Moving tips to make your move a breeze

All of your big decisions have been finalized, you have closed on the house, and your wrist aches from all the signatures. Now comes the heavy lifting.  You take to Facebook to put out a plea to your friends for labor in exchange for drinks and food, and to see if anyone has a truck or knows where to get one. It is a lot to organize in a very short window of time. Preparations of buying a home are numerous, and many of them complicated.  We would like to give a couple of tips and tricks that will help you economize and make your moving day the smoothest step of your home buying process.

Thin out your closet (and the rest of your house)!

• Since you will be going through all the possessions in your house anyway, there is no better time than now to reduce any unnecessary items. A rule of thumb to go by: if you have not used it in the past two months and it’s not something you absolutely love, then it is safe to donate it or throw it out.

Seek out your cardboard!

• When it comes to moving materials, boxes are the first thing to come to mind. But instead of purchasing new cardboard boxes at the big-box hardware store, we propose asking at your local grocery or other retail store for their extra cartons. The store employees will be happy to help out, and it will save you quite a bit on your moving cost.

Ditch the packing paper!

• There are a few different packing hacks you can do to save on material, and to save your glassware from breaking. In preparation for packing up your kitchen, purchase a pack of foam plates. They settle neatly between all your nice dinnerware, due to their similar shape, and they cost much less than all the extra packing paper sold at a premium at moving supply stores. As for the rest of your fragile items, you can cushion them with any soft items you have handy — towels, linens, or even just socks. It will save you some boxes that you would otherwise use on those bedsheets, and protect your glasses, dishware, and mantelpiece tchotchkes on the ride over to the new house.

Make the move easier!

• Boxes that already come with handles are usually sold at a higher rate than necessary. For better lifting, you can cut out handholds in your boxes with a normal box knife. (We suggest this more for lighter boxes, so that the stability of the cardboard is not compromised). And for armoires, dressers, or anything that has pull-out drawers, use plastic wrap to seal them shut during the move. If the items within are light enough or durable enough, you could even leave them in the drawers and save yourself a few more boxes.

Whether you are looking for a townhome, condo, or an entirely new house in Ottawa, keep Phoenix Homes in mind when you begin your search!