The Moving-Day Survival Kit: Niceties and Lifesaving Items
The day I moved in my first home did not go smoothly. I had to drive from Boston to Atlanta, and I had tarried too long with friends in Virginia along the way, not realizing that each RV in the Southeast combined with seemingly infinite construction between Roanoke and Charlotte would generate Phish-concert-caliber traffic.
I spent moving-day eve somewhere Beyond Greenville, South Carolina. After a restless night of worrying about all my most important worldly possessions being stolen in my car in the roadside motel, I got up the following day and with bleary eyes conquer the movers to my home by around 15 minutes, still wearing the same clothing as the day before. Ugh.
Thank God for my sister-in-law, who also happened to be my real estate agent. My sale was her first, and she set the bar high. When I got to the home, there was a very practical plastic bucket full of lifesaving things for me. Every individual moving into a home ought to have one of them. If your Realtor stinks compared to my sister-in-law, place one together for yourself and keep it close for moving day.
InSook Uhm : Century 21 Astro
It is all yours! Move-in day will wipe you out, and you’ll probably be unpacking boxes for times, but this is a happy week. Make sure it remains happy with a couple things which will get you through it. Additionally, make sure you wear shoes with good support the whole period; for some reason I unpacked shoeless for days, and it was a very bad idea.
Lumens
PRIMO Standing Toilet Paper Holder by Blomus – $53.99
What to Put in Your Moving-Day Kit
At least a couple rolls of toilet paper. This is actually the number-one most important thing to include, and you’ll never convince me differently.
Jonathan Adler
Jonathan Adler Uppers Vices – $98
Aspirin and all your medications. This is actually the second-most significant thing to include. I have never been so pleased to see a little packet of aspirin as I was when I unearthed it in the bottom of my skillet. It was a lifesaver. In case you’ve got antianxiety medicine, moving day is a excellent day to take some.
Of course, you are going to want all your medications, significant files, laptop, jewelry and whatever else that’s very significant or of great worth somewhere that you are keeping track of and not with all the movers.
Organize
Stainless Steel Plunger With Holder – $22.99
OK, you have cared for t.p. along with your aches and pains; how significant the remainder of these things are is much more subjective. I’d really like to know exactly what you think is your number-one item, so be sure to voice your view in the Comments section after.
Toilet plunger. If you have only 1 bathroom, this is extremely important. The more baths you have, the less crucial a plunger will be for move-in day.
Speck
SmartFlex Card to get – $34.95
Money. You ought to tip your movers, unless they call you “baby girl” or “Lady” through the whole move, and talk on the telephone in the cab of this loudly running semi truck all day while charging by the hour. In fact, I believe I wound up tipping that guy too, because he knew where I lived.
Amazon
Leatherman New Wave Multitool With Leather/Nylon Combination Sheath – $59.92
Leatherman knife. While having the whole arsenal handy will be great, there are only so many things you are able to fit into the move-in-day survival kit, along with a Leatherman or Swiss Army knifewill fit in a pocket.
It is great for starting boxes, placing small pieces of furniture together and, most significant, opening that bottle of wine you are saving for when the movers leave. If you don’t think you’ll be organized enough to have a Leatherman convenient, make sure you’ve got a box cutter and a box of wine.
The Container Store
Flings Pop-Up Trash Bin, Gingham – $3.99
Waste luggage. You are likely to want the big, sturdy yard trash bags as well as the clear recycling bags.
For all those of you who still afford to be on the ball through proceeding chaos, look up what’s recyclable locally before your trip so you can make certain to recycle all your packing materials, or coordinate with someone else who’s going to proceed to come pick up your boxes, Bubble Wrap and tissue paper when you are done.
Engineer Your Space
Cable Management
Power strip and cell phone charger. The power strip will probably be convenient because you’ll probably clear one small area to keep chaos at bay and end up plugging in lots of different things, like lamps, a laptop, your iPod dock plus much more.
Shoshana Gosselin
Toothpaste and a toothbrush. Actually, expand this. You need to pack a weekend overnight bag and Dopp kit for yourself, such as shampoo, soap, deodorant, a wig and whatever else you’d need for two to three days off.
