Disposable clothes

So you're going through your closet and drawers to get rid of things that you don't need anymore. If you're not using it now, there's no way you want to pay money to haul it somewhere else, right?

Right.

Sort out everything that is still usable that doesn't fit you or that you don't want. Donate it to your favorite local used clothing store. Right now I'm loving the drive-through donation window the Goodwill in my neighborhood runs. The nicer stuff (barely worn baby clothes) I give to friends; you can also have a garage sale or sell to consignment shops. Safe houses for women and children in crisis can also be good places to donate your gently used clothing; when children are removed from meth houses, for example, they can't bring anything with them in case it's contaminated. So those nice baby blankets you never got to use because so many people gave you gifts? Great destination.

Now, you're left with the stuff that's too worn to donate, that has nail polish stains and grass stains, etc. Wait--don't take that out to the curb just yet! Pick out about a week's worth of it if possible, toss it in a box, and save it for that last week. When your washer is gone and you're going to be dirty and smelly from all the hauling and cleaning, you don't want new clothes, anyway. Save the "real" clothes for once you depart (because who knows how long it will take for your moving van to arrive at your new house?). Wear the old. At the end of each day, just peel them off and drop them in the trash. Voila! Laundry problem solved!

Moving with toddlers

Let's face it: the hardest people to move with are the littlest ones. Moving can be much more distressing to older, school-aged children, as far as adaptation to the new and missing the old, but when it comes to the physical act of moving your stuff from one place to another, watch out for the babies! They want to be held when you need to pack, they will forswear all naps, they will go to bed at midnight and rise at five, and they will follow you around, unpacking your neatly-sorted boxes faster than you can say duct tape.

Ideas for survival:

1. Get a friend or relative to remove the child from the scene while you're sorting and packing. And cleaning. Above all, cleaning!
2. If that's not possible (it usually isn't), give them a box to "sort" while you are doing the real sorting and packing. They are going to copy you, anyway. Use a little psychology. Get them a toy broom so they can sweep after you (preferably the clean floor, rather than smear your dirt piles around before you can sweep them up). You're going to have to make some kind of tradeoff. If you go into it thinking this, you won't get so worked up when they go to work. Remember the Rubik's cube? You have to mess some things up to solve it. Same with the moving.
3. Consider holding off any other important life changes for the toddler. Like toilet training. (Actually, toilet training while moving is sort of a nightmarish idea. Wait until the new house, definitely!)
4. If you have to pick and choose when you might have childcare, consider saving those precious moments for sorting through the toys. Presumably there are some you'd like to keep (their favorites), and some you'd like to get rid of (the ones they don't care about--until you decide to cart them off). Leave a few toys out until the very end, to take in the car, however. Small kids pick up very well on nerves and change, and keeping things as normal in their part of the world for as long as possible will help them. Besides, the last things packed in the van are the first things out on the other end, which makes things easier on everyone.

We'd really love for any additional suggestions in this category!

Welcome to Move Smart!

Between the two of us we've moved about 49 times. The earliest of these moves involved those handy moving people who come and pack everything up for you and gently drive it off to your new home. The rest have been on our own. We've used the U.S. (and German) postal system, U-Haul, U-Pack, cars, airplanes, and trains. We've stored things in storage units while leaving the country and refitted our entire household from scratch more than one time. We've moved alone, with a spouse, with school children, and internationally, with a newborn--twice.

Our experience may be unusual, but at the same time, we're not the only ones. As the economy continues to struggle, there will be others facing unexpected moves into unknown territory. If you are joining the moving club, we hope this blog will help the process go smoothly.