universal rule, but must be adapted to the requirements and needs of each individual. For this reason, we believe that it is the customer who carries out the packaging of boxes or at least actively collaborates in the labeling process.

Plan the main tasks

Set a schedule for the move and define what tasks you will accomplish each week. For example, if we have a month’s time to move, we can set small goals every weekend. We indicate a possible guideline to follow, but that must be completed according to the specific needs of each case.

4 weeks before move-in

Confirm the date of entry into the new home. This involves verifying that we will have all the necessary supplies and also that in case of any type of renovation the contractor can ensure 100% completion of the work.
Set a definitive date for the move, informing all the people involved, both the people in the house, as well as the supply companies, renovations, etc.
Hire the removal service with a suitable company.
Consider hiring a pre-moving service with a personal organizer who has experience with it and can guide you through this process.

3 weeks before

Involve the family in the culture of detachment. We all tend to store and accumulate items that we don’t use. That is why it is particularly important that we delve into this aspect as soon as possible. This way we will be able to reduce the volume of things to be stored in the new home and will allow us to have more space for what we really need.
Plan to empty your fridge and freezer. On the day of the transfer, both the fridge and the freezer must be transported without any content inside. To avoid waste, it is advisable to plan the consumption of these foods and delay the purchase of others.

2 weeks before

Start with box packing. We recommend starting with storage spaces that we use less. The most common places to start would be the storage room, if you have one, the bookshelves, as well as the dressing rooms and wardrobes with seasonal clothes. It is important that all the boxes are properly labeled, as it will be vital when it comes to organizing all our things in the new home.
Reconfirm delivery times for the new home and replan dates if necessary. We still have time to make changes and therefore we recommend verifying that we will indeed be able to access the property on the day of the move without any setbacks. The most common reason is the delay in renovation or painting tasks, followed by incidents in the registration of new supplies (water, electricity, telephone, …).

Last week

Notify the change of residence .
Finish packing boxes and identify boxes containing garments, objects, and other vital items. We never know if we might need any of them on the same day as the move, so having them labeled in a clearly distinctive way can go a long way.
Pack a suitcase for each family member with the most essentials for the first few days: clothes, pajamas, toiletries, a set of sheets and a set of towels. So that when they arrive at the new home they have the basics controlled and at hand. Especially important when there is a change of city.
Prepare a folder/dossier with the most important documentation: rental contract or deed of the new home, utility bills, ID card, passports, family book and any documentation that may be necessary to have very close at hand the first few days.
If you plan to do part of the furniture dismantling on your own, try to set aside a reasonable amount of time for this part of the job, as it can often take longer than expected if we do not have experience in it. The last week before the transfer are the best days to advance this part of the work, even the day immediately before if we can have him free for this task it would be ideal. If in your case you are going to dare to take care of this part, you can read the following article: How to disassemble and assemble furniture without being an expert

We insist that these are basic steps for a typical move, but they must be extended by the client himself according to his needs.

Practice detachment

Although we know that it is difficult, if we manage to break this barrier we will get a double benefit. On the one hand, if we donate, give away or sell those things that we don’t need, we will have fewer things to move and therefore the price of the move will be reduced. On the other hand, practicing material detachment will help us get out of our comfort zone and break free. According to Marie Kondo’s theories, attachment to things can hold back our personal development. Therefore, it is good to take advantage of this moment to learn to live without needing.

If you want to delve deeper into detachment, we recommend you read this article by Mar Ferré; 3 attitudes and 27 objects to practice detachment. To help you give a second life to those objects you no longer need, we recommend this second reading: Where to donate clothes, books, toys, and furniture.

Tips for Box Packaging and Labeling

We must pay special attention to the packaging and labeling of boxes. If we do it right, we’ll have half the job done.

First of all, it’s important to do the labeling with the destination in mind. It won’t help us to know that some books belonged in the living room, but the important thing will be to know where they will be located in the new home. Therefore, in this case, we should only indicate the destination (storage room, room, etc.) and a brief description of the contents.

Labels and notes on the side of the box

To make it easier to identify the boxes, we recommend making annotations on the side of the boxes. In this way, if we stack one box on top of the other, we will still be able to see the annotation and we will be able to identify the contents. If we label a box at the top and put another one on top of it, once stacked, we will not be able to read these annotations.

Enumeration by stays

If we choose to list the boxes, we recommend doing so in small groups. It is better to set a numbering for the living room, another for the double bedroom, another for the kitchen, etc. We can easily do this by assigning two initials that first identify the room and then the corresponding number. For example, we can assign the HS code for the salon. Thus, we will find boxes identified as SA1, SA2, SA3, … and for the double bedroom: HA1, HA2, HA3, …

By listing in this way, we can add a new box to the room without completely breaking the order. On the other hand, if we were to list the total number of boxes in the house, we would find that boxes 12 and 45 could belong to the same room, which would be illogical and could also lead to errors when locating said contents.

Packaging of delicate items

The packing and protection of delicate objects should not be left until the last minute, except in cases where it is carried out by the removal company itself. Properly protecting a delicate part requires patience that we won’t have if we act in a hurry.

The first thing you need to do is take a box and fill the base with a shock-absorbing material such as bubble wrap.
Then we will protect each piece with manila paper or, failing that, newsprint. We must wrap each piece with this paper, in such a way that it provides greater external rigidity.
We will have to place the pieces next to each other, without squeezing them. If they are extremely delicate objects, we can put a layer of cardboard or bubble wrap between each piece.
Once we have filled the first height, we will put another layer of bubble wrap. On top of this shock-absorbing material we can put the second layer of delicate objects, always without exceeding the height capacity of the box.
If there is space left over, we will fill it with crumpled paper balls or filler material to block movement during transport.
Finally, close the box with a seal and label it.

Packaging of dishes and tableware

In the case of plates and crockery in a similar way, we must take into account a special consideration: They must be placed vertically inside the box.

We will never put them on top of each other, since ceramics and porcelain are very delicate materials and if we put the plates on top of each other, the one at the bottom would be supporting a very high weight. In that position, a slight impact could cause the lower chainring to split and usually a few others would suffer the same fate due to the knock-on effect. So, always remember to put the chainrings vertically, with a layer of shock-absorbing material at the base of the case.

For greater ease, we leave you this explanatory video about the packaging of tableware, although for pieces of great sentimental or economic value we recommend delegating this task to professionals.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mudanzas Control (@mudanzascontrol)

#Ordenterapia

If you can afford it, we recommend hiring the pre-moving service offered by Mar Ferré from #Ordenterapia. In this session you will be able to learn all the secrets to organize your move effectively and achieve a new order that transmits calm and peace to your home.

Link to Mar Ferré’s website: https://www.marferre.com/home

More Moving Tips