Moving without Movers (and keeping your sanity!) Part 2:

If you missed Part 1, you can find it here.  We talked about packing up all of your decorative items.

Part 2 consists of the main packing--your 'everyday' items.  Please--please--do not pack things you don't love or use anymore!  Moving is the absolute perfect time to purge your stuff.  Don't box it up, load it up, unload it, unpack it...and then still never use it!  Sell it--or better yet--donate it!

I like to have a donation box right by the door and as I come across things we no longer need or use--and I put them directly into the box.  Then the next time I leave the house, I drop it off at the local thrift store.  It feels good to think about moving one LESS box!

So--back to packing:

Obviously you'll need to be ready to load your rental truck on the date you reserve it...but how do you get from 'everything is unpacked' to 'everything is packed' when you still need to use things?

Simple: pack a suitcase like you're going on vacation.

Pack your toiletries, vitamins/medicine, clothes, the book you're reading, a couple of pairs of shoes, jacket/sweater (depending on the season), towel & washcloth, cell phone charger, laptop, etc.

These will be your 'everyday' supplies.

Now you're free to pack everything else!  {Obviously a suitcase is needed for each member of the family and their own personal belongings will go into it.  Don't forget the kids' favorite books and stuffed animals!}

I'm sure you're probably thinking "But what about the kitchen?  Food, dishes, etc!"

Here is my little secret to packing up the kitchen items days before you're ready to move out: camping supplies.  

We use 'real dishes' for camping, which are nice and neatly contained in a plastic tub.  As I pack all of the dishes in our kitchen, we'll still have silverwear, cups, plates, and bowls available in our easy-to-access camping tub!

If you don't have camping supplies, just create a 'mock tub' and put a single set of dishes for each member of the family in the designated box or tub, so you can access it easily and it doesn't accidentally get boxed up and piled underneath a lot of other stuff.

You can do the same thing with food.  Pack a few days' worth into a separate box and leave it accessible.  Then you're free to pack up all of the remaining food items and you'll only have one box of food to toss into the truck at the very end!

It may feel a little weird to 'live' out of a suitcase in your own home for a few days (or a week!), but trust me--it will make the packing phase a little easier--and you don't have to wait until the entire last minute to pack the majority of your things.  No pulling 'all-nighters' to pack while your kids sleep...only to be exhausted for the entire moving process.  Especially if you're renting and driving a big moving truck--you want to be as well-rested as possible!

Hopefully this will help you with your next move without movers!

Here are a few more packing tips & tricks:

• Put drinking glasses inside old socks and gently stack inside boxes
• Use kitchen and bath towels to wrap around plates, bowls, and dishes
• Keep untensils inside the organizer (if you have one), wrapped in a towel
• Don't get a full load of groceries right before you move!
• Use 'dead space' to pack things: inside the toaster oven, microwave, etc
• Keep clothing in your dresser drawers while moving (remove drawers to carry the dresser, then replace the drawers once it's loaded in the truck)
• Keep hung clothing on hangers, simply slip a garbage bag over them (from the bottom up-- and tie around the top of the hangers)
• Use a comforter to wrap around the tv and place it on a seat in a vehicle (if you don't have a box to pack it in)

And--last, but not least:  

If you have young children--an empty box and lots of crayons--can provide hours of entertainment for them (while you pack)!