Tip 33

Do not pack food.

Food is very easily squished, spoiled, cooked in its wrappers, or makes a disgusting mess. If you try and pack your food it's going to inevitably explode, somehow. Avoid the trouble entirely, don't pack food.

Tip 32

Be sure you have a snack planned for after everything's in your new home.

Snack, lunch, dinner, whatever it is, you're going to be hungry and you may even want to treat your friends and family to a fun unpacking party! You're going to want to arrange a snack, because if you've been smart no food will have had to get moved from one home to another.

Tip 31

You don't have to unpack everything right away!

You've just moved into your new home, you're probably tired from hauling all of your boxes from one end of the house (or apartment, condo, what have you) and now you feel like you have to unpack everything. You don't! Take a breath, relax, and just get the things you need imeditately, have fun an take your time getting everything else out of their boxes

Tip 30

Let people know you're moving!

Just like you have to change your mailing address, you have let your friends know your new address. I once lost a friend for 3 months because I didn't know he'd moved, don't end up being that guy!

Tip 29

Make sure your items are sorted in an easy to understand way.

If you've packed all your spatulas with your collection of books, are the people helping you move going to be able to find them? NO! So pack your things in a way that others can easily understand, rather than just throwing things in boxes.

Tip 28

Don't make trash before you move!

Like dealing with your fridge when moving, you don't want to have to deal with trash you could have avoided making. Make sure your trash cans are empty at least the day before you move out, because nobody wants to handle garbage on top of moving!

Tip 27

Get somebody watch all small children and animals so they don't get in the way.

You love your children and your pets, but nobody can deny that if you keep them around when you're getting to moving things might get a little messy and if they happen to step in front of the wrong person at the wrong time, they or somebody else could get hurt. So keep your kids off site until you finish at least moving everything into your home and the heavy lifting is done.

Tip 26

Saran wrap will be your best friend when it comes to liquids and gels.

Caps are great for keeping liquids inside their containers, but then there have to be openings added for toiletries! You need to cover those holes so nothing starts spraying all over the place as soon as something heavy hits your shampoo bottle!

Tip 25

Put the rooms your boxes are going to on their labels.

Making the unpacking process easier is a good idea, and when you have a lot of boxes you don't always know where they're going without opening them up. Avoid this by labeling the right room clearly on the box!

Tip 24

Original boxes are your friends, use them!

If you have a TV, a desk you can disassemble, or anything else that came to you in a box, you're going to want to put it back in there. Boxes are your best friends when you're moving, so if you can get your posessions back into their original packaging, you'll be doing a great job of saving space and time.

Tip 23

Set a schedule for yourself.

You need to be prepared on moving day, so you need to have everything packed, mail redirected, friends notified, and a few other things that are important to getting everything done right before you settle into your new home. So build yourself a schedule with a list of things that need doing, and then just go through the schedule and get everything done!

Tip 22

Throw out your trash. If you aren't going to be moving something, get rid of it so it doesn't take up space.

This goes along with an earlier tip, because when you don't label something for your move, it means you don't actually need or want it. Why hold onto it then? Donate it to charity, throw it in the trash, or sell it to a pawn shop. Don't waste space!

Tip 21

Remember to get something into containers to stop anything from breaking inside if there are valuables.

Things like makeup kits have a lot of small bits that can easily break, so it's always smart to put a cotton ball into the container so that nothing shatters. Keep your valuables safe! Nothing's worse than getting everything perfect all throughout your move, then opening up that one thing that matters to you and finding that it's been destroyed in transit.

Tip 20

Pre-clean your home before you move in.

There's a good chance that when you're moving into a new apartment or home, it's going to still be a bit dirty from either the last tenants or just the accumulation of dust. So before your moving team arrives, see about cleaning it up before you move in.

Tip 19

Socks. They are the most valuable thing you have when it comes to moving.

You have a lot of loose space in your boxes, and you probably have more than a few socks laying around. Make use of them, don't spring on packing peanuts if you don't have to. Use what you have in the house!

Tip 18

Don't forget to update your address before you move!

You don't want whoever's going to be living in your place getting your mail instead of you. You need to update your address universally, because no matter who you are, you're always going to be getting letters, be they bills or otherwise.

Tip 17

Get quality boxes for your move, don't go dumpster diving!

One thing you're always going to have to do when moving is pack your stuff. If you pack everything into the old boxes that you keep in your closet, attic, or basement, there's a good chance that they're going to fall apart in transit. Newer boxes are better, because the wear of time hasn't turned them from cardboard to paper just yet! So get some good boxes so your things stay in good condition.

Tip 16

Don't leave things rattling around in drawers.

It's not a big problem if you do, but one thing you should make sure is taken care of when you're moving everything is that all of the movable objects are tied down in some way. That means you should tape your drawers shut and empty them of everything that's usually rattling around within!

Tip 15

Be clever when you're padding your valuables.

You probably have a lot of socks in your drawer, so why not use them? Stuff those and other small but padding articles of clothing into the spaces between valuable or fragile items so that when you hit the road nothing smacks together and breaks!