I was going to do the 4 types in one post, but it got long. So here’s a series within a series!
Pack to unpack:
Process: Gather like-items, pad them with other items from them that same room/category, and pack them as tightly as possible. Say I’m packing the kitchen. I’d grab kitchen towels/soft placemats/table clothes and accordion the plates into them. I tried to find an image, and can’t upload my own right now. I CANNOT, NO MATTER HOW I COMPRESS OR RESIZE IMAGES, GET THEM TO UPLOAD ANYMORE, AND I’M ABOUT TO MOVE MY BLOG TO A DIFFERENT PLATFORM OVER IT (rant nearly over).
I’m going to attempt a ‘how to make a PBJ sandwich’ type description and pictorial representation out of type to show you:
For clarity I’ll use a standard bath towel in the example. Fold the towel in half (so it’s longer, not in half so that the towel is shorter) and put it on the floor. Lay a plate one on a side of the towel (not directly on the edge __o_______) of the towel and cover it completely with the end 6______. Stack a plate on the other plate (exactly like you do in the cupboard, but the towel is in between the two plates z______). Fold your towel over so it crosses the 2nd plate ____z . Stack the 3rd plate on the stack just like it had been stacked in the cupboard ____E. Fold the towel in the opposite direction again E__. Stack the 4th plate `E_ (there’s nothing on a keyboard with four levels so I used the accent, stay with me conceptually) and fold the remainder of the towel over the top “E. You’ve kept the stack of plates as it was, but weaved towel in-between layers to cushion everything. Put in a Rubbermaid. Then tuck some silverware, spices, and/or utensils (whatever is left) to fill in every nook. Do the same thing for soup bowls and mixing bowls too. I have used this method for all 8? 9? of my moves (when I owned plates, there were more moves where I only had Tupperware bowels for dishes) and NEVER had and cracked/broken/damaged dishes.
25×23 is the largest WordPress would allow????!!!
For cups/glasses/caraffs/vases use other bath towels or softs and do a similar thing, but hold the towel on the edge of the glass and roll it until it’s padded 1 to 2 layers of towel. Start on the opposite end of the towel for the 2nd glass. Add in the middle of you’re not dealing with super-breakables, or just wrap them around each other for extra padding.
What I’m saying: NEVER BUY BUBBLE PACKING. You don’t need newspaper, or even cardboard. Use your soft items to cushion your breakables. And yay! double-packing. You’re wasting money and valuable space if you’re using additional items to pad your belongings.
For your TV and other larger breakables, get your comforters. This last time rather than paying a moving company $100+ for some box made to move televisions, here’s how I packed:
I taped cardboard over the screen with that cheap moving tape that doesn’t really stick, it works by wrapping the tape around and around several times. Then I got a thick comforter and folded it in half. I put it over the top of the TV (just configured normally on my floor) like a taco shell ^. Then I used real tape and really went to town securing the blanket over the TV (just putting tape on the blanket only, nothing on the TV). I moved it in the car like that with no problem, and this last time the movers even took it like that and it wasn’t damaged at all on the other side of the move.
Labeling: Detailed info about what’s in the box on the top, short side, and long side of the box (3 sides). You’ll thank yourself later. +/- a labeler. I had been just writing on small strips of duct tape with sharpie (different color for each subsequent move on ones I didn’t just keep as-is), but you can make it look as nice as you want.
Pros: Easier to unpack. Easier to find necessities. Easier to find things in a stack of boxes. Easier to leave things in boxes that don’t need unpacked right away. Easier for long term storage.
Cons: It can take up more space than the other methods. It can be more time-consuming than the other methods.
Prevention: To me, there’s nothing to prevent, as this is the ideal situation for packing. Just prevent running out of time by starting early. Also if you’re going to move in the future, leave some of the low-necessity items, or rarely used things packed in their box.
I was going to do the 4 types in one post, but it got long. So here’s a series within a series!
Pack for professional movers
Process: Use the aforementioned ‘packing to reduce boxes’ method. Add extra security and padding for careless movers.
