Learn tips to move to a new home efficiently and safely this year in our three-part series with Interior Designer, Dwaina Sprague
Everyone needs a few moving tips here and there. Now that British Columbia seems to be thawing from the COVID-19 freeze, many are looking at ways to move in a safe and organized way. I experienced this myself last month when I planned a move into a cozy Kitsilano cottage in Vancouver, BC.
To help you stay organized and safe throughout your move as well, I decided to document my move and share my lessons learned in a three-part series:
- Pre-Move: Preparing for Your Move Easily and Efficiently,
- Moving Day: A Checklist Of What To Accomplish, and
- Post-Move: How to Set Up Your New Home!.
In this blog, I’ll share with you my moving tips on how to prepare for your upcoming move day.
1. The Purge
Moving is a great time to purge anything that, as Marie Kondo would say, doesn’t spark joy. This is the perfect opportunity to reevaluate what you want to bring to your new home, and what’s best to be left in the past.
Leading up to the move, begin to remove what you don’t need anymore. Things that I purged included:
- File folders. Old clothes. Any knick-knacks to get rid of things I didn’t want to bring with me to my new space.
- This purge process escalated to bigger things such as the closets, shoes, storage locker, kitchen area (whew!).
- It also gave me an opportunity to have a clear look at the things we tend to hoard. Don’t worry, we all do it. For instance, in small areas around my house, I was starting to gather paper bags in large quantities (oh my).
2. Boxing
Start picking up cardboard or returnable boxes a month in advance. You can find companies such as Frog Box or Gorilla Box to provide you with eco-friendly solutions. I got small and medium boxes and started to wrap up all the small shelf items, chachkis and decor. You should make a list on the side of the boxes of things to keep but get carefully out of the way. These lists can help you settle in easier once you’ve moved.
Other boxing tips:
- Separate and box the necessities from the decor items. This will make the move in and settling into a new space much easier.
- Making sure each box is labeled correctly. This can save you a huge headache in the future.
- Use sturdy, spacious, and new boxes to make sure it could best protect the objects in it.
3. Measuring
Here’s one of the most important moving tips I have for you – measure. I measured all the furniture I wanted to keep in the new place and did a floorplan for the new home – so it secured what I wanted to keep and what I needed to donate – This saved me time from moving things unnecessarily. Additionally, this also empowered our moving team, Second 2 None, to have a clear idea of placement the day of the move.
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4. Clean
Then you scrub and clean everything. No dust bunny should be saved. I vacuumed bagged all the soft goods – toss pillows, bedding, towels, etc to ensure they stayed safe & clean during the move. Vacuuming them also makes them take up MUCH less space. I then personally shifted all of my plants into the new space so they were safe and not damaged during the move. (I had access to my new space prior which made it much easier). It was clean as a whistle by the end of it, which made the moving process a lot easier than if I saved it to the last minute.
5. Book and Schedule
Start booking and scheduling in advance so it saves you time and a headache! Make sure to book the moving team, book the building move out, and notify all your service providers of the move weeks in advance. Finally, let your family know the plan of moving and to where you’re going. Get your list of suppliers, services, and helpers out of the way before you move. These include:
- Getting your Wifi set up and ready for the new location
- Changing addresses on your Visa and other important documentation
- Getting your Hydro and electricity set up
- Making sure family and friends are on the same page about when you’re moving.
I booked with Frog Box to get some boxes and learned they had wardrobe boxes which were so helpful. I also asked friends and family to help before and during the move. Afterward, you should schedule weekends prior to the move for specific packing days.
Last Steps
Lastly, I took all the art and pictures down into marked art boxes, which I had saved from previous moves. Then I hired a professional organizer – Quin from SOSMySpace to come in before my move to help coordinate and organize during the move. Finally, I hired the cleaning team that was going to come in just after the move and clean all the windows, carpets and walls
When you move you’re not just changing your space you call home, you’re also entering a new stage in your life. This is why planning before you move is so important. When the time finally comes for you to say goodbye to your past space, you can leave it with ease and comfort. Of course, moving day problems can happen naturally, and in the second part of this series, we’ll discuss ways to mitigate any problems that happen during your move.