Things I Learned from Moving and a tour of our New Place

I HATE moving!!! Where my haters at?? The process is so stressful and tedious and expensive one way or another its no wonder hiring a moving company can cost an arm and a leg and maybe even an eye lol! Our lease at our previous address was over July 1st and we had planned to do a few more months but our landlords had other plans for their son to move in so we were forced to find a short-term place (less than a year hopefully) until we are able to purchase our forever home. We had in mind the place my husband and I lived in our BC days.. (Before Children, that is lol) and luckily they has one opening just in time for us to move in! They are luxury townhouses and we LOVE being here!! It is a gated community, with a pool, playground, gym, lounge, and its very family oriented. The kids are over the moon about being here because of the amenities of course.
Our moving experience definitely taught me a few things though and I would love to share some tips that will hopefully help anyone else out there who may be moving.

1. Plan Ahead
We had about 2 months notice to find a place and plan our move. We had to quickly find a place and begin making calls to see if there was availability, we also called our utilities and notified them of our move-out date and the post office was notified of our new address and transfer date. This way, everything was ready in time for us without having to worry about it while moving. Ask friends in advance if they could hep with the move, the more strong hands you have that day, the faster it will go! We had my mom watch the kids for us overnight and we had help from my uncle, cousin, and mother-in-law. We were unable to rent a truck but luckily borrowed a pick-up and flat trailer from an aunt. We did our whole move loading up the truck beds, cars, and trailer.

2. Start Saving
If you are fortunate enough to have a bit of an advance notice, start saving for your moving expenses. Consider whether you will be moving yourselves, or hiring a company, gas, truck rentals, tips for any help you get, money for fast food for a day or two while you settle in, groceries, Deposits and first month's rent, and packing materials. 

3. Use a box numbering system
Instead of labeling everything on the sides of the boxes, assign them a number and keep a paper where you list in detail all the items you place in that coordinating box number. This way, if you need to find something specific, you can look on your sheet to find which box it is in. Also, use color codes for each room it belongs in, for example, red=kitchen, blue=living room, etc.  

 

4. Pack away decor in advance
I began packing about a month and a half in advance beginning with things I knew I wouldn't need immediately such as decor. I got free boxes from local stores and my father-in-law's work. I asked family to save newspapers so that I can use them for packing delicate items.

5. Keep your plastic grocery bags!
When it comes to moving food and other small items from your kitchen or even other parts of your home, these are very handy to have!

Using re-useable bags to carry small appliances  and other items is great too!

6. Use kitchen trash bags to move your clothes from the closet
Turn the bag upside down, cut a slit in the middle (on the sealed part), and feed about 6-10 hanger hooks through the hole (with the clothes still hung on them. The tie the drawstring closed, this helps to keep the clothes together and easily hangs right up in your new place.

7. Have a "First night" box ready
Pick a box and fill with your immediate essentials. A couple bath towels, coffee maker and cups and the like, a bar of soap, shampoo and conditioner and other basic toiletries, toilet paper, pjs and an outfit for the next day, and any other items you may want to have on hand right away. You definitely don't wanna be stuck without something to wipe your bum should the urge occur know what I'm sayin? 

8. As tired as you might be, try to get as much done as quickly as possible in the first day
This isn't to say you should forget about sleep and stay up all night unpacking, but try not to take more than a 15 minute break here and there and don't forget to HYDRATE!! We moved in the heat of summer in the desert no less, and water was DESPERATELY needed! Moving heavy things in the heat Will make you sweat like a sinner in church! Just saying...

9. If you really want to get done fast, Have one person stay at the new place unpacking
I was fortunate enough to stay behind after a few runs and start unpacking. This really helped get everything done quickly and made it feel like home faster. This isn't NECESSARY but if you can do it, go for it!

10. If your new place is a downsize or temporary, live minimalistically!! 
In our case, it's both. We are not hanging anything on the walls and the very few things we will hang will be done with command hooks so that we don't do any damage to the walls. We kept a lot of decor in boxes/storage, and took out only a few things that fit where they could.

                                                             And now...The tour!!

 This is the dining area. We squeezed in our portable fireplace and entry table.

I made these mason jars right before we moved.. I was on a bit of a crafting spree almost like a pregnant mother nesting like the apocalypse!

This is the only view you will see of my sofas because I am so embarrassed of them, they are in terrible condition and we plan to replace them as soon as we have funds.

This is my relaxing corner of the living room. My late grandparents chair and a wooden crate filled with magazines and books.

this is my son's bedroom..not very thrilling and not very organized lol

my daughter's bedroom...she had her cousin over.

this is the master bedroom tour.

This is the master bath

I apologize for the bed photos :/

This is the guest bath.

This is the Kitchen.

And here's a shot of us chillin on a VERY HOT day in the pool and at the playground!

We really do love our place and will enjoy every minute while The Lord has us here. We have been truly blessed and now He has great plans for us! It was just stressful being in "Limbo" and not knowing what was ahead of us but we have really learned to trust in God through the fog and He has never failed to provide for us even in our darkest times. I hope these tips help any of you or encourage you if you plan to move and I hope you enjoyed the little tour! :)

**If you would like to see tons of ideas on how to decorate rentals, check out my board on Pinterest labeled  "Portable design for the renter"