How to Remain Lovely: Packing and Moving (aka: practical moving tips)

Me in front of our woodshop in the new backyard!

Lovelies, remember the big news I told you all about? The moving? Well, we did it! We're pretty much in heaven. Right after we signed the lease I googled "Moving tips" to get some good ideas on things I may not think of while moving. There was definitely some great ideas out there, but as I actually packed and moved, I compiled a list of my own tips for packing and moving! (By the by, this list is assuming you are moving everything yourselves and not hiring movers)

• Time: this is a "duh" point, but I have to be clear on this one...you need as much time as you can get. And, don't waste a minute. Why? Well, as soon as we signed the lease I started packing. Eric thought I was nuts, but the next day the realtor called and said he wanted to start showing our apartment to prospective renters. We quickly realized on the nights that people would be traipsing through our place, we wouldn't have a chance to do much of anything, let alone pack. The earlier you get everything done, the better. Now, I understand it's hard to live in a place and pack up all your stuff, but we adopted a "no object out" rule and packed up all of our little things, clothes we weren't wearing, dishes we weren't using, food we weren't eating, etc...we left the bare bones of living essentials. Take all the pictures off the walls, pack all the summer clothes...you get my point. You need all the time you get, so use it all wisely. The more you do in the beginning, the less you'll have to do later!
• Say Goodbye to Nail Polish for a Bit: I learned this lesson early on. You will not be able to maintain pretty nails while packing and moving. You just won't. After breaking nails and chipping nail polish while reaching into deep cabinets and dealing with packing tape, I took off the polish, cut my nails short, and man...was that easier to deal with! When I'm all moved into the new place, I'll paint them again, but for now, it's a lot easier to not deal with heavy duty packing tape ripping off your Essie or OPI. (PS. I found this is also true for engagement rings (or any big jewelry)...after knocking my ring around while slinging boxes into the car, etc. I decided it was a good time to put the ring away while moving--I found it was actually safer that way!)
• Be Prepared: Once I knew we were moving I went out and bought black sharpies, a ton of bubble wrap (bought it on Amazon), and started collecting boxes from my mom and grandmother. You'll also need a ton of packing tape and scissors...having all of this before hand will make your life 100x easier.  I also liked to have post it notes and a pad of paper around to make sure I could have something to jot down ideas/lists/things I needed to do on.
• Black and White: One rule we established early on was black bags for garbage and anything in white bags are to be saved and moved to the new house. Not only did Eric and I establish this, but we shared it with anyone who was helping us move--you don't want your helpful mom or friend to by accident throw out a white bag of your clothing. This method made packing things like clothes or towels or blankets much easier (and lighter!) because we didn't need to find boxes for everything. 
• Label the Boxes: I'm going to say this in bold for a reason--label every box! Labeling everything makes your life so much easier in the long run. I don't just mean label what's IN the box, but label where the box is going (kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom)....
• Label the Rooms: If you label your boxes correctly, kids, then label the rooms, too! If you're having friends/family help you move (and I hope you do!), then when you get the keys to the place, label the rooms with a post-it note. This way, your sister's boyfriend can see which one is the master bedroom and which is the sewing room (as an example...) and know which room to put the box labeled "sewing room" into. 
• Stock the Fridge: As soon as you get the keys to the new place, stock that fridge with waters, fruit, and some snack food! Not only does the time fly when you're driving all around in a truck and moving things in and out, so you will inevitably get starving (which can be known to lead to crankiness), but you want to have water and food for your helpers, too!