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Mary Beth Voelker is a writer, a mother,
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originally from Pittsburgh, she and her
family kept coming back to North Carolina
until God let them stay. She likes to say that
while she has often been bored at work she
has never been bored at home.
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Top Tips for Moving
by Mary Beth Voelker
I don’t remember how many times I’ve moved
since I married. During one period my family
and I moved 9 times in 13 years, and we’re not
even military. These past few months multiple
friends and family members have been moving,
and I ended up picking my brain for ways to help
them, so I thought I’d share some of my best tips
with you too.
KITCHEN
Kitchen items can be difficult to pack. They’re
bulky, often fragile, frequently oddly-shaped,
possibly heavy, and many of them are needed
right up to the last moment in the old house and
right from the first moment in the new house.
Your microwave can be your salvation. Leave
it until last to pack up. Then fill it with a place
setting of plate, bowl, drinking glass, coffee cup,
and silverware for each person in the household.
Add one each of your basic cooking utensils: a
spatula, a wooden spoon, a chef’s knife, a paring
knife, a set of tongs, a ladle, a liquid measure, a
set of dry measures, a set of measuring spoons,
the can opener, and anything else you use daily.
Wrap it all up in your dishcloths and dishtowels
to prevent breakage and use your potholders to
pad the corners and prevent shifting.
Put it into the car last and take it out first to
make sure that, whatever else happens, you can
at least eat a meal.
Your critical pots and pans, your most-used
microwavable casseroles, and other frequentlyused
kitchen items including the contents of
your spice cabinet can go into another box
labeled “Immediate Kitchen” to ensure that you
can cook a meal as well as eat it.
For a long-distance move give away all
opened containers. For a shorter move pack
anything that could drip or spill inside your
big pasta pot, your water-bath canner, or your
camping cooler and make sure those boxes are
marked, “This end up.”
If you are moving a freezer or refrigerator fill
the interior space with bulky but lightweight
items such as plastic bowls and containers,
pillows, comforters, sports bottles, and anything
else that won’t add too much to the weight or
break if the packing shifts when the mover tilts
the freezer back on the dolly.
BEDROOMS
Specialized moving boxes for hanging
clothes are available. They are fairly expensive
so your wardrobe, budget, and tolerance for
wrinkles should be taken into consideration
when deciding if you want one.
Don’t move dressers empty; but don’t just
move them as is. Think of them as very large
suitcases, packing the drawers deliberately with
chosen, coordinated outfits for the first week.
Make sure to leave space for any necessary
sweaters, sweatshirts, or specialty items and
for the shoes you’re most likely to need. If the
dressers are large enough, then reserve a drawer
for that room’s sheets, pillowcases, and blankets.
If boxes are running short and you decide
to move bedding, out-of-season clothing,
throw rugs, stuffed toys, curtains, and other
lightweight non-breakables in plastic garbage
bags try to find clear bags and, whatever color
you use, be sure to label them in a fashion that
no one can possibly miss lest helpful friends
accidentally put the bags into the trash.
If your moving plans don’t involve spending
time on the road living out of your suitcases use
that space for towels, personal care items such
as hair dryers and curling irons, or bedroom
decor items.
BATHROOMS
As with the kitchen, if you’re making a longdistance
move, dispose of all opened containers.
If not, that little trash can is just the thing to make
sure that your shampoo doesn’t drip all over.
Pile all your bottles into the bottom of the can,
seal toothbrushes and soaps into plastic bags in
the next layer, then top with a roll of toilet paper,
washcloths, and face towels to keep things from
rattling around. This can go into the car next to
the microwave to ensure that your life restarts
smoothly. Don’t forget that toilet paper. You’d be
surprised how many people move out and don’t
leave any.
KIDS
It’s always hard to pack kids’ things. They’re
bulky, weirdly-shaped, have a million small
parts, and, in the stress and insecurity of the
having their life disrupted, the kids are likely to
decide that whatever you’re trying to pack at that
moment is the one thing that they absolutely
CANNOT live without for even a few weeks.
Every age, family situation, and individual
child is different, but I found that it helped a
great deal to give the kids as much control as
was practical. For example, during elementaryage
moves each one got a small plastic file box or
a backpack into which they could put some very
favorite books and toys that would go into the
car with them and which they could personally
carry into the house.
Leaving the most creative and versatile toys
to pack last and open first also helps. Also, not
mixing their possessions in the same box and
letting them see that each box was labeled with
its owner’s name.
ODDS AND ENDS
Anymore our computers hold much of our
lives. Be sure to do backups before you move,
make extra copies on separate thumb drives,
and put those backups in several different
places in case of loss.
If you’re driving a rented truck and towing
your car, the inside of the car is a good place for
possibly delicate electronics. If you don’t need
the space for passengers, then the backseats of
any cars you’re driving is another good place.
A packed CPU, monitor, or TV can often be
securely belted in.
Any piece of furniture that can be readily
broken down should be. Yes, disassembly and
reassembly take time that is often in short
supply, but loads shift and broken shelves and
snapped table legs happen.
If you are moving long-distance with a
full truck consider disposing of and replacing
inexpensive and less well-made pieces such as
chipboard computer desks that you assembled
yourself but which don’t come back apart. The
voice of experience says that when a shift of the
load causes that chipboard to come apart and
the desk collapses things get broken that were
worth more than that cheap desk was.
Never move any drawer or cabinet empty.
The big drawers in buffets and credenzas can be
good places to pack lamp bases or board games.
The lampshades can go behind cabinet doors
along with throw pillows and any blankets and
afghans that aren’t wrapped around something
breakable.
You may save money buying old blankets at
yard sales and thrift stores instead of renting
moving blankets.
FINALLY
The first thing you’ll want to do is clean. Don’t
move liquids long distances, but if you’re not
going far, then pack a new, clean kitchen trash
can with a bucket, a mop, a broom, a dustpan,
trash bags, a new toilet brush, shelf paper if you
use it, all your favorite cleaning supplies, and
a generous supply of sponges, scrubbies, and
cleaning rags.
We made the mistake of getting rid of all the
cleaning rags once. Only once. You can’t buy
anything half as good for cleaning as torn up
t-shirts and flannel sheets or worn bath towels.
No. 130 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.11