If you would normally use, say, one towel to cushion your plates-use 3 for movers. The day-laborers that didn’t work full time for 500 Move, were literally throwing our items inside the 4ft-ish wardrobe boxes. They packed cowboy hats first, threw shoes on top, and dirty rugs over all of it. They do not give a fuck about any of your stuff. They packed small Rubbermaid boxes under enormous ones in the truck or their storage and broke and cracked most of the lids. It almost seemed like they were trying to break things. So really over-do it on padding your items and packing them tightly.
Take 100% of your medications/drugs in the car with you.
To hide plants (they’re forbidden) I put them in the trash can, along with the plunger in a garbage bag, dirty longer yard tools, and awkwardly shaped items, then taped the eff out of the garbage can lid to close it, and crossed my fingers. Really tape that lid on, because the movers will try to take the lid off and tuck it inside the can to make it smaller. Make it a hassle for them to get that garbage can lid off. 3 out of 4 times this absolutely worked and I had movers unknowingly transport my purple prickly pear and my aloe plant. And even when 500 Move Glendale AZ https://www.yelp.com/biz/500-move-glendale kept our stuff for 16 days, the plants DID live!
Spread out your nice things so if one box gets “lost” or things stolen out of it, it’s not 100% of your best things ie don’t put all your electronics in one box.
Surprisingly, some random things were taken by the movers. I had a box of bar soap, shampoo, and the like and little items were taken out. Like 2 of 12 bar soaps. I think they probably take useful, but innocuous items.
On the sides, bottom, and top of Rubbermaid I put old Rolling Stone magazines, envelopes, scratch paper, printer paper, gift bags, wrapping paper, towels–anything to obscure the view of the contents of the box.
I rolled my earrings in a bath towel then packed items on every side of it.
I put my flute in the middle of a comforter that I had cushioning some other stuff.
Signed CDs got folded into winter base layer clothes.
Don’t skimp on tape with movers. I just bought an entire box of colored duct tape and ended up needing a 2nd box. I used unique tape so movers couldn’t just easily re-tape boxes they opened. Also, it kind of marked the year we moved, because there was tape from prior moves.
Labeling:
Movers will take everything apart. For example, clothes racks that we’ve just packed in one piece before were deconstructed into their 6+ components and thrown into boxes.
We have multiple clothes racks so reconstructing them was a time-consuming puzzle. In order to avoid that on the next move I took the clothes racks apart, labeling each piece with a sharpie and tape so I could know what part went to what, and where each piece went. It was like this:
A: L-up
A: top
A: R-up
A: L-side
A: R-side
A: bottom
and I put all small parts in an Rx bottle labeled A
For the 2nd rack:
B: L-up, and so on and so fourth for the six different racks.
This way I could also strategically pack them in separate boxes, and put a metal and a white in one box to easily differentiate if I had to combine them.
I used to always pack to unpack and as such, accurately and clearly labeled all boxes on 3 sides. Amazingly the boxes labeled “computer games” and “Wii” and “household necessities” were the ones that just happened to have a hole ripped in the box, get un-taped, and open up during transit with 500 Move Glendale AZ https://www.yelp.com/biz/500-move-glendale. Really coincidental stuff… So now I hide-pack things I couldn’t take in the car with me. Do NOT label the box. I kept a note on my phone explaining the box each valuable was packed so I could easily find it.
My label-maker? It will do bar codes and QR codes too! So I could explicitly label each box on 3 sides, but it would be unclear to thieving movers. Then on unpacking, you can just scan the codes and see the contents.
Pros: Someone will do the carrying for you! Your stuff will (usually) get there in one trip, so you don’t have to drive back & fourth.
Cons: It’s a lot of trust. Movers can absolutely go through your things-no matter how many times they say they don’t. I had an old wallet in a box, and inside of a hidden pocket was a 2nd car key for just in case. Wouldn’t you know that very car key was at the bottom of that box on arrival? It definitely could not have just fallen out the way the pockets were situated.
It’s a lot more money. It’s so worth it if you are at ALL able to move your own things or get help from family and friends! Whenever we involved movers, it was approximately 40% more expensive, and 1 million percent more stress.
You don’t control the timeline. Forget load and unload dates. Don’t think you can write a date on the calendar and guarantee the movers will drop your belongings off that day. Even narrowing in on a specific time was not a thing, in my four experiences with different moving companies. You will have to be flexible.
