It's a whole New Year! Time to reclaim your space! Here are some moving and organizational tips for 2010!

Organizing
• Start de-cluttering and organizing your stuff! Use this as an opportunity to go through your house with a trash bag and Goodwill box so you can donate or throw unwanted stuff. Have a separate box for items that will go in storage while you are trying to sell your house. Ask yourself, "Do I use this often or can it go into storage while my house is on the market?".
• Color code and label your boxes by what room they will go in and the contents. Always mark boxes that are fragile and write which way is up. Properly labeling your boxes will help you unload them into the proper room once you arrive in your new place.
• Leave a box of cleaning supplies to be packed away on the moving truck last. This way you can do a quick clean once the old house is empty and be able to find the box easily once you arrive in your new location!
• Make a list of what you will need to do day by day: getting utilities turned off/on, changing your address on all your subscriptions, driver's licenses, bank accounts and credit cards, and reserving your FREE moving truck and storage space at All Aboard Storage.
• Are you staging your house to sell it? Store personal items while your house is on the market to limit the amount of furniture and stuff that is in your house. This will make it appear larger, cleaner, and less cluttered to potential buyers.

Packing
• Use towels to pack between breakable items instead of purchasing expensive bubble wrap.
• Use newsprint (blank paper, not printed newspaper, which will get messy) to wrap glass picture frames. News print is relatively cheap and cleaner than newspaper, available for purchase at All Aboard Storage locations.
• Pack items that you will need to use immediatelyin boxes together, label the box clearly, and place it on the truck last. This way you unpack it first and have all your important items that you will need right away easily available.
• Pack an easy access backpack with a pair of fresh clothes, tape, scissors, markers, pens, a notepad, cell phone charger, and garbage bags so these items are accessible and not packed away.
• Ask friends and neighbors for free boxes. You can also purchase unique sized boxes and wardrobe boxes from All Aboard Storage. Use tall and skinny boxes for lamps and other awkwardly shaped items instead of one large box which will be too heavy to comfortably carry and waste space. Purchase boxes that utilize vertical space within your storage unit and moving truck.

Moving Day
• Have a meal plan in place so that you can feed your family without waiting until everyone is already hungry to order food or make dinner. Write down local restaurant phone numbers on your notepad in your backpack so you can dial in a take-out order fast!
• Delegate activities. If you have kids, write down a list of what they can do to help. Delegating activates for every family member will help keep everyone out of your hair and let you concentrate on what you need to do.
• Unpack wisely. Don't start unpacking multiple boxes at once. Concentrate on one box at a time and spend the extra time to put items where they belong.
• Keep in mind that everything will not happen in one day. Unpack only what is neccessary on your moving day and leave the rest for another weekend, or make a timeline for unpacking. Be realistic, you don't want to try to do too much at once!