Color Coded Moving Boxes

 I wouldn't say that I'm a packing PRO 

but

I have made several major moves in the last few years.

Moving is expensive, a lot of work, stressful and there's no way we could have moved without the help of our family and friends.  It takes a whole team of people to pull off a move even when you are really organized.  We've hired movers, recruited family and asked friends to help.  It's always more work than you anticipate and plan twice as long as you think to get things done.  I decided to try something new for this move and I'm happy to report that it worked!!

I color coded boxes by room.

*Each room got a specific tape color - duct tape worked well because we could just tear off pieces as needed.

*I made a chart for reference since we had several people packing.

*I made sure that the boxes in each room had the correct tape and a specific label on the box.  I learned from our last move that boxes titled DECORATIONS were not helpful when we were going to unpack.  We put things like "small picture frames" instead of "decorations".  Much better plan!

*I'd also recommend letting your packing team know about your color coding so that they can help you continue your system.  Be sure to stick to your guns and keep labeling boxes with tape because things will get chaotic and it's easy to give up in the midst of things.

*It was most helpful for us to pack and seal several boxes and then add the tape for the appropriate room for multiple boxes at a time.

*I even ended up tagging furniture and larger unboxed items with the tape so that they would end up in the right room.

*It was great when we were unpacking because everyone knew where to take things without my help.  I was often busy taking care of Olive so it was invaluable to have my organizational system in place.  It was almost like I was in two places at once!!

I felt like the unloading of the truck went better because of the tape.  People knew where to go with things and everything went smoothly.  I knew it would be very difficult to unpack if things were just dumped downstairs and we were left to move boxes to the right room.  Insisting your movers put boxes in the room that they will eventually be in will be so helpful to you in the end.  Even if you do sound like a crazy woman during the move :)  It'll be worth it!!