There will be a lot of uncertainty, half-hearted communication, and customer service can go out the window once you sign. Movers/trucking is not for the Karens that expect service. The industry is very much in a hurry and to the point and can be straight up criminal.
Prevention: If you can bribe loved ones to help–do that. Take many small trips. Get a storage unit so you can put some stuff in there for a later time. Hire loaders/unloaders, but drive your stuff yourself. Do your research. Check multiple sites for reviews.
I was going to do the 4 types in one post, but it got long. So here’s a series within a series!
Pack to minimize boxes/space
Process: No matter the item, kitchen or clothing, toiletry or workout, you pack things strategically like a puzzle to keep the boxes down and moving footprint small. Basically fill every crevasse. In every glass, I put a couple of socks filled with necklaces. Use your soft things to wrap your breakables (Cools button-down shirts were turned inside out and I rolled all of our glasses into them).
Labeling: In this method labeling is of the utmost importance! If you’re super-duper organized and detailed type the contents of each box in a master inventory. I suggest doing it AS you’re packing, otherwise you’ll forget things. This wasn’t feasible for me, so I bought a label-maker. I could enter the items into it and print out stickers to put on the box.
Pros: It’s good if your current place is tiny, if you have to purchase boxes or a storage unit, or if you’re paying loaders/movers by the box.
Cons: Things can dirty or mix with other things. It’s harder to find things you need when you arrive at the new place.
Prevention: Really, finding family or friends to provide free storage space OR getting rid of a lot are the only ways to avoid this if you’re not in a situation to pay for two places simultaneously. To prevent the need to store boxes in the small place you live you could take many small trips. But for that you need access to the new place (sometimes impossible for renters or if your new house isn’t ready). Congrats and eff you if you can, I’ve never been able to afford that.
Here’s what we did moving from a loft to a house we couldn’t access yet. And where local storage was regularly burgled. We bought a secure, indoor storage unit at Uhaul–OUT of St. Louis at the approximate halfway point between or current and future residences. We made a total of 3 trips from the loft to that storage. Had movers. Then 1 trip to take stuff from that storage to the house.
To prevent items from sullying each other here’s some of the things I did:
Any empty container, say the kitchen airtight pasta and flour containers, got filled with other things. Spillable like shampoo and breakables like vases went in those containers.
To pack the George Forman I tied a garbage bag around it, before wrapping in in a towel to cushion it and putting it all in a box.
I turned clothes inside out before using it to cushion breakables so if there was secret grime it wouldn’t show.
We unfortunately couldn’t afford to just throw away dirties like the plunger. So I tied it in a garbage bag, then tucked it inside the trash can.
I was going to do the 4 types in one post, but it got long. So here’s a series within a series!
There are different ways to pack (who knew?) and one to avoid:
In a hurry, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late:
Process: Entails shoving things closest at hand into boxes because you got behind and it’s go time.
Pros: None. You will hate yourself, hate life, and hate how much stuff you have and how little money.
Cons: Things get lost and/or broke. You WILL run out of boxes. Your stuff may be loose. This actually ends up being more expensive because of the boxes situation, and your stuff will take up a lot of space.
Prevention: This can happen surprisingly early in the packing process, so it’s important to do a little at a time, pretty much as soon as you know are moving.
Or, if you’re a renter it’s a good idea to kind of keep some things packed, or packed-adjacent. For example, when Cool and I were poor renters in small apartments, instead of buying expensive (for us) and heavy furniture we just used Rubbermaid boxes AS furniture. We turned the Rubbermaid on its side and stacked movies (this was long ago) or books inside. I kept our seasonal clothes IN Rubbermaid’s stacked in the closet. Need a table? Rubbermaid.
On the few occasions actual Rubbermaid wouldn’t suffice, we looked for furniture that fit 3 criteria: A) Must be able to be carried (including up stairs) by just the two of us. B) Must fit into the car we had. C) and really wasn’t a choice and was the rule for EVERY purchase we made in that financial situation–must be cheap. Sometimes we had to think outside of the box. Our “couch” was a garden wicker one with body pillows on it, for instance.
Not just like, ‘hmmm, which of my things do I like and what do I want to keep?’ bc ummm, everything???! I’m talking like literally so special/valuable/unique/sentimental that you couldn’t get it again no matter the amount of money.
