July 9, 2007
From the desk of Jane Galt:Open moving thread
I've finally found an apartment. As of August 1st, for the first time since last November, I will have a space to call my own.
Now, of course, my mind is all abuzz with things to do. Activate the cable. Stock basic groceries. Window treatments! Pack my winter clothes! Get my Bose sounddock fixed so I'll have music to listen to while unpacking.
So I thought I'd open up a thread for my readers to offer moving advice. Since I know I have readers from the military (past and present), I'm pretty sure there's a lot of collective experience out there.
Posted by Jane Galt at July 9, 2007 9:41 AM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound links"); ?>If you have a choice of cable, go for one of Verizon's bundled FiOS packages.
Posted by: tolbert on July 9, 2007 9:54 AMRemember how I went to college in California? I packed and shipped a half dozen times. I think it's why I've lived in the same place for a dozen years now, I just can't take moving anymore.
Depends what you are packing and whether you are shipping long-haul or short haul. Are you paying movers or are you doing it yourself?
Here are my little pieces of advice:
1. Is your goal to minimize boxes or is your goal to unpack quickly? You can't do both.
If it is minimize boxes then pack your dishes in your clothing as opposed to wrapping breakables in bubble wrap and peanuts. Better for the environment and you get two things into one box.
If your goal is to unpack quickly, buy bubble wrap and that foam stuff that goes between plates and don't worry about light boxes. Pack according to room and, even better, the place stored (all clothing would be in the bedroom, dresser or closet).
2. Label EVERYTHING:
Seriously, if the box contains your tools, an old shirt, non-perishable food items, a toaster and an old flower pot, write it on the box. If you can possibly label what room it goes in, do that. If you can specify it down to Bedroom/Dresser/Top Drawer do that.
3. If you're not shipping anything and are moving yourself get some of that plastic wrap stuff, remove the drawers from your dressers with the clothes still in them, wrap it in that plastic stuff and don't bother with packing and unpacking it. All you have to do when you get to your destination is unwrap the drawer and slide it in.
4. See if you can get your friends to help for just one part of the moving experience. For example, I will not actually physically move things, but I am an expert packer and am happy to pack. I'm less good at unpacking although still willing to help. Some friends hate the packing but don't mind being physical labor or company. Take advantage of friendships. It's what they are there for.
5. For books, smaller boxes tend to be better.
Posted by: Kate on July 9, 2007 10:36 AMBut don't take too much advantage of your friendships. I did that last time I moved and it was not appreciated. You can pay strangers a reasonable sum of money to carry things for you.
Posted by: Lane on July 9, 2007 10:44 AMCongratulations! This is the best thing ever. It's the "plastic wrap stuff" that Kate mentioned above. It will change your life.
Posted by: Becks on July 9, 2007 10:47 AMI should note that I am paying movers, and all my stuff at the New York end is already packed and in storage. So worry not, Lane . . . your hauling services will not be needed. All I require from my friends is a committment to attend the housewarming and admire my choice of window treatments.
Posted by: Jane Galt on July 9, 2007 10:54 AMLabel boxes and DATE them - which will give you an incentive to get rid of unopened boxes in a year or 2. Remember my yard sale photos?
I love the plastic wrap stuff.
Posted by: Michael Tinkler on July 9, 2007 11:01 AMheh, well, I'm going to say 'need more info' [surprized? no-one else is...]
for some odd reason I was assuming you had already packed, prolly because of the "see Jane in computer-hell thread" where you couldn't get your OS discs...
many things depend on where you are moving from/to...
if you are on the third floor of a walkup, and going to the second floor of a converted victorian, that is far different than going from a 10th floor w/ elevator to a modern second floor walkup...
the best advice I can give from a long line of moving company owners [sadly not incl. moi] is to get every possible thing in what is known as a book box. 16"X12"X12" box. holds many things and is difficult to make too heavy. Also, a stack of these on a hand truck is very easy to manuver and get up and down flights of stairs.
Avoid dishpacks. They are usually too heavy and I have seen the box collapse when mishandled. It is a large box with specific smaller slots for various types of dishes, cups and so forth. It is by far better to use the smaller boxes and separate the groups of dishes and glasses and so on, into various smaller boxes.
USE BUBBLEWRAP!!! do not use clothes! Closthes are nice and soft but bubblewrap is designed to dissipate force, and absorb drops.
Also? can be used over and over and over and over. Really. Just roll it up and store it when done. Use it to pack gifts, help other people move and so on, perhaps even if you move again.
Consider taking 4 of these small boxes and filling them with everything you cannot live with out and/or irreplacable objects, and driving them down in the car. It's kinda like carryon luggage... for when they lose your suitcases.
There is tons and tons more, based on your situation, just use your head. If a box feels too heavy? It is. If a box feels too flimsy? It is. Don't skimp on boxes, because this is your stuff. DON'T EVER USE FRUIT BOXES... unless you want your new place overrun with interesting critters. I generally buy good boxes and then break them down and re-use them several times... Intesrestingly I still have boxes from when I moved my mom from Taos to Albuq, 20 odd years ago. How's that for re-use?
Tip your driver and his crew well, buy 'em food if they don't accept tips... you want them to not JUST do a professional job, but to treat this stuff like it was their mothers...
best of luck, as always...
D
ooops, while I was maundereing on, you posted, and my advice is a next time kinda thing...
make sure you do the checkoff sheet with the mover upon delivery... make sure al damage is noted, and use a camera to document...
and keep all the boxes, so you don't have to spend money on them ever again...
btw, saying you'll never move again is a definite way of making the moving gods transfer you to timbuktu...
Posted by: D on July 9, 2007 11:25 AMBuy an extremely good bottle of sparkling wine to consume the evening after the first day's unpacking. One must be civilized in these affairs.
