Ahhh, packing for a move. It can be an exciting- and very stressful time. Some people hate the process, and everything about it. But overall, I actually enjoy it. It's a chance to declutter, start fresh and carefully consider your possessions and only keep those that you cherish.

I have assisted clients with many different types of moves. One family I helped was moving out of a tiny rental and into their first home as a married couple.

Recently, I had the amazing opportunity to set up a vacation home for a client. The home came furnished, but had absolutely nothing else in it. It took 5 trips in 5 weeks to this beautiful lakeside home to purchase everything it needed and get it ready for their first summertime visit. Needless to say this was a super fun project for me, I loved every minute of it!

The photos I am showing here are from a really interesting project from a couple years ago, and it demonstrates my preferred method for packing for a big move using photo's and printed labels- which I then put together in an online photo album sorted into files for each room. This was for an amazing family of 6 who were selling their home and moving to a far away tropical Island for an undetermined length of time. All of their worldly possessions were being packed away into a storage unit, so it was important that everything be very organized so that if they decided to visit back home during the winter, or needed to come home for any length of time, they could easily find their winter coats and boots or anything else they might need.

This was my setup for this project:

4' folding table that is height adjustable
A portable printer, like this one here.
My laptop
Large Avery labels
Boxes, packing paper and tape

I purchased used Home Depot boxes for a fraction of the cost of new ones. If your boxes are all from the same place, they stack much better for moving or storage. I prefer the Small and Medium size, and rarely use Large or Xlarge except for bedding and pillows. The big boxes just get too heavy to be practical.

Taking photographs of the contents and printing labels for each box takes additional time, about 5 extra minutes per box. But it is well worth the effort for a move like this. This system also works great for packing items for a storage unit.

Lastly, I upload a copy of all of the box labels with photos to a shared online photo album, with each room of the home having it's own folder. This serves as a visual list so you can easily determine which box you need.

Love the idea of doing this for your storage unit or long distance move, but don't want to DIY? I'm here to help! All my info is on my contact page.

Happy Packing!!