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This post is all about the best moving hacks.
Let’s be real – moving totally sucks. It’s tons of work, stress levels are high, and it eats up so much of your time. Whether you’re off to college, switching apartments in the same neighborhood, or venturing to a whole new state, the whole moving gig is just plain exhausting. Seriously, the amount of effort and time it takes from start to finish is no joke. You’re dealing with packing up your life, hauling stuff around, and trying to keep your sanity amidst all the chaos. It’s a real rollercoaster, from deciding to move to actually being unpacked in your new home. Bottom line? Moving isn’t just about changing your address; it’s a wild ride that puts your patience and stamina to the test at every turn.
I’ve done my fair share of moving around: from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin, bouncing between colleges, and hopping from one apartment or house to another. Between childhood moves, college life, and settling into our new place last summer with my husband, I’ve picked up plenty of tricks to make moving a breeze. If you’ve got a move coming up that’s got you feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry! I’ve rounded up 31 super easy moving hacks that’ll make your life a whole lot easier. You can thank me later! 😉
This post is all about moving tips and hacks.
BEST MOVING HACKS:
1. Create a moving checklist
The best way to stay organized is to make a checklist of things that need to get done for a move. From the very beginning of a move, start making a huge checklist of everything you need to get done and things you don’t want to forget so that the move is as smooth as possible.
2. Put a garbage bag over hanging clothes
If you haven’t heard of this moving hack then you need to know how amazing it is!! No need to take down all of your hanging clothes from the hanger to move. All you have to do for this is take about 10-15 hangers with clothes on them, poke a hole in the bottom of a garbage bag, and pull the hangers through the hole so that the top/tie of the garbage bag is at the bottom of the clothes. You can also tie the garbage bag closed so none of your clothes get dirty during the move! It’s so easy and such a lifesaver.
3. Go through your things room by room
During a move, you only want to move the absolutely necessary things. Going through each room in your house and getting rid of garbage, unnecessary documents, things you haven’t used in years, etc, will guarantee that you only move things you use often. This will make your move cheaper and much quicker.
4. Donate clothes
When you go through your bedroom, consider donating clothes! This is the best time to take time and get rid of anything you don’t wear or want anymore, and there’s definitely somebody out there who needs your old clothes.
5. Empty the food in your kitchen beforehand
The kitchen has tons of appliances and utensils to be moved and the last thing you’ll want to move is food. Before moving day, make sure that at least your fridge and freezer are empty. Anything non-perishable you can take with you in the move so you’re not wasting food, but anything else should be out of the house.
6. Hire a moving service
One of my greatest moving tips is to hire a moving service. Since I started interior designing and moving furniture in and out of houses often, I now swear by hiring a moving service. It makes life so much easier because they’ll take care of all the heavy furniture in your house, and they’re professionals so you know your stuff is in good hands!
7. Schedule a grocery delivery for move-in day
This is such a smart moving hack because who wants to go out and buy groceries the same day you move?? The thought of that is exhuastinggg but if you make a grocery delivery straight to your new home or apartment, you’ll have fresh food and a full fridge and not have to put any work into it.
8. Wrap fragile items in towels and sheets
This hack will save space and make sure that nothing gets broken in the move! Wrap kitchenware or other fragile items in a box with towels and sheets and your fragile things will survive the move.
9. Utilize suitcases and tote bags
Luggage is the best way to move things because luggage has to be moved, too! In order to utilize everything you have, pack suitcases and tote bags like you’re packing for a trip. This will make it easier to transport all of your things as well.
10. Color coordinate boxes by room
A color coordination system makes moving easier for every single person involved. Instead of having to tell each person who’s helping you move where each bag or box needs to go, color-coordinating rooms and boxes makes everything so much smoother. Colored stickers on doors and matching boxes are one of the best moving organization ideas.
11. Take pictures of the box contents
It can get so frustrating when you’re trying to find something when you’re moving and you just can not remember what box you put something in. The best way to avoid this frustration is to take pictures of each box before you move it! This way you won’t stress out and everything will be so much easier to find.
12. Pack an overnight essentials bag
Having a specific bag for the first overnight in a new place is SO important. Pajamas, toiletries, and a change of clothes are all you need but it’ll make your first night in your new home so much better. This will also make your night a hundred times easier if you’re moving with kids. Your whole family will be set up for the night if everyone has a little essentials bag that you don’t need to search all of your boxes for.
13. Start packing early and set a daily goal
Packing up an entire house or apartment is NOT something you want to save until the last minute. My suggestion is to start packing at least a couple of weeks in advance and to set a goal of how long you want to spend packing each day. When I moved out of my apartment I set a goal of packing one hour a day two weeks in advance, and 2-3 hours a day on the weekends. This forces you to get it done and makes sure everything is packed and ready to go on time.
14. Get free boxes from a grocery or liquor store
Grocery and liquor stores always have extra cardboard boxes that you can take to carry your bottles or groceries. Start saving these up when you go grocery shopping or run to the liquor store and you’ll have tons to use when you need them for moving! Genius moving hacks!
15. Transport electronics in blankets
Wrapping big electronics (especially televisions) in blankets is the best way to transport them safely from house to house. This is also a great use of the many blankets you probably have in your home because moving a bunch of chunky blankets can also be really annoying.
16. Utilize bubble wrap
Buying a few things of bubble wrap to have on hand for wrapping everything up is really smart. You may not need a lot of it, but it’s so nice to have on hand for any move. This is also a moving essentials if you’re out of towels or sheets to wrap fragile items in.
