Packing 101: How to Move Without Losing Your Mind

YOU'RE MOVING! 🎉

Which is incredibly exciting until you look around and realize that every single object you own somehow needs to get into a box.

You do not need a 47-tab moving binder. You just need a little strategy.

Start With What You Don't Need

Pack the things you can live without for a few weeks first: seasonal clothes, books, décor, extra linens, serving pieces, and rarely used kitchen gadgets.

Save everyday clothes, toiletries, medications, chargers, and basic cookware for last.

And use this opportunity to purge. Do not pay someone to move things you already know you don't want.

Moving a box labeled “Random Drawer Stuff???” from one house to another is how clutter becomes generational. 😂

Label for Where It's Going

Instead of just “Kitchen,” try:

KITCHEN — Baking + Mixing Bowls

Put the destination room on every box so anyone helping knows exactly where it belongs, and label at least one side of the box - not just the top - so you can still read it when everything is stacked.

Pack a First-Night Survival Kit

Keep one suitcase or tote with you containing everything you'll need for the first 24-48 hours: medications, toiletries, chargers, clean clothes, pajamas, important documents, snacks, pet supplies, and anything else you'd be furious to discover is buried in Box #73.

Then make an OPEN FIRST box for the house: toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, hand soap, basic tools, scissors/box cutter, cleaning supplies, and coffee supplies.

Because nothing humbles a new homeowner quite like owning a beautiful new bathroom with no toilet paper.

Photograph Before You Disconnect

Take pictures of cords before unplugging electronics and complicated furniture before disassembling it.

Put screws and hardware in labeled zip-top bags and tape them to whatever they belong to.

Future You will be very impressed with Past You.

Keep the Important Stuff With You

IDs, passports, closing paperwork, medications, jewelry, financial documents, and irreplaceable items should travel with you, not in the moving truck.

The last thing we need on closing day is:

“Crystal, I think my driver's license is somewhere in the POD.”

Please don't do this to either of us. 😂

Before You Leave...

Do one last sweep of your old house. Check the closets, cabinets, drawers, attic, garage, shed, dishwasher, washer/dryer, and refrigerator.

There is always one rogue phone charger.

The Big Picture

You don't need your new house perfectly unpacked three days after closing.

Your first goal is simply to be able to find your toothbrush, charge your phone, make coffee, and sleep in your own bed.

Everything else can happen one box at a time.

Pack what you don't need first. Label like Future You is a stranger. Keep the important stuff with you. And whatever you do... know which box has the toilet paper. 📦🔑🎉