Inside out with Respect Chofamba
Moving homes can be both exciting and daunting. With our busy lives, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and even stressed at just the thought of moving homes. Issues of time to pack and then unpack in the new house can seem tedious, long and dreary. But you do not have to lose your joy over an opportunity to start over in a new apartment, house or flat. We are going to explore some of the small things that can change this nightmarish experience into something that is enjoyable, and if you are moving into your own home, even memorable.
Before moving, take time to go to the new home and clean it. If you are pressed for time, just clean the bathroom and kitchen as these are spaces that your children will make use of even before the move is over. For most rental places, a lick of paint might be required to give the walls a clean and fresh look. There is nothing as depressing as moving into a house with marks on the wall that you cannot make sense of. If your budget does not permit you to repaint, you can take time to clean the walls. Also take this time to take note of the state of wall plugs, lights, windows and door knobs, handles so you stock up with new ones before the move if there is need.
Apart from cleaning, this visit can also be used to take pictures of the space you will be working with after the move. These pictures will help you to come up with a possible floor plan. In fact, once you have a floor plan in mind, stuff can easily be offloaded in the right place making for easier and more organised unpacking.
Preparing your kids for the move is something you need to do delicately and with gentleness. Paint a picture of the new place you are moving to in your children’s minds. You can do this by mentioning some places of interest close to your new house and dropping hints of stuff that you know your kids may really appreciate, like extra closet space for your daughter or a bigger yard that your son may use for soccer training. In addition, showing them pictures of the new home will create anticipation and a positive vibe that will help make packing and moving less heavy and tedious.
Once you have your minds in the right place, then comes the business of packing your stuff. One of the simplest ways to make moving bearable and easy is to pack everything systematically with clear labels. To do this, collect empty card board boxes from your local supermarket of various sizes depending on what you plan to put in the box. Then start by packing away everything that you rarely use on an everyday basis. Pick out a spot in your home where you can start stacking the packed boxes putting the ones with heavy stuff at the bottom.
Packing up the kitchen can be a huge task. You don’t want to miss anything or to fail to locate any of your utensils once you are in your new home. Breakable stuff like plates, cups and glasses always present a sticky point, but it does not need to be so. To keep all your breakable stuff safe, use old newspapers to wrap them individually before you stack them together in a box. Make sure as you pack china ware you do not make any of the boxes too heavy. Use smaller boxes to pack away small utensils like spoons, forks and knives.
Electric gadgets are so sensitive and often at times after moving these can develop faults. To avoid this, pack away electric gadgets in boxes where they are stable and sturdy even in cases of sudden and frequent movement. Remember you have to switch off your fridge at least 24 hours before the move to allow it to thaw and be ready for the move. After the move, wait an additional 24 hours before you switch it on.
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Food, drinks and spices that are in the kitchen require special handling so that they do not spoil during the move. If you own a spice rack, you can simply secure the spices in the rack using cling wrap and pack them off in a box. Make sure to separate juices, sauces and other liquids from dried food in order to prevent them from spoiling each other. Cling-wrap all liquids that have been previously opened so that they do not leak during the move.
Clothes, linen and blankets are considerably easy, but at times one forgets that they still need to pack the linen and blankets they use right before the move and often at times just throws them into the boot of the car. This is a terrible idea, as it creates an awful load of laundry after the move. So rather than leave it to chance, pack away all the linen, blankets and clothes you do not need beforehand. Most blankets come with packaging, it’s a good idea to keep this packaging and use it to pack away the linen and blankets you use right before the move. If you have already thrown it out, not to worry you can use boxes lined with plastic sheets.
If you own good suitcases, you can use these to pack your clothes. Simply remove your clothes off the rail and put them in a suitcase without removing the hanger. For suits and other clothes that crease easily and might need special care, the best way to pack them away is to use suit bags.
Any move will affect kids in several ways, so to help make their transition a little smoother when packing kids’ clothes, get the clothes they use regularly and school uniforms into an easily accessible box that you will unpack first. Encourage your kids to be part of the packing process by allowing them to pack their toys and shoes. To avoid misplacing shoes, they can tie the shoe laces together or use rubber bands to get a complete pair together before packing them away.
In most cases women do the packing when moving houses and it is so easy to overlook the tool box and other tools used around the home. Get a box to put in all other smaller tools that often create clutter when moving. For the bigger tools like hoes, picks, shovels and the like, you can use some insulation tape to stack them together so you do not forget any. You can also use the insulation tape to secure the tool box so it does not open during the move and drop some tools which you will still need in your new home.
One of the small things that make any house into a home is our memories frozen in time and framed. During your move, you do not want to lose any of your beautiful memories. Make sure you pack them away individually wrapped in old newspapers before you stack them in a box. Picture frames are often the last thing to be unpacked in the new home, so make sure to store away the box in a safe place until you are ready to hang the pictures in your new home.
