Picking up all your stuff and packing it into boxes is tough. There are some things that you can live without, maybe completely. Rather than moving it all and cluttering your new place with unnecessary things, this is the best time to get rid of anything you don't use anymore. Make separate bags or boxes just for questionable items or a donation pile. It is a good idea to have markers ready to label your boxes, and it may help you stay organized to create a list on a notepad of what you pack as you go. If you start packing about a month or two before your move this will cut your stress level down. Start with 1 or 2 boxes per day and then you can progress further as you go. This makes it easier to focus on what you need vs what you can get rid of. The worst thing you can do is to overwhelm yourself with pulling out little stuff everywhere. The first things you should start packing are the least essential to your daily life, things you will not need right away. Here are some things to start packing first: Decor / art / pictures - Start with packing your decor or art, fragile things take the most time to pack, so get that out of the way first. Collections, seasonal items, small decor on shelfs Paper files, books, and photo albums are also good to start with. Go through your closets and pantry, consolidate your small stuff, and toss what you don't need. You should wait to pack up your tools, kitchen items, medications, toiletries, first aid supplies, and things that may come in handy over the course of your move. Once you get 1-2 weeks until your move you should start to pack up your dishes and kitchen items. It's a good idea to leave a few of these boxes open or half packed in case you need to pull out something to cook with. Keep out the bare minimum that you feel you can get by with and pack the rest. Remember to label the boxes and check your list because chances are you will be looking for that one spatula that you just need to cook with. In the days before your move you may want to switch to paper plates, and take-out dining. There is so much you have to do, that doing dishes is not very enjoyable when you are in the middle of a move. Once you have moved everything over to your new place you will have to re-organize everything you own. The more prepared you were when you labeled your boxes or made your list, the easier it will be to find everything that you need. Unpack those essential boxes first, and keep in mind that since everything is in a new place it is easier to misplace things and freak out that something is missing. If you rush to unpack everything, it will be easier to misplace things and forget where we put something. You are not losing your mind, this is all very normal. After a few weeks you should be almost completely unpacked and living your best life in your new place. Go ahead and have that housewarming party! If you do not want to lift a finger, ask your mover to pack your boxes. At Short Moves our movers can pack boxes professionally and efficiently. If a mover will pack your boxes, this can double the cost of your move. Keep that in mind if you are struggling with packing your own boxes, you are saving about half of what your move could cost! Ask us about the free boxes! -Your friends at Short Moves 727-527-1986 813-978-1986 941-749-1986 352-686-1789 863-616-1986 ShortMovesInc@gmail.com

It may seem convenient to order boxes online or grab some at your local hardware store, but a lot of the boxes you can buy that are brand new can be weak and easily tear at the seams. Finding quality free boxes is key. Short Moves has given away free boxes from our consignment store location for over 10 years, in 2023 we gave away over 33,000 boxes for free. Short Moves partners with a medical supply distributor to pick up their boxes that were used for shipping their brand new products. The boxes are extra strong, come in small, medium, and large sizes, and they have only held brand new things. They are available every week and only here while supplies last at our consignment store location in St. Petersburg. We give these boxes away to help people that are moving whether they use us or not. The boxes are not available for commercial or competitor use. This is our way of giving back and helping people save cost during moving, which is an expensive process. Short Moves services a large area for local moving and we bring the free boxes to our customers that have us hired for packing too. Our customers love our free boxes! Buying new boxes can cost you hundreds of dollars, ours are stronger than ones you can buy from supply stores. Don't buy brand new boxes just to throw them away. Reuse, reduce, and recycle by using used boxes. Our boxes are available while supplies last at our other family company Consignment House, located at 3201 28th Street N, St. Petersburg, FL 33713 If our store is not local for you to pick up boxes from, then we suggest to check your local facebook marketplace or craigslist type marketplace and search for used moving boxes or packing material. Some people will post cheap or free ads in your local areas to get rid of their boxes.