To show my appreciation I am doing a give-away! I would love to share my buttery soft Cashnyro sport yarn with someone. I will be moving towards the end of this summer (if all goes well!) and I would love to get some moving tips from you! Leave a helpful tip and I will enter your name (number) for a random drawing! The yarn is dyed in my water lilies colorway and is a delicious 80/10/10 Superwash Merino/Cashmere/Nylon blend with 250yards in a 4oz skein. Here's a pic (ok it's really a collage, and yes I know that I am addicted.....:) I will draw the winner one week from today, so that would be June 23rd.
Also I have been doing more hand carding and now have quite the bag full of little rolags (I feel like that is not a nice sounding term for the little lovely's that I am describing). They are so light, airy, and just plain amazing that I had to share again. After about probably a good three and a half hours of carding here and there I now have 3.5oz of rolags. Prepare to be amazed. I have included above skein of yarn (which weighs 4oz) for a scale purposes. I cannot wait to start spinning this stuff up, I think it is going be dreamy. I am forcing myself to work on other projects right now though (sock summit stuff!! So they are still pretty exciting too!)
As you pack a box, mark on at least 3 sides, which room the box goes into. Then when your helpers are unloading boxes they can see right where to go and you don't have to answer all those quesitons and make immediate decisions.
ReplyDeleteVicki Campbell
If you are moving yourself and not hiring movers, pay the money for a BIG truck Uhaul or whatever. Getting it all in just a load or 2 is so much easier than having to pack and unload multiple car trips. Pack all the furniture in the truck first, then all the boxes and misc you can. I find it's also a huge help to have a 2 wheel handcart. You can load those with 3 or 4 stacked boxes and it saves on lifting. PS, I hate moving! :)
ReplyDeleteGood Luck,
Kristie T.
Organize any messy rooms into clear plastic containers. I love having everything already in it's own little box so I can just toss it in and go. Saves sooooo much time. Oh yeah, and always overestimate the number of boxes you're going to need. We didn't. Packing in plastic bags is not fun. :P
ReplyDeleteOh, btw...I think your Siren Call yarn is begging to be made into the Mermaid Socks pattern that was printed in Knitty's newest issue. :D
I once tried to move by myself with just my little pick-up truck. NOT a good idea. It took almost a week. Pay for a moving truck and get help well in advance. Also, don't be that person that isn't packed on moving day. Just get everything in boxes and be ready. I also find that bribing your helpers with food and beer helps. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, and moving boxes/packing supplies are MUCH cheaper at Home Depot than they are at UHaul. I also bought those great file boxes with lids (for books/CDs/etc) at Staples. 10 packs are really reasonably priced.
If you have alot of books dont load them into a big box shallower boxes are better for moving books. they get heavy fast vbarton24 at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteStart tossing things you've accumulated now. Have a garage sale, give stuff to goodwill, bring it to the dump.... It's so much easier not to have to deal with stuff in your new location. I've opened boxes from my last move and thought "Why'd I pay to have this moved 1000km?"
ReplyDeleteHaving moved over 20 times (in the middle of yet another this week), I'd like to think I've got it down pat.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, do not buy boxes. Ask everyone you know, post asking for free ones on Craigslist, and go to local stores first thing in the morning before they break theirs down after stocking (liquor stores have really sturdy ones).
Second, don't bother with bubble wrap, just grab lots of newspapers, they work great.
Third, food/beer is always great for bribing help, packing and moving. ;)
Fourth, keep extra tp readily available, because you always seem to run out right before or during the move and someone with invariably need it as soon as you walk into the new place.
And fifth, the fasted way to feel "at home" in the new place, put up your pictures and put your hand soap and towels in the bathrooms.
:) Happy Moving!
I guess my only advice for moving would be this: Mark the boxes that need to be unpacked first a special way. I labeled it with it's contents then I used a big fat red marker. I put a huge star on all sides of the boxes that I wanted to unpack right away. Then I was able to tell my helpers to put all boxes with the red stars on them in the room marked on the box. It made it a lot easier that saying... "I want that one and this one and oh yeah... that one over there in the house when we get there."
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that I did that too, because once we began unloading I had no idea where boxes were being taken. But, all the ones with red stars were at least in the house!
Good luck with the move! I agree with labeling at least 3 sides of the boxes and it is soooo worth it to pay someone if at all possible to load/haul the boxes. Be very selective about what you take the time to pack/move. I really wish I had donated some of the pantry food I didn't care for and is still sitting in my pantry along with hubby's old t-shirts and such. If possible go ahead of time to line the cabinet/drawers with shelf paper so they're ready to be filled when you move and set up the fridge with lots of water, fruit, and sandwich stuff for the day of the move.
ReplyDeleteGet rid of as much stuff as you can - starting right now.