17. Use box dividers for glassware
Glassware is one of the most stressful things to move. Luckily, you can get box dividers so you can easily transport any sort of glass and it won’t break.
18. Keep moving essentials and a tool kit for last
Things like a tool kit, tape, plastic bags, and Sharpies are all essentials that may come in handy when you’re moving and unpacking. I keep a tote bag of all these things and bring it with me in my car when moving. This way it’s on hand and I know exactly where it is if I need anything.
19. Pack a cooler for food and drinks
Moving is so tiring and can make you super hungry if you’re moving alllll day. Packing a cooler with drinks and some snacks is such a good idea so you have food on hand for whenever you need a moving break. It’s also a super great idea if you’re hiring a moving service! I can guarantee that they’ll love some free food.
20. Ask friends and family to help
If you don’t want to hire a moving service, ask friends and family to help instead! Moving is so much easier with more people to help you out so definitely take advantage of the people in your life who are willing to help.
21. Unpack the kitchen first
The kitchen is easily the room in any house or apartment with the most stuff to unpack. That’s why I recommend unpacking it first so you can get it out of the way and you’ll have a kitchen ready to use in no time. You don’t want to be digging through every box to find silverware when you’re already hangry from moving, so get everything into its own drawers and cabinets and you’ll be set to go!
22. Don’t rush the unpacking process
Unpacking (especially if you’re moving into a new house) can take a longgg time. It’s good to know this going into it so that you don’t get upset when unpacking and making your home your own takes way longer than you think it will. Don’t rush anything and make sure you’re happy with how one room looks and is set up before moving on to the next room.
23. Take a photo of how your electronics are set up
Before you move, take a photo of how your computers and TVs are plugged into the walls and where each cord goes. I always hate having to figure this out when you’re starting over, but taking a photo beforehand makes it so much easier and takes any guesswork out of setting up electronics.
24. Change your mailing address a couple of weeks in advance
Changing your mailing address is definitely something that not a lot of people think about when moving. This is especially important to do when you’re moving out of an apartment because you don’t want your mail getting taken by the next resident.
25. Hire a babysitter for kids and pets
Moving is already stressful and we don’t need the stress of kids and pets to worry about on top of everything else! Hiring a babysitter or pet sitter to look after your kids and pets for the day is one of the smartest moving house hacks if you have a big family.
26. Put books and heavy items in rolling suitcases
This is one of the most genius apartment moving tips because of the stairs and elevators in apartments. Instead of breaking your back by lifting and dropping box after box after box, rolling suitcases make transporting heavy items so much easier. This is great for bigger items or something heavy like books!
27. Use a skateboard to move heavy boxes
Similar to the suitcase hack, using skateboards to move boxes to and from cars or moving vans is genius. This’ll save your body and time haha. If you have a couple of skateboards lying around I definitely recommend putting them to use and rolling them around with boxes on top!
28. Consider a storage unit
Timing of moves can be tricky, especially if you sell your house before moving into your next one or moving to a different state. That’s why I would recommend using a storage unit if you’re stressed about what to do with all of your stuff. Some of my friends did this in college when we would be in between places each summer and it was so smart! If you have a storage unit near you and don’t know what to do with all of your stuff, definitely look into renting a unit for a little while.
29. Keep all moving documents in one place
With moving also comes tons of paperwork, no matter if you’re in a house or an apartment. The easiest way to make sure you don’t lose or forget any paperwork is to keep papers and files in one easily accessible place. Either make a physical folder to keep all of your documents, or keep a file on your desktop or tablet that has everything you need right on hand.
30. Make sure you label every side of each box
This is something I didn’t think of when I first moved into my apartment, but this is super important especially if you’re hiring a moving service to help with the move. You have no idea how your boxes will be put into cars or vans and you’ll only be making it harder for everyone if only one side of any box is labeled which room it belongs in or what it contains. Even if it takes you more time to do at the moment, take the extra time to label each side (and the top and bottom!) of every box so no matter how it’s put into the van, you’ll still be able to see where it belongs in your new place.
31. Pack jewelry in egg cartons
I usually travel with all of my jewelry in a little jewelry bag that I get when I buy jewelry, but that can cause all of my necklaces and everything to get tangled which is beyond frustrating. If this bothers you to no end, save an egg carton and you can use that to separate anything you don’t want to get tangled. It’s actually pretty genius, just make sure you tape the box closed so you don’t lose any precious jewelry!
MOVING HACKS Q&A:
1. How can I make moving in easier?
The best moving hacks for making moving in easier is to start preparing and packing super far in advance. This will make you feel incredibly prepared and make sure you don’t miss anything important in the moving process. Following the above hacks will also make the whole process so much easier!
2. What is the hardest room to pack when moving?
I would say the hardest room to pack is the kitchen… It has the most things to pack and almost all of it is fragile. This means you need to be super careful and take your time packing everything so that it doesn’t break during any part of the move. It’s possible, though, if you follow some of the moving tips above to ensure everything is protected!
3. What is the best way to pack for moving?
There are so many good ways to pack for moving based on where you’re moving, how much you have to pack, and how much time you have to pack. These 31 ideas will help you make the move super quick and easy, though!
4. How do I pack to move out fast?
If you’re looking for how to move quickly, you’ll want to make sure you’re making every part of the move as easy for yourself and the people helping you as possible. The hacks I’ve shared above and so many more will help to make sure you’re ready and able to move out as quickly as you need.
5. How far in advance should you start packing for a move?
I would recommend at least two weeks in advance, but it also depends on how much time you have and how much stuff you need to do before moving. Two weeks should give you enough time to get it done, though (I think)!
