Fabulous Friday is a way to recap the week and give you some frugal tips for the weekend. I have a friend who’s moving soon, I thought you might enjoy a few of the tips I passed along to her. Please share what you’re up to this weekend! Molly

Most everyone I’ve met (including myself) associates the word “moving” with “mountain.” It can be a huge and overwhelming task but with a few organizing tips and some friends to help you, you may just survive (I did!). See what guest blogger, The FlyLady has to say about moving.
Packing Supplies

For every recipe, you need a list of ingredients. So think about what you are going to use for the job of moving:

Boxes: These can be purchased at a moving supply company (check your yellow pages). They may also sell used boxes at a reduced rate. You can also go to liquor stores for their boxes. Keep in mind that you do not need to get huge boxes, because they will be too hard to lift when filled. Keep them at a manageable size.
Packing Tape: Be sure and get plenty of tape to seal the box top flaps. It is not that expensive, and it is worth having enough so you don’t have to stop and run out to buy more. Also, get the dispensers to hold the tape, and have more than one if there will be more people helping pack.
Scissors: If you don’t get the dispensers, you will need scissors. Just remember: scissors can be hard to keep up with while you are packing!
Garbage bags: Preferably, the kind that you can see through, that way you will not have to reopen the bags to see if it is trash or something you packed that would not fit in a box. Get very strong ones. Mark them with colored ribbons for code.
Colored Magic Markers: I use colored ones so I can give each room a different color, and that way, when we are unloading the truck, all I have to say is: “Yellow boxes go in the kitchen, green in the bedroom, purple in the living room,” etc. Then you can post the color of boxes over the top of the doorway to that room. Colored ribbon works great to tie around the garbage bags; stickers and markers usually don’t work because they either fall off or you can’t see them. Clothes are usually in these bags, so raid your sewing stash for old ribbon or your Christmas stash for Christmas ribbon. It is cheap and easy to recognize. Decide ahead of time what your color codes are going to be and put those supplies in the room. Just don’t label all the boxes “Misc.” or “Stuff” and “More Stuff”! You can also give the boxes a number and put the contents of that box on your notepad, so you can find where the item is without tearing open each and every box — and creating even more CHAOS! As far as labeling the boxes, if you start packing up the things that you will not need, and start at one and label in ascending order, you will know that the boxes with the lowest numbers can be unpacked last. The higher-numbered boxes are the ones with the stuff you use the most.
Newspapers: This is for packing your dishes and other breakable items. You can never have enough newspapers. Go to the recycle bins and get some. You may have to ask permission!

Getting the House Ready to Sell
Remove the Clutter

Now, let’s talk about getting the house ready to sell. This is usually a precursor to the big move. Right now you are so overwhelmed with the clutter you don’t know were to start.

This may sound like a drastic move, but if you can afford it, order a dumpster. It will give you place to toss things. Or, you can call for daily pick up from the area thrift/charities stores. You just have to get the stuff you don’t need or want out of your house as fast as you can.

If you run around like your head is cut off, you are not going to accomplish anything. Just start in one room. You can even start to pack up the stuff you will not be needing at the same time. Pick up an item and ask yourself:

Are you worth moving?
Do I love you enough to go to all this trouble and expense to pack you up?

You are going to be so surprised at how much stuff you can actually do without. This is the key to getting the house ready to put on the market. Once you get rid of the clutter that is making your home too small, you may not even have to sell! This has happened.

Only keep the stuff you absolutely love and use regularly.

Get rid of all the clothes you don’t wear, too.
Beginning to Pack

Now, back to packing. If you will take your time and not be rushed about this, you will do a more efficient job and not be so stressed out. Do not make yourself sick over this, because it’s not worth it. Slow and steady wins the race, remember?

If you have plenty of time to prepare for the move, you can have everything labeled and ready to load on the truck all before the final day — no stress and no worry. Also, you will be able to find things when you get to your new home. Take BabySteps and each day pack up five boxes and keep them in the room that they belong in. Color code the boxes and number them. Label on the outside the contents or which drawer they came from and put it on your master moving list. Get a clipboard and keep your lists together. Keep your moving supplies together, too.

Now, let’s talk about what you are going to need when you get to the new house. You don’t want to be ripping open boxes looking for things. Before you start to pack anything, think about what items you are going to need when you walk in the door of your new house:

Cleaning Supplies
Rubber gloves for cleaning the bathroom. I know this may sound funny, but the bathroom held someone else’s germs, not your family’s.
Disinfectant. You may need to clean your new home before you can unpack. You may have to race the movers to the new house!
Vacuum, broom, mop. You may not use them, but you will need to know where to put your hands on them as soon as the movers have finished unloading the truck.
Rags and paper towels for cleaning.
Basic kitchen utensils: A skillet, pot, and maybe even your crock pot. Then a spatula, sharp knife, silverware, dishwashing liquid, dish towels, paper plates, napkins, and glasses.
Simple food: peanut butter, cereal, crackers, bread, coffee, sugar, etc. You may have to make a grocery run for some fruit and snacks for the kids.
Clothing: Also in your possession you will need a couple of changes of clothes for each person in the family; everything from underwear to socks, shoes, and pajamas.
Personal items: You will need a basic bathroom bag. Everyone’s toothbrushes, razor, shampoo, soap, tooth paste, and of course toilet paper and towels and washcloths. Don’t forget your makeup, hair dryer, or contacts if you use them. You don’t want be tearing open boxes and hunting for this stuff when you are getting ready to crash in bed with mattresses on the floor.
For the first sleep in the new house: Pack some sheets and blankets for each person’s bed and an alarm clock. This should be just enough to help with camping out while you are working on getting the new house put together.
A phone and your packing supply bag that has garbage bags, your inventory, and the labels you made for each doorway so the movers will know where to put the boxes without you standing at the front door directing traffic. By having labels, you’ll be able to start cleaning and unpacking as things come through the door while the movers do the moving work. Starting with the kitchen is often the easiest, because that’s where your family spends a lot of time and the room you use the most. It’s also especially important to unpack the food that you may have moved. If you are moving frozen food, you will need good ice chests to pack it in. A good idea would be to plan your meals so you use up all your frozen and refrigerated food before the move and give the leftovers to your old neighbors before you leave. Start over with fresh stuff in your new home.

For more tips and testimonials, see the entire post on Moving Tips by FlyLady.