ReplyDeletePromise lots of beer and pizza to your help.
Starting now and going through the whole packing process, go through your stuff and get rid of anything you don't need/want/feel like schlepping about. It'll make packing and moving and unpacking MUCH easier in the end.
ReplyDeleteWeird, there's another Dani!
ReplyDeleteMy packing tips: Pack at least one box of the stuff you'll need immediately so that when you get to the new place you don't have to go through 97 boxes to find your towels and tooth brush. Second, if you have a bunch of extra linens use them as packing material for your dishes and other fragile items, keeps you from having as much trash at the new place and will cut down on the amount of physical boxes you have to pack as well.
If you can afford it, I strongly recommend paying movers to do the actual heavy lifting they're very efficiant and can usually do it in a few hours. If not, start bribing the strong able bodied people you know now so that they're available on moving day. Good luck!
Where are you moving by the way? Staying in Anchorage or moving somewhere else?
Make sure that what you pack is presorted - it's tough enough unpacking without having to sort stuff by rooms while you are doing it. If at all possible, go thru everything before you ever begin packing and make sure that like stuff is together - that way if you change your mind about where things go in the new place, you can move boxes instead of individual items. And do all your sorting, purging, rearranging before you ever get boxes in the house because it's far too easy to just toss something in a box to deal with later if the boxes are there.
ReplyDeleteAlso, get twice as many boxes as you think you'll need, three times as much tape and at least 4 times as much packing material - then you'll only have to go back for extras one time.
If you are moving yourself, I love liquor boxes for heavy items - they're smaller than normal moving boxes and a lot more sturdy. I use them for books. Plus, they're a lot more interesting, and people give you weird looks when you're driving around with a car full of tequila boxes!
ReplyDeleteI also go to my local newspaper company and get ends of newspaper rolls for packing. Sometimes they're free, sometimes $5. Just like mill ends, but for newspapers - they haven't been printed on yet.
And I agree that you should weed your stuff now. As you pack a box, set aside the stuff you don't want/need/use, and then sell or give it away. Movers either charge by the hour or by weight, so having less stuff will save you money!
KTLV
I like to clean before the move. I wipe down everything, cabinets, etc. That way it is easy to unpack immediately and know that stuff is going in to clean cabinets. I also number the rooms and put a number as well as contents on the box, so they get to the right room. The label 3 sides thing is a biggie too.
ReplyDeleteI don't have much to add to all of this great advice! I agree with all of the comments suggesting that you purge out stuff now. Less to move and you feel less cluttered when you get there! Then, because you have a little bit of lead time, go through and pack a box or two each night of things that you won't need until then. That way you're ahead of the game when it gets closer to moving "for reals." (Ask how much of this we have done. Wait, actually, don't.) And, certainly get someone to watch the kids in a completely other place while you're moving.
ReplyDeleteAnd, call us!
When you're packing things that you may not be unpacking right away, such as out-of-season clothing, number (or otherwise label) the boxes and keep a list of what's in each box. That way you won't have to unpack them all to find one item.
ReplyDeleteI'm moving in the next couple weeks, myself, and I've been doing my best to clean and organize _everything_ before I even start packing. It's easier to know where everything should go if it's been sorted into some kind of order before then.
ReplyDelete-cthulhulovesme from Rav
First thing I always do when I move is haul out my biggest suitcase and make sure everyone in the house has at least 2 days change of clothes, shampoo, toothbrushes and towels. That way when you finish man-handling all those boxes in the door at stupid o'clock in the morning you can fall right alseep and not worry about finding clean things in the morning! DH/DK's all get to work and school on time and out of your hair!
ReplyDeleteI've moved at least 6 times in 3 years and the best tip I can give you is BOXES, no matter how much you try to organize, order your boxes in matter of importance: A, B or C. Store your stuff in the "what will I need first". Believe me once you start unpacking at your new place you will know where your toothpaste and fav skillet are. So you can attack your boxes one grade at a time and know that whatever is in C can wait... hehe. Hope this helps
ReplyDeletePack the fiber first! Then unpack the fiber first! Now, sit back, relax and watch the heavies do the rest! he he
ReplyDeletedesertgarden
I will second the advice about labeling the boxes by what you will need when. This way I was able to keep, for example winter clothes until last; it saved me a lot of time.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you're doing the moving yourself, I would like to suggest that a couple of old comforters could really come in handy, both with protecting the nice stuff while you're moving it, and to stuff between boxes so they don't shift while you're driving.
Good Luck!
-HookandNeedleGirl [HookandNeedleGirl@gmail.com]
P.S. I love your yarn, especially the samples I got in this months Fiber Box
I'm just unpacking our household goods and the one thing I wish I had the movers do, was to put the pegs for the book shelves in a plastic bag and attach it to the shelves. Can't find those things anywhere! Ya might wanna remember where ya put them, once it is time to reassemble :) Lovely, Lovely yarn!
