A Life In Review

It’s been a whole year since we packed up and left Connecticut for our life in Alabama. We moved 1,200 miles. We were lucky enough to move early into our family life, so we only had 4 years and one kid’s worth of stuff to move, but, a move is a move. That said, I looked up so many tips on moving before we actually made the move since we had a little bit of warning! In the end, my husband’s new company moved us down (with some prep work on my end), but here are the best tips I’ve found!

1. Hire someone to move you! – this is the most expensive option, but also the least physically demanding. I won’t say it’s the easiest, because it was quit the interesting journey getting someone else to pack up your stuff and get it across the country in one piece.
2. Utilize Storage Bins! – With a far away move, your stuff have to be stacked for a longer period of time and survive travel. We put our more “precious” things in plastic totes instead of boxes. Target and Walmart sell reasonably priced and decent quality totes.
3. What do you need that first day that you get there? – You can’t expect to unpack everything in the first day, but there are things that you will want to use right away, so pack a few boxes and label those an important. Make sure that they are brought into the house/apartment etc. and placed in plain view so that you can open them first (think towels, soap, sheets for the beds, pillows if you didn’t bring them in the car…).
4. Ship your cars if you can. – This is especially true if you have kids. The move is stressful enough without a long road trip thrown in there. If you can afford it, hire a company to move your car for you. We had my vehicle brought down for us and then my husband drove his truck down. Just fly down with the kids.
5. Get a Document sized lock box. – If you have to drive one or more of your cars, I suggest bringing a lock box in your car with you and keeping your important documents on you at all times. This also includes passports and birth certificates, social security cards etc. If you have a moving company moving you, just keep that stuff on you.
6. Sell as much as you can and keep it to one truck. – Trust me. One truck is going to cost you enough, whether it’s a truck you drive or one that moving company drives, just keep it to one. If that means selling furniture, you need to do it. Pick what’s most important and go with it. You can also have a moving company come in and quote you on what will fit into one truck and what won’t if that will help.
7. Make yourself a moving checklist. – Each persons list will be different so I’m not going to link one (you can find them online if you really don’t want to make one). It will help you keep track of things that need to get done and it will also help to show you how much you’ve gotten done when you’re feeling like you still have so much to do.
8. Add yourself to local Facebook pages. – This is a great way to get information on local goings on and need to know information in the area. This includes any local HOA pages or anything you might need for kids schooling!
9. Find doctors ahead of time! – In line with my tip above, seek out doctors ahead of time. I suggest finding local dentists, primary care and scope out where urgent cares are BEFORE you get to your new home. It could be months before you can actually get an appointment, so it’s important to have a head start.
10. BUDGET! BUDGET! BUDGET! – This isn’t going to be cheap. Lay it all out and figure out how much you have to spend and then do everything you can to stick to that budget. It’s hard, it’s expensive, but you have a reason for doing this, so figure out a way to make it work without killing you financially (or if you can, find a job that will cover some or all of your moving expenses).

There are so many other blogs that have tips for moving in general and I highly suggest finding and utilizing their tips. Moving is a headache and a half no matter how far you are going. I hope that if you are reading this, your move is a positive one and one that will bring your family great joy like it has brought mine!