It’s official and I have not announced this in person to several of my clients but we found out today that we will be able to leave the DC metro area by the end of October.  This is about a month sooner than we anticipated but honestly it’s PERFECT!  It seems like things are really falling into place, that this move is meant to be.  I can’t wait to move forward but right now I’m looking at all OUR STUFF thinking, “I hate moving”.  That is not going to be the case, this time I’m embracing it and I’m going to love it!  I’m going to try to love it at least.  I’ll be checking in each Monday here on the blog telling you about the process.  So this week being the first week here is what we are doing to plan and organize for our move:

1. Start a “Moving” binder or file folder to keep all the important information in one location.  Keep everything related here.  I’m opting for an expandable file folder with several tabs to keep things sorted by category (i.e. the moving info itself, donation, sale and give away, storage, lodging and other information for the destination location).
2. Use up food, cleaning supplies and any other perishables or consumables that you don’t want to move.
3. Check pricing on moving companies, moving trucks, storage facilities and be ready to book in 1-2 weeks.  There are several options here, DIY, hire a service or a hybrid (you pack, they move).  In our case we have done all of the above in past moves and we are opting for total DIY this time.  We made this decision to save money and we’ve had quite a bit of moving experience.
4. Make decisions about large items to sell, donate or give away. Collect items to get rid of (for donation, sale or throw away) throughout daily routines; keep an empty box and bags in one location and place items to get rid of here.
5. Research hotels or other temporary housing and book as needed.
6. Enlist or hire help for the day of the move.
7. Locate and purchase boxes and other packing supplies.  Determining the quantity of boxes needed is a bit tricky but an moving supply company can help you calculate this based upon how many household members and how large your home is.  Supplies will include the following:

• Boxes in various sizes as well as specialized wardrobe boxes, china and silverware boxes, flat boxes or cardboard for artwork.
• Equipment such as dollies and hand carts will make moving large items much easier and safer.
• Packing tape (and guns), markers, labels, box cutters (or other such knives), bubble wrap/packing peanuts and newspaper (or unprinted newsprint which is much less messy).
• Packing pads, blankets,  sheets (the old one’s you don’t need anymore) and plastic shrink wrap (which is not very eco friendly but sometimes is VERY helpful!).

Since the move is going to be taking up a lot of my time I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to commit to blogging but I’ll be popping in to share our progress and any other helpful or interesting things that come up.  I am SO excited!!  Can you tell?