Find a way to fit these in the vehicle with you! Do not trust these items with anyone else. Seriously.
special/valuable jewelry (especially if it’s small, it’s worth it to just take with you)
urns/ashes
your important documents: SSC, birth certificate, etc…
art (drawings you’ve done, paintings commissioned, etc…)
[for actual valuable art: People who own this probably already have it insured and either know or have a community that knows the best way to move this stuff. I’m referring to cheap but sentimental hand-drawings I did, and a beautiful maine coon painting a coworker did for me, not a Banksy]
Quilts
Scrapbooks
Physical photos (try to get everything into an electronic format so you don’t have to move these)
special clothes like your baby’s first whatever, or your prom dress
antiques
family heirlooms
instruments (though I hid-packed mine bc the car was tight with needfuls, valuables, and cats)
Work computer equipment fell into this category for us on the latest move, just because we were moving far away from physical work locations and didn’t want to deal with it. But we had sent second monitors and computer accessories with the moving company moving to St. Louis where our company was headquartered because it would have been a bit easier to deal around with it when we were right there. That’s a judgement call on your part.
You have to get your own quotes for many reasons, among them: Prices can change over time, as the economy and fuel do. They may vary by season, depend on competition in your area, and also demand for movers/trucks.
The pricing will also consider accessibility of your street, parking lot, building, and unit. Tight lots, long walkways, stairs, far hallways are all more, more, more.
How much stuff do you have, you heavy of stuff do you have, and how breakable of stuff you have.
Move Me movers:
Bound rate
Pack the night before, then next day finish up
[this is what we were told repeatedly, by multiple people but did NOT come to fruition.]
The crew leader will call when they’re on the way.
You will have direct communication to the truck
[I’ve been told this by many companies at time of sale and it has yet to happen. So don’t count on it, but if you do consider yourself lucky.]
3rd party to deconstruct, then build treadmill
No one touches our stuff
[Again, don’t count on this and pack for professional movers-this will be it’s own entry].
$33,300 insurance protection
They use full time movers, not day laborers.
[Surprise this is a thing: Companies such as 500 Move Glendale, AZ https://www.yelp.com/biz/500-move-glendale get helpers (flakes and addicts and undocumented, oh my) off of Craigslist!]
[And we all know get this IN WRITING before signing anything or turning over any money]
DEPOSIT $99
PAYMENTS POSSIBLE-TEXT OF PLANS
CASH/CR/DEBIT-SECURE LINK
Derek:Â business owner’s direct #
[take this stuff w/a grain, bc I guarantee even if they actually give you their contact info, moving companies also know how to avoid you if they want to].
One of the following gals said something rude during the video showing our stuff. And I took that as a red flag. Like, yes transportation/logistics/moving companies are going to be to the point and maybe rough around the edges. And you should be fairly alarmed if you get a sweet talker (likely scam, trying to reel you in). But if someone is willing to be anti-social before you’ve even chosen their company, what will it be like when they have all your money and stuff and there are conflicts??? Anyway, really consider the demeanor of the person you talk to.
UNITED VAN LINES:
Unbuild/build treadmill through a 3rd party
req TV cart is $165 from them (can go to Home Depot and buy one)
[Don’t do this if you don’t absolutely have to. Even if you go with this company, pack your TV with cardboard over the screen and your thickest comforter taped all around it and stick it in your vehicle with you.]
Shuttle fee for smaller truck in lot
[this means they can’t park an 18 wheeler in your apartment’s lot so they get a Uhaul size truck, load it near your building, drive that to their 18 wheeler ginormous truck, and move your stuff (usually without you present) from one to the other].
Carry fees for long carries
[this means they can’t get an 18 wheeler close enough to your building so they have to walk a longer way (deemed by the foreman) in order to load. Some charge an extra surcharge, some do a per foot charge for every extra foot and it adds up quickly. 500 Move Glendale, AZ https://www.yelp.com/biz/500-move-glendale even did this from the apartment’s elevator down the hallway to my door!]
Sidenote: All of these things are pretty standard in the industry. But if you can find better terms-do that.
