Organizing for a move: Tips and Tricks

You're preparing to move and packing up all of your belongings, but - wait - where did you put kitchen supplies, again? Which box is bedding in? Organizing as you go can help minimize any stress and make it easy to find exactly what you're looking for when you arrive at your new home. Try these tips and tricks for keeping things straight and simplifying your move:

Color coding

Remember picking out matching colored notebooks and folders for different subjects in middle school? It's time to relive your younger years, because picking shades to represent various categories of home goods is an easy and inexpensive way to create visual distinction among a plethora of objects. Start by picking up several rolls of colored duct or masking tape and determining a hue for every area in your house. As you pack each box, secure or mark it with a strip of the appropriately-shaded tape. You'll still want to write a brief description of each box's contents on its side, but the color-coding makes scanning a large number of boxes more efficient and quicker than gazing over a sea of monochromatic lettering.

Clear containers

Regardless of the boxes or containers you use, color coding is an easy and efficient way to distinguish things. Of course, there may be times when you forget to mark specific items, which is why using see-through containers can really come in handy. You'll still want to utilize the color-coded taping system and labeling, but the extra visual can help mitigate frustration in situations in which you're looking for something specific. The great thing about clear containers is that they're versatile and durable, and can be repurposed for storage in your new home. Compare this to traditional boxes, which provide less support and usually are single-use.

Make a list

It might seem obvious to a moving checklist, but you should definitely write one for packing as well. Taking a few extra minutes to itemize your boxes can make the unpacking process - or finding something mid-move - a breeze. As you load up your belongings, assign each container the appropriately-colored label and a number, jot down a few of the objects inside, and type up a more detailed itemized list. Using this numeric system is the ultimate in organization - you can look at your collection of boxes to find the right category, then seek out the one with the corresponding number to anything you might need.