Hello lovely NEATers!!
My name is Heather and I am NEAT Method's newest gal to join the fam! While I may not be blonde like Ashley & Molly, I'm similarly from the midwest and obsessed with an organized life!
As many of you know, Ashley is headed back to her roots to run NEAT in Chicago! San Francisco will miss her, but we are so excited for all the adventures the Windy City will bring!
As Ashley frantically prepares for the move, I was lucky enough to sit in and learn how a truly organized person packs for such a stressful event. Because lets be real, moving is the worst! But, no boring banter here about common knowledge of "packing fragile items with extra tissue," "marking each box appropriately," or "making sure you change your address"… just useful moving tips every person needs to know, but probably doesn't.
Ashley's words of wisdom:
- When packing jewelry, put the majority in individual ziplock bags to keep from tangling.
- Use color coded moving labels, purchased from the Container Store here, to label boxes for specific rooms.
- When moving long distance, never pack important documents (including passport, birth certificates, etc.). Carry this paperwork in your carry-on.
- If your move happens to be job-related, save the receipts from your move. It may be tax deductible!
- For those of you who unfortunately have to part with a majority of your belongings for a few weeks, make sure to prioritize what essentials you will need for the time being. In Ashley's case, she recommends making a list of what you plan to wear EACH day for two weeks. Proof of her organizational madness:
- Ashley's favorite part about moving: Purge and donate things you don't need or will never use. Perfect example – a spatzle ass??
*Also not making it in the Murphy Family moving truck, sadly all of Mike's costumes.
- Once your belongings have arrived to the new home, it is important to first unpack the kitchen and bathroom entirely. The reason being, these are the rooms primarily used most frequently by all family members.
- Lastly, send moving announcements to your family & friends. Minted and Etsy have super cute and affordable announcements. Plus, who doesn't love getting a pretty card in the mail? If you happen to be overwhelmed from the move in general, PaperlessPost has classy announcements you can email.
Regardless, moving is always stressful whether its down the street or across the country. The more you prepare and organize, the easier the transition will be into your new home! And…if you still find your move is overwhelming and full of clutter, you can always have NEAT come over and give you a hand!
Bon voyage Ashley!
xx
Heather
