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The thought of moving makes most home owners shudder.  It is at this time when the actions of the past decade catch up to even the most organized individual.  Dilemmas such as where to put the box of miscellaneous electronic plugs, pens, pencils, knick-knacks, craft supplies, and the like were often answered with, “in the basement.”  Unless the next homeowners want all the contents of the basement as part of their house warming gift, you will most likely need to dig the boxes out of storage, open them and decide what to pitch and what to take with you.  Here are some tips to maintaining your sanity when moving your life from one home into another.

First, make sure you have sufficient packing supplies.  The best supplies include tons of medium sized boxes, box tape, permanent markers, index cards, and garbage bags.  This is not the time to form emotional attachments to items that haven’t seen daylight since your last move. Instead, recognize that this is the perfect opportunity to de-clutter by tossing unwanted items or donating clean, usable items to thrift stores.  Boxes can be obtained from friends, family, and local grocery stores.  Most likely, however, these packing supplies will be less than ideal for a multitude of reasons.  The best place to get sturdy, clean, unused boxes is from a supplier.  Excellent prices can usually be found on the Internet. 

Second, begin packing the boxes according to the room in which they will be placed in the new home.  Be careful not to over stuff them or the bottom may fail, causing damage to precious items.  Avoiding over stuffing will also make your hired or volunteer help less likely to get hurt during the move.  This is especially important if they are volunteers because unless this is your final move, it is likely that you will need their assistance again. 

Next, if there is one single piece of organizational advice that has been invaluable it is this: to your packing supplies, add an index card and permanent marker to write the specific room to which the mover should carry the unit.  By doing this you will make sure that you are effectively and efficiently using the services of your helpers.  Plus, this will save you from having to move the boxes by yourself when it would have been far easier to do it right the first time.  On the card, jot a couple of notes regarding the contents just in case there are things that you need to find immediately once in the new home.