Whether it’s down the street or across the country, picking up and moving is no easy task. Moving can be stressful and exciting all at the same time! Staying organized, making lists, and planning ahead will make the process a whole lot smoother to manage. As you make your way from one home to the next in Atlanta, be sure to pack smart to save yourself some time and hair-tearing-out once it comes time to relocate.

1. Let it Go

Before you pack anything: downsize, downsize, downsize. Take a week or two prior to the serious packing and make piles for donating or reselling for outdated outfits, books piled on the shelves and things crammed in the extra closets. It will be hard AND it will feel good to let go! The less you have to move, the less you have to move!

2. Size Matters

It may seem smart to find the largest boxes you can, but this could prove more back-breaking than beneficial, especially if you’re the one doing all the heavy lifting, so consider your needs before you start the packing process. If you were raised in the Tabler family, you don’t buy boxes because it’s against your frugal beliefs. The budget-savvy movers know to crowdsource a slew of boxes rather than to pay for them. So ask your local liquor store for wine boxes – even the wine inserts come in handy! Ask your token friend who works at Chic-fil-a (you know we all have one!) for a bunch of their fry boxes. And if you’re the one doing the heavy lifting, you’ll want these sizes for all the heavy things, books especially! In the future, keep the bags your comforters, blankets, and sheets come in – there’s only one bag that’s a perfect fit for those items!

Extra pro tip: Make picking up and lifting heavy boxes a little easier by cutting an upside down triangle in two sides of the box with a utility knife. Also, if you’ve got em, use rolling suitcases for heavy items like books. 

3. Neon is back

Packing is a tedious job! Writing and labeling every box is something you will have to do over and over and over and over again. Plan ahead and print out brightly colored labels. Then you can just slap them on to identify each box as you go room by room. It will also be much easier to pinpoint a box – you can see them from across the room! Instead of writing on each label, consider making a moving key. This way you can use the label without having to write on each one, or you can write the contents on each label instead of the room the box goes.

4. Paper plates & Padding

Place stuffed animals, pillows, sheets, blankets and other soft items in trash bags and use them as padding next to fragile items in a box or in the truck. Safely pack and move plates, bowls and other breakable table ware items by placing a paper plate or bowl in between each item to prevent them from chipping or breaking. This can save you the money you may spend on bubble wrap!

5. Post-it Up

Make a packing supplies basket of all the things you need for packing – packing tape, labels, scissors, sharpies, baggies, utility knife, and a screwdriver. This way you can carry it around with you and have everything at your fingertips! For screws or pieces of the furniture you’re disassembling, place them in a ziploc baggie, label them and tape them to the corresponding furniture. Now it will be a breeze to put them back together in the new home!

6. Think Like a Russian Nesting Doll

Pack purses within purses, food storage containers within other kitchen containers, shot glasses within coffee mugs – you get the picture. Leave lightweight items in dresser drawers – no sense in unpacking them since they aren’t heavy enough to affect the moving process.

7. It’s a (Plastic) Wrap

Corkboards pinned with photos and memories? Armoire with lots of drawers? Silverware tray full in your drawer? No need to pack up your forks and knives! Take a roll of saran wrap and enclose these items to keep drawers closed or smaller items in their intended container.

8. Egg-ceptionally cheap

What’s the best way to pack jewelry? Use egg cartons to store and protect small pieces of jewelry like earrings, rings and bracelets. To keep your necklaces from getting tangled or knotted, connect the necklaces through a toilet paper roll. This is also great for a short trip!

9. Double Up

If you’re like me, you have a closet somewhere in your house with old sheets and blankets. Hate seeing your mattress – that thing your head touches every night – get dirty? Use those fitted sheets to protect your mattress on moving day! Put one on just like normal, and then place another one on the bottom side for complete coverage. This will keep dirt and debris off of your mattresses in the moving process.

10. Pack a First-Night Box

Chances are, you aren’t going to be able to unpack and organize your new home the day of the move. Pack a labeled box with all of your first night essentials and load it last so it’s the first thing out of the car or truck. You know essentials like – toilet paper, medications, pet supplies, disposable plates, cups and utensils and of course SNACKS, WINE and COFFEE are the essentialist essentials!