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day
Lemon Verbena All Purpose Cleaner – $7.99
All-purpose cleaner, Clorox wipes along with a roll of paper towels. Hopefully, move-in day won’t be a big cleaning day. Superior sellers are going to have your house thoroughly scoured for you then, but you’ll want to be prepared if they’re bad vendors. (Do not allow it to come to this, however; if you are moving from out of town, have your Realtor range it out and allow you to find some cleanup help before the moving truck ever brings up)
No matter what, you are going to want to give the bathroom a cleanup, and some of your furniture might be dusty and possess a cobweb or 2 as it comes from the truck. An all-purpose cleaner and paper towels must be enough to tide you over.
Pottery Barn
Galvanized Metal 6-Pack Bottle Caddy – $29.50
Bottled water and granola bars. You are not likely to remember to eat till you’re extremely hungry. Have some instant snacks around for sustenance till you can get a meal together, and by “collectively,” I mean “delivered.”
Ideally you would have paper plates and plastic utensils at the ready, but you can certainly do with what comes with all the food, your Leatherman knife and this roll of paper towels I already told you to bring.
Rebekah Zaveloff | KitchenLab
Local restaurant menus and telephone numbers. Do some Yelping around and figure out what restaurants provide or find a fantastic local delivery service, because you will feel dirty and exhausted by the time you get around to foraging for food.
Best Made Company
Metal First Aid Kit, Small – $48
Bandages. As a complete first aid kit is great for overachievers, soap, water, paper towels and a box of bandages should look after any move-in mishaps. Otherwise, you should probably visit Urgent Care anyway. Also keep in mind that a couple of cars arrive with first aid kits weirdly hidden in the backseat armrest. I remembered for the very first time in eight years which mine has got one.
Brook Farm General Store
Postalco Notebooks – $14
Notepad and pencil. Moving day is a time when lots of to-do lists are created, new numbers are learned and names of acquaintances that have stopped by and introduced themselves are scribbled down before they fly from the mind. I realize that lots of tech-savvy folks and young whippersnappers do all this on their telephones, but I think in the usefulness of paper and pencil.
Crate&Barrel
Scented Candle, Fresh Cut Grass – $29.95
One thing to freshen the air. Whether you prefer a Glade plug-in, a bottle of Febreze or a fancy candle, even the cleanest house in the world will smell a little musty if it has been shut up for awhile. Get your own favorite scent wafting through the air.
Design Public
Jonas Damon Flashlight – $48
Flashlight. This will be convenient at night as well as for checking out your new crawl space or some other dark corners. Talking of light, make sure to pack a few added batteries, a couple lightbulbs and a nightlight which will help steer you to the bathroom in this foreign place.
CB2
Cardboard Storage Trunk – $24.95
Bonus Activities
Unpack specific boxes. Hopefully, you have tagged everything nicely and the movers are placing the right boxes in the right rooms. While they’re, watch as a hawk for valuables and bathroom stuff. The moment a bed is constructed and you have found the sheets, then make a bed up. By the time you get to fall into it, you are going to be way too exhausted to place the sheets on.
Additionally, unpacking the kitchen is a huge achievement that will make life out of here look a whole lot more normal. The moment you’ve got your own toaster oven, coffeemaker, blender and other appliances prepared, you’ll feel like you can do your very first big grocery shop and begin preparing foods which don’t arrive in Styrofoam containers.
See Jane Work
Kate Spade Long Listing Candles – $9
Be nice to your own buyers. Conversely, if you’re moving from a place, attempt to create the moving process enjoyable for the new owners, unless they had been jerks in the final — well, even then, consider the high road. Make the place pristine, leave a welcome note, organize instruction manuals for any appliances they’re inheriting from you, leave the names of service suppliers you advocate and the numbers of a few fantastic food delivery places (or if they were jerks in the final, simply leave them with the number of the so-so spots). These motions will maintain your moving karma clean so that all will go well on your end.
What did you overlook? Please discuss your moving-day must-haves in the Remarks.