ReplyDeleteMy best moving tips? Toss out things you truly dont need so you dont haul them with you! Second, dont procrastinate packing. Pack a little each day and it isnt so bad.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the give away! I loooovveee your yarn!
I just moved this past fall. I used Rubbermaid bins for my bathroom, kitchen, cleaning supplies and linens. I lined them up and packed the things I could live without temporarily right away. As I got closer to moving day, I could lift the lid and add more items. They're stackble, have handles and are waterproof in case shampoo or cleaning supplies spill. Everything is ready for the rooms you need right away when you move. I was able to take a shower and make the bed right away after moving because the bins were easy to find.
ReplyDeleteAfter they're emptied, they are great for storing stash or out of season clothes.
Liquor boxes are perfect for books since they don't get too heavy. I also like the boxes that reams of paper come in from my office.
Lots of great tips! I've been thinking a lot about moving lately and totally agree with the purge of unneeded/unwanted stuff before you pack up (I really need to do this!). Also make sure your boxes with breakables/ornaments/tea cups are very very well marked as Fragile so they are handled with care and not accidentally put at the bottom of the pile of boxes in the moving truck. Good Luck with your move :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful yarn!
Never buy boxes! Wal-mart, Home Depot, and other stores that have many boxes in their warehouses will often have no problem giving some to you. Also, if a company is helping you with moving, take pictures of everything valuable or fragile and stay on them until they pay you back if anything is broken. Good luck in your move!
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a beautiful give-away, especially in these hard economic times.
ReplyDeleteMy hints are similar to many of the others I've seen but I have a few things that really helped me.
1)Pack off season clothes in large stackable rubbermaids that I shipped immediately to the attic.
2)Take any jewelry & other precious items with you in your car -they can't be replaced.Label 3 sides of boxes with the 4th having an arrow & the word UP pointing in the direction you want the box...yes, people can be that stupid, & I hired a Co. I also color coded the boxes with my kids construction paper & neon construction paper. On one of the 3 sides I taped a colored paper & wrote where it should go. So I made a list of colors & the rooms they went with. Ex: hot pink=kitchen, blue, downstairs bath, neon green MBR, Yellow, son's room etc. On that paper I wrote the room it should go to, but it went very quickly because I stood in the center hall & checked the color sheet & redirected those who didn't know the kitchen from the bathrooms very easily. I also posted a sign for them with a strip of the color and where it should go on a sheet of oak tag. Things went very smoothly after that.
3) from towels to toothbrushes I had everyone pack a bag to take with them in the car with everything they'd need for 3 days, including any medications you take,as well as a sleeping bag just in case, or if they have a friend over to help (they liked that)
4)Anything you haven't used or worn in a year gets taken to a thrift shop and you get a receipt for your taxes.
5)My big one...Go to the P.O. and ask for as many change of address cards as they'll give you (you may have to have DH go too and many a friend to join in if they don't want to hand out alot. Start clipping the address info on your magazines, papers & other things you want to continue receiving in a timely fashion. Stick them (tape them) on the card & give new address (perfection is ordering inexpensive stickers with your name and new address. I had my kids do it, one cut & taped & the other stuck on the new address info. When I finished I took a shoebox full of them to the post office. You can add other businesses you don't want to lose touch with, like decorators, repairmen, pool people, landscapers, sprinker guy, handiman, doctors, lawyers, anyone you want to have know where you'll be. You'll send cards to friends but the people who you deal with on a regular basis sometimes get forgotten. And as a housewarming gift many of these companies gave me a 20 to 50% discount for thinking of them and using them in my new location. That's a nice touch. And, last I moved, those cards cost me NOTHING to get or mail. So, since you have a business, it would be good to let them know where you're going if it applies.
6)THE HUGE SECRET - I told everyone, including my DH (it was a white lie & my DH lives by football time so it was fair) the actual moving day was the day before the actual day. Yes, I'm devious, but everyone was ready, I announced I'd made a mistake, it's tomorrow, and everything was ready to go & we all had a good nights sleep & my DH brought in breakfast & a huge container of coffee & bagels for the movers. Everyone was happy.
I pray you have an easy move, a minimum of stress, beautiful pictures of the family waving goodbye to the old house & hello to the new. Best of luck on your move. When you pull through all this, tell us where you are :-)
I'm not a moving expert, by any means. But I think that having 3 different categories of boxes would help: Necessary To Sustain Life, I'll Need This Eventually, and Not Sure I'm Ever Gonna Open This Box.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, label, label, label. You do NOT want to hunt for things.
lonainmi at yahoo dot com