How to plan a move

Year 2015 had many things in store for me; one among that was shifting base multiple times. So I have come up with a few tips/guide based on my experiences. I hope this will be helpful for all you too.

I divided the process into 3 main steps

1. Plan
2. Prepare
3. Execute

1. Plan

• Always have a notebook to note down the things you remember right away. (I am old school, for other app friendly people use , Any.do or excels etc)
• Decide on how to move ,
• Do you want to hire movers?
• This will be a better choice if you have a big furniture (Bed, Couch, cabinets etc.)
• If distance is more than 500 miles.
• For moving cars weather and distance are 2 factors. If you are doing a coast to coast move during winter it is best to have professionals move car, if it is summer you might as well enjoy a good road trip ;)
• Pack and Move yourself ?
• Have an open discussion with your partner and friends to plan how much help you can get from them. The more the better.
• You might have to do in batches.
• List what all movers will take (Or you will move) 
• Plan on cleaning days (phase it out, as most of cleaning supplies and vacuum cleaner will be packed by movers on moving day) 

     2. Prepare 

        Moving is the best time to de-clutter, so make list for each buckets based on below tag.

1. To Keep
2. To Dispose
3. To Sell
4. To Donate

       I made lists based on each room and placed them under above tag. You can start posting things to sell in craigslist, offerup etc (If you are moving to a new place where your book shelf/couch does not fit the way you want, it is better to sell them early). 

       If you are going to stay at your place even after packers pack, you might need another essentials list.

1. Bathroom essentials (Just  basic shampoo, conditioner and soap will do)
2. Kitchen Essentials (If you don't mind splurging and eating out all rest of days, go ahead skip this)
1. ziplock masalas, flour, sugar, tea, etc based on how many days you are going to overstay 
2.  Basic utensils (including your cutlery)
3. Bedding essentials (Try to borrow an airbed from friends :), worked for me)
4. Basic Lamp (You can avoid if you have enough light in your living area, or borrow this one from friends)
5. A small bluetooth speaker( Completely optional :D .To bring a little energy to an empty house)

               How to donate :

                 Search for donation boxes near your place. For food canned and dry foods check out library near your area and they might suggest on places accepting them or even they might accept them.

                How to dispose hazardous material:
                  Most places have hazardous pick up only twice or thrice a year, if so start the search earlier. If you know any local propane refill stations, they will take you half empty or empty gas tanks, they might even have options to dispose your other hazardous materials. If you don't know any, check with your local fire station they will help you.

     3. Execute:

• Try emptying food from fridge so that there will be little or none left to throw on day of move.
• If you are anticipating a move try to buy in small quantities instead of stocking up.
• Clean kitchen and bathroom regularly, this will make the moving day tasks easy(and also a happy home :))
• Read the list which your movers gave you about what they cannot move. Mostly these might include your stocked up supplies (Oil, Sauces, cleaning supplies, detergent, liquid soaps, cooking spray, room spray etc), so you might want sell them or give out to friends.
• Once the movers have boxed up, keep vacuum cleaner for  last so you can do a final cleaning before they pack it.

So hope you guys find this useful for your future move. Happy packing :)