With Lesley gearing up to move in the next few months and Boyfriend moving Saturday, I thought I’d share a few of the things we did right during his move, as well as a few things that fell through the cracks. (Also, if I write it down I’ll be able to reference it myself).

The movers he hired were s-l-o-w, but my experience has usually been that the movers need all my stuff right away, whether I’m ready for them or not. I tend to leave “just a couple things” to be done at the end, but it ends up being too much to fit in and so I end up moving a few things myself. I also tend to think I have one “one or two boxes” when I really have, like, ten boxes worth of stuff left to get thrown in. Don’t leave things for that one last box. Unless its a magic box.

This was an in-town move between apartments (I cannot imagine doing cross country or having more than one bedroom), so it doesn’t include things like toothbrushes–that’s outside my realm of experience. These are the things we were glad to have or wished we had during moving day.

So here goes:

Things to leave out at the old place:

Not this exact one, but similar. Smaller and lighter than a drill, so its easier to store where you can grab it and gets light moving out type jobs done fast

• Screwdriver (super essential–you’ll forget to take holders off the wall, realize those curtain tie backs need to come down, and that the legs on the table are screwed on). He used a small electric one, which is easier to tote around than a drill.
• Paper towels and other cleaning supplies, to clean whatever you uncover when you move large items around
• Garbage bags. More than one, since you’ll be pretty sure you got it all, throw out the first one, and realize you need another.
• Small Ziploc bags to put small pieces (like screws or shelf supports) so they don’t disappear.
• Sharpie to label anything you missed.
• Pen and paper to write stuff down, ideally on a clipboard.
• Tape gun so you can close last-minute boxes and tape random things together.
• Some food. We messed this up. Due to the turtle-movers, I was starving by the time we finally left his place. (I had set aside stuff to eat breakfast, but didn’t anticipate lunch).  Along those lines, bottled drinks or a cup so you can still have a drink.
• One or two Very Important BAGS where the above items get stashed. We had a duffel bag with plenty of pockets (screws, ziplocs, writing utensils), a small size tool caddy (for the screwdriver and some other basics) and a cleaning caddy.

On the flip side, most of the stuff above was important, with some key additions. There are also some things you just want to make sure you can find immediately without having to open any boxes:

• A utility knife, to open all those boxes.
• Food. Or at least a plan for where to get some. See above.
• Toilet paper. Or a willingness to find a convenient business if you need to use the facilities.
• Spare blankets or towels. Your movers might be smart enough not to put boxes from the snowy ground outside right on your dining room table. Or not. Instead of stressing about it, cover it up.
• Everything above (except the tape gun. Thank goodness!)

On a side note, Boyfriend now lives half a block from Michael’s. This could be dangerous…

What are your moving must-haves?