Moving can very quickly become one of the biggest stresses in your life, if you are not prepared and organized. Following a recent pack and move at a 5700 square foot home, our Vancouver-based professional organizers have some moving and packing tips to share.

1. Pack a suitcase, as if you were going on a working vacation
   This way you will have all your clothes and toiletries in one bag, easy to access during the unpacking process.
2. Use coolers for transporting frozen & perishable foods Depending on volume, you may want to move these items personally.
3. Complete your packing before the movers arrive
   Don’t get caught like these homeowners did, with movers waiting over your shoulders to take away boxes, as quickly as you can pack them…
4. Close all boxes for ease of stacking
   This makes the move faster & reduces your billable moving hours.
5. Use colour stickers on your boxes to colour code your rooms (kitchen, bedrooms, family room, garage, bathrooms, etc)
   Have a legend posted in the new home and each room colour coded so the right boxes end up in the right room.
6. Indicate contents of your box on your colour coded stickers
   You’d be surprised how much easier it is to just read the contents instead of opening every box to search.
7. Create ‘Unpack First’ boxes
   Use these for important household papers; kitchen essentials like coffee maker; initial starter set of dishes & serving ware; medication; etc
8. Clearly label items that are not to be moved
   Avoid assumptions – too many people coming & going to have your eyes and ears everywhere.
9. Pack away all seasonal clothes first
   If moving in summer, all winter clothes can be packed first – you won’t need them.
10. Pack away almost all children’s toys
    They can live without their entire assortment for a couple of weeks; keep out only a handful of favourites.

By being organized and completely packed, you eliminate the risk of movers taking or leaving things that they should not. Move day should be about coordinating the movers and not about packing.

Green Moving Alternative

One easy decision for us was to use a green alternative to buying traditional cardboard moving boxes. Not only was it green, it was convenient and affordable.

FrogBox rents you sturdy plastic moving boxes, with hinged lids, that are easily stackable.

1. Place an order online or by phone.
2. Frogbox delivers the containers and supplies to you.
3. You pack and move (or have Out of Chaos provide you with Move Management Services – we pack, coordinate your move, and unpack for you).
4. Frogbox picks up the containers when you are done.

Movers love these boxes – Less breakage because of how sturdy the boxes are and their stackability saves time on moving fees.

Making a move may be unavoidable, but you can choose how organized and stress-free the move can be. For more information on Out of Chaos’ Move Management Services, contact us at info@outofchaos.ca or call 604.813.8189.