MAYFLOWER: SONIA MADE APPT
24HR notice to change dates
Affiliated w/united van lines
[Be careful of this too. Many companies are under other ones, they can change names (especially if they ever get into legal trouble), they might even change addresses, and you need to know who you’re dealing with]
Door to door for under 500mi usually [Meaning no storage facility in between. Check the contract tho-verbal promises don’t mean $hit!]
3rd party to take apart treadmill- $50 for appt, then /hr, can put it together too; Mayflower will set up dates
Ended up being: TREADMILL $400 TO TAKE APART, PUT TOGETHER. We ended up calling an actual treadmill professional (only because some of the machine-tightened screws were stripped, and I didn’t have the tools as a renter to remove them). Try to do this yourself, especially the unbuilding. But I think we paid $275 for someone to come in, and they ended up using some scary fire/saw tool to take it apart.
tv w/o original box = $35 box at home depot, $100+ if moving co boxes.
Option 2:Â
smer truck, cheaper to crate, store-takes longer to arrive
She priced our stuff for 51-53 lb, and said it’s probably on the heavy side, but she has 10% leeway.
I don’t know what that means either but it translated to:
Can pay by credit card prior to loading day, must pay by cashier’s check on unloading day.
[Watch the payment type. A lot of these companies (even the legit ones) require payment in formats that aren’t as traceable, protected, or reversable. It’s in your best interest to try to pay with a credit card if you can, even if that means paying earlier.]
Can contact her 7A-7P 7d/wk. [Sure, Jan. For the sale, maybe, but I’m skeptical that would be a thing if any problems arise.]
Decision Time:
After gathering all this info, I took an afternoon to discuss this with my mate and see who we wanted to trust, wishing I didn’t have to trust any of them. It’s a little test to see actually how available the companies are too. Feel free to call or email with follow up questions. Warning signs are you can’t easily talk to someone, or they pressure you, or they are crabby and reluctant to answer questions or explain things. We went with the smaller local company Move Me movers of St. Louis and were 95% happy with their service, and 100% relieved it wasn’t the worst experience of our lives again.
Whether you’re taking your own stuff, or hiring a moving company you need to do some research. At different points Uhaul (2023) and Penske (2015) were the more affordable moving van. Now pods and umove or whatever containers are in play. And with moving companies you need to be on red alert. Those people are just a hair from being actual criminal enterprises. Be skeptical and GET THINGS IN WRITING.
Honestly, I am JUST NOW able to engage with this material. 500 Move of Glendale, AZ https://www.yelp.com/biz/500-move-glendale was so awful of an experience I think I had legit PTSD, and I definitely went into a depression that I’m just now starting to come out of. I did NOT sign their stupid non-disclosure agreement so that I could eventually write all the bad reviews, blog about it, and try another round of going to the authorities. And just now after 2 years, can I even look at this stuff. Please, do your research and take the reviews seriously.
YOU Drive a rented van/truck considerations:
rental price
milage fees
fuel
will you need a storage unit
do you need helpers to load/unload
will you have to rent a dolly, etc, etc (DO NOT BUY PACKING MATERIAL).
Pods:
rental price
do you have a place to legally park the pod [DO NOT ASSUME THIS IS COOL WITH YOUR LANDLORD explicitly check AND get the agreement in writing] or do you have to rent space?
timespan of rental, will you need extra days (on either side of the move)?
milage fees
fuel
storage unit needed (on either or both sides of the move)?
do you need helpers to load/unload
will you have to rent a dolly, etc, etc (DO NOT BUY PACKING MATERIAL).
literally my only “movers” from 500 Move, Glendale, AZ
WordPress is acting a’fool. I can’t put in images. Like, the exact same images that went in fine last week, just glitches this week. Yes, I checked the size. I compressed them. And double compressed. I resized to 800×800. Then 500×500. Still no. I posted on the forum (closest thing I can tell to talking to a person about it). I guess we’re at a stand-off. In the mean time I had to push my Taylor Swift NY Times/CNN commentary because it includes a lot of pictures.
