This post is sponsored by HireAHelper, but all all moving tips and gushing over how cool this company is is my own opinion.  I’d only share things that I think make hosting easier, and HireAHelper definitely does!  Thanks for supporting the brands and businesses that help to keep The Daily Hostess running. 

It’s our last week in the U-S-A!  We’re spending some time with family and going out with a bang.  Quite literally, the 4th of July fireworks will be sending us off!

I wanted to be sure to fill you in on how we got ready for such a big move before we head off and take some time to get settled in our new country.

Plus, I know that long weekend’s like the 4th of July tend to be a time when people try to move because they are off work and have friends or family available to help out.  So this is the perfect time for this post.

If you are moving anytime soon, or even a long time in the future there are so many great tips here that will make your move prep so much easier.

The easiest part of the whole thing should be finding a moving company to help you.  So that’s why I partnered with HireAHelper on this post.  You can find a reliably reviewed mover in your area to come do as much or as little of the move as possible.

Need help loading boxes?  They do that.  Need help just moving furniture? They do that.  Need a truck to move all of your stuff? They do that.  And you can kind of pick and choose just the things you need.

5 Things to Do to Prepare for Movers and Packers

The beauty of moving with the Navy is that they pay for a moving company to come to your house and pack up and move everything for you.

Unfortunately there are some horrible moving companies that you are just sort of stuck with because that is who the military decided to have a contract with.  That’s why I love HireAHelper so much!  You can actually see real people write real reviews about the recommended movers in your area.

There’s no way to do any of that research with a military move.  Again, just stuck with who shows up at your door.

But even with movers and packers there are still lots of things to do BEFORE they show up.  The prep work for this move seemed much more intense than past moves.

I’m not sure if it’s because it was an international move, we had a bigger house, or doing prep work with little tornadoes (aka kids) behind me was what made it difficult.

Either way if you start with these five things you’ll be well on your way to being ready!

1. Show Your Walls Some Love

One of the first and easiest things you can do to get ready for someone else to come in your home and pack is to take all of your pictures and art off the walls.

It’s a great two person job.  One person grabs the picture while the second follows behind to pull nails and screws out of the wall.  This is usually my husband’s job.

One of my favorite home decor and diy blogs Young House Love recommends this 4-in-1 product that makes patching all those holes super easy and quick.

Then we tend to stack all of our pictures in one area.  This allows the packers to put all of their picture boxes in one place and get them all packed at once.

2. Easy Labeling

One thing I learned this move was to label the rooms while packing. This is something I usually do when our household goods are being delivered to our new home. This lets the movers know where to take things when I say “the hall bathroom” or “the master bedroom.”

But this time the women packing our boxes wanted to know what we wanted the boxes from each room to be labeled.  So a quick run around the house with some paper, tape, and a sharpie was all it took to get the boxes labeled something that made sense.

Hopefully this pays off on the back end when our household goods arrive.

Another REALLY important thing to label is stuff you don’t want packed.  We typically close off a small room like a bathroom or laundry room to put things that we don’t want packed.

This move we used our laundry room to store our suitcases we’ll be flying to England with, and our pantry held a bunch of random things we needed to keep with us.

3. Striptease

Another thing to do when walking room to room making sure you’re ready from movers to come is to strip your beds and linens.  It’s going above and beyond to wash them at that time, but I didn’t have time to do so this move.  But at least they are all off and stacked up so they can be packed.

Taking the things off your bed is necessary for when they will need to wrap and move your mattresses and bed frames. Plus, now your sheets will be packed right in the room they’ll need to go back into.

I also took our curtains down and put them with our bed linens so they can easily go into the same room they came from.

4. Like with Like

I think there are two thought processes when it comes to how to pack.  What camp do you fall in?

Do you put like things together, books, pens, towels, etc. then distribute where you want them once moved into your new home?

Or do you keep all things from the same room together?  This makes unpacking fairly easy when you can just take everything out of the box and put it away in the room all at once.

I tend to do a mixture of both.  There are certain like items I put together.

• All books go together
• All pictures off the wall
• Kids toys in one area
• Cleaning supplies together
• Home decor all goes in one area, because I like to mix it up when I am in a new space

While I keep other rooms, like bathrooms and bedrooms together.

5. Purge, Purge, Purge

One of my favorite aspects of moving is getting rid of things.  I love to purge and throw things out.

Moving is the perfect time to get rid of things that you won’t need in your new place.  You can also use your new space to help dictate what to get rid of based off of how big or small your space is.

There are a couple of simple rules I use when deciding if I want to get rid of something.

First, when’s the last time I used it?  If it’s been more than a year, I evaluate if there’s any chance I’d use it immediately at the new place we’re moving.  More than likely it’s a no, so it goes.

Next, how many do we already have?  If it’s something that we already have a bunch of, then I keep my favorite ones and get rid of the rest.  Great things to purge that you may have a ton of: office supplies, books, kitchen gadgets/dishware, for me party supplies, and kids toys.

Lastly, I ask myself if it’s something I love or if we really need it.  What you like changes over time, and moving is a great time to evaluate if your tastes are still the same.  This is great for things like clothes, home decor, furniture, or art.

Check Those Reviews

Thanks again to HireAHelper for partnering with me on this post.  I hope the next time you move you give them a try in your city.  Be sure to use their reviews to help guide your decision when choosing a moving company.  Plus you’ll get exactly what you need whether it be help with packing, moving, or just a truck to do it all yourself.

And if you are lucky enough to have someone else helping you pack and move, put the tips above to use and you’ll be prepared for a smooth moving day!

Now we’re off to finish our time in the USA before heading to our new home.  I’m getting so excited to get there and experience all the new adventures!