Posted by: Will Allen on July 9, 2007 11:30 AMPeople, I'm disappointed. Where are the voices complaining that JG is daft to even contemplate moving? This thread should, surely, have become a battle to change her mind or persuade her of the error of her ways? C'mon, there are standards to maintain folks.
Posted by: Alex on July 9, 2007 11:31 AMGood point Alex, I think this is just further evidence that she's becoming a mouthpiece for the liberal intelligencia!
BTW...no housewarming the weekend of August 10, I have to go to my cousin's wedding.
Posted by: Kate on July 9, 2007 12:00 PMThe housewarming will almost certainly be on the 24th or 25th of August. I do have to unpack, you know. And pick window treatments!
Posted by: Jane Galt on July 9, 2007 12:06 PMDon't forget shelf liner for the kitchen cabinets. Lining or replacing the existing shelf liner always makes me feel like the kitchen is mine.
Set up the bed and bedroom first. Being able to sleep comfortably in your own place makes the rest of the unpacking much more bearable.
Order dinner delivered the first night. Don't add the pressure of finding a place to eat in the new neighborhood, or of cooking to that first day.
Don't push yourself to get a lot done the actual day of the move. Moving itself is quite enough for one day.
I've realized typing this out that I know lots more stuff for making cats and dogs feel at home that first night in a new place than I do for people, but the basics aren't that different.
If you haven't already picked an internet provider, ask new neighbors what services they know from experience actually work where you are. DSL in particular is very location specific, just because someone a block down has it and is happy with it is no guarantee that it can be made to work for you. Apartment managers either don't know or will generally lie when asked, as far as they know almost everything is available and will work. If your apartment is or was ever wired for an alarm system make sure that installation won't interfere, it will be using either your cable or phone lines and could possibly break DSL or cable internet over the same lines, or at least cause great grief at installation. (Building security systems like a camera or a buzzer to let folks in can do the same thing.)
If there is an alarm keypad installed, find out how to disable the alarm if it goes off. I had one go off late at night once when I had never even signed up for the service. Which meant I had no passcode to turn it back off. After much phone tag while listening to an extremely loud siren, I finally learned that there was a plug in another room to pull. Find this out in advance.
Posted by: Thomas Stewart on July 9, 2007 4:52 PMRent a truck at least 30% bigger than what you think you need. Move everything at once. Provide beer and pizza to your friends.
Posted by: Eric H on July 9, 2007 9:31 PMNow that you have everything packed, when you go to unpack, you should leave books that you already have read and don't reference much packed or just go ahead and donate/sell. Same for CDs..once you ripped them, leave them packed.
Toilet paper, shower curtain and a towel are things to make sure you have handy and out the if you don't plan on unpacking the first night.
If you get the keys ahead of time, i would get the spares made immediately and distribute where needed
Posted by: joe on July 10, 2007 9:53 AMLeave the books you already have read packed or don't reference much. Or just go ahead and sell/donate them. Same for CDs you have already ripped
If you are not going to unpack that first night, make sure you have toilet paper, towel and shower curtain handy as well other essentials for eating/cleaning up.
If you get the keys early or have time to kill before movers show up, make the spare keys and distribute accordingly
Posted by: dihydrox on July 10, 2007 9:56 AMSince your stuff is already packed and in storage, you need one or two people to help you during the offloading. Someone MUST be outside near the truck with the inventory sheet so you can check off the tag number of each box as it is offloaded. Someone needs to be inside to direct where the box goes. When directing where boxes go, make sure room is left for the furniture. Whether boxes or furniture comes off first depends on how it is packed on the truck. Likely it will be a mixture. The more the movers can do for you, the less you will have to do yourself. For instance, getting each box into the room where its contents belong saves you from moving the box later when you get to the unpacking.
If the movers are also unpacking, then you need two people inside, because there will likely be two unpackers and one box mover.
I could tailor my advice more if I knew exactly what the movers are going to be doing.
Posted by: Rex on July 10, 2007 4:22 PMI have to disagree with tolbert. I really like RCN for your cable, internet, phone. They are generally cheaper and have much better customer service than either Verizon or Comcast, which based on your Sony experience is something you're looking for in a company.
Also, I would suggest the following restaurants for good takeout in the neighborhood, to help before you get your kitchen set up:
Thaiphoon on S street
City Lights of China on Conn Ave
Zorbas on 20th near Conn Ave
It's really handy if you can move books without taking them out of the bookcase.
I did that once in Chicago, with some sturdy, unfinished 3'x1'x1' bookcases. Just popped them on end, on a hand truck, and wheeled them to the new place. But then, I was only moving down one elevator, to the building next door, and up an elevator.
I've often thought similar bookcases should be sold with removable locking lids or some other mechanism to keep the contents in place during moves.
Having just bought a place in DC and moved about 2 weeks ago, my primary advice is to have a big bag of clothes, toilet paper, toothbrush, pillow, blanket, towel etc. so that the 1st night in the new place you have everything you might need readily accessible. I forgot, of all things, a blanket and I had to be out of my old place on the 1st of July, but my movers weren't able to deliver until the 3rd (stupid condo rules). So I carefully had the truck packed so I could grab the futon mattress and had my bag of stuff, lay down to bed and realized I had no blanket. I had to use the curtain as I realized this too late to hit Target.
Also, RCN is WAY cheaper!! I just switched from Comcast to RCN and I get every cable channel they offer including HD, 5mb internet for 60 less than the premium digital cable package from Comcast!
Robert's comments suggest you're in Dupont. Welcome to the neighborhood!
Posted by: Tom D on July 11, 2007 4:20 PMMy advice is to take a sabbatical in flyover country. Your information has become too asymmetrical.
Posted by: Brett on July 15, 2007 10:11 AM