As someone who moves a lot (8 times in the last couple decades, my Aunt tells me) I will share some of the tips and lists that were used to accomplish it. Hopefully after we’ve gone through that WordPress will allow me to use images again…
don’t get too excited, this image was already in the media library
The first thing to do before you start packing
Collect essentials that you will need in the first week on the other side. Why? Because movers don’t give a fu(k! You may be separated from your items for a lot longer than you thought. When 500 Move (Glendale, AZ-never, never, never use them! https://www.yelp.com/biz/500-move-glendale) packed most of our belongings in their moving truck on the 11th they promised (verbally) to have our items to our new state by the date I had written down on the forms. In actuality, they unloaded our stuff into their storage, packed a few more jobs, moved another older lady in, then finally got back to us. They didn’t unload our things until the 27th! They had most of our possessions for 16 days. Trucks can break down. When we moved from Utah to Arizona the moving truck broke down near Las Vegas. And we didn’t have an ETA, but we did have interviews and first days at work coming up quickly. Or, what if you’re the one who gets lost or stranded? Just trust me, have a bed, toiletries, medications, and work items with YOU.
Don’t put them in a backpack or suitcase-we’ll need those later. I use one of those reusable grocery bags. They can tuck nicely around a packed car.
Here’s our list:
meds
Cat food Cat bowl Cat water LB
Pillows Electric blankets Comforter Gym Matts Camping chairs Jammies
Speaker Work laptop Work mouse Laptops Camping chairs Card table
Toilet paper Bath towels Bath mat Shower curtain
Toothbrush Toothpaste Brush Hair ties Glasses case
***disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Consult your doctor ***
DON’T SKIP A DAY OR THERE’S NO MOTIVATION TO CONTINUE
Like Nike says, Just do it. No matter what. 
Even when depressed, even when stressed out or tired. Sometimes the mile was the ONLY thing I did that day, but “it feels good when it’s over.” I never once regretted running.
10 min is literally 1% of my waking day so what excuse do I have to skip it???
15 min max to run a mile (probably less)
______________________________________________
14 hr x 60 min/hr = 840 waking min
Put a reminder on the calendars and on the daily reminders.
Track your progress.
Make time or distance goals to work toward.
Get fit in the gym lose weight in the kitchen is so real. Running daily does not keep a person from getting fat.
Don’t drink until it’s finished so I both don’t forget to complete it, and don’t waste alcohol by sweating/exhaling it out.
If you have a cold/covid/vaccine reaction you can still run. Take it slow, and take small breaks on the quarter mile, or by length, or even every 10 meters. Just get the thing done. 
Also, I promise exhalation, sweating, and moving the joints actually does make you feel a bit better when sick.
On a moving day, do it in the morning–no matter what. Running after packing or driving super-sucks. And anything can happen to bust the timeline on a moving day.
On a road trip a nice run on a side road does a lot to increase energy and decrease boredom.
The treadmill is your friend. It’s assessable and easy.
Intervals are my best friend, especially when I’m out of shape. Slow, fast, slow, fast helps me get it done without dying!
HIIT is way more entertaining on a treadmill. Change your speed and incline all the time and you won’t get bored.
Do the mile at lunch so I’m not tired at the end of the day, and so the end of work is the end of my obligations.
Hydrate. Sweat, salt, sugar, alcohol, etc.. make a person dry and fatigued. Water honestly does pick up your energy, rinse out toxins, and make your skin and organs better.
Take your running clothes and shoes with you. On vacation and stuff you can fit in a mile pretty easily, but you NEED the sneakers.
(I started Daylio in 2018, not running)
Let your friends and family know that you WILL be running, and be prepared to go somewhere weird by yourself to get it done while everyone else is socializing. It’s 15 min max, so the FOMO is only temporary.
I’ve heard anecdotal statements that running neutralizes getting drunk, helps when consuming too much, and cures a hangover. 
There is evidence to suggest that exercise may attenuate the ethanol-induced decline in hepatic mitochondria and accelerates ethanol metabolism by the liver. Exercise training seems to reduce the extent of the oxidative damage caused by ethanol.Â
Have a playlist.
Taking a sponge bath after a run is pretty refreshing and hygienic. Buy the wipes and feel fresh.
Good weather and a safe, scenic trail is a big treat.
All-weather tracks are fucking awesome, and great for timing runs and distances and calibrations.
It’s OK to save the run for after a nap–just don’t forget.
Kit10Phish Explains it all __has moved! https://tinyurl.com/bdad9vdm 
Catty Remarks