One of my best organizing strategies for moving is labeling and matching rooms from the old to the new house. I encourage clients to use bright card stock paper and blue painter’s tape to label all furniture and rooms.
The Process
For example, if I have a chest of drawers in my bedroom, I will tape a cardstock paper sign to the chest that says, “Chest to Primary Bedroom”. Then, in the new home I’ll create a matching sign and place it wherever I want the furniture placed in my new home. I’ll also place a sign on the door frame above each room labeling the name of the room. If I don’t know where the item will go, having a label of where the item came from will help keep furniture organized until the client decides where the piece should go.
Having a starting and ending place helps to expedite the move, and the organized signs help execute the move without the movers having to stop and ask the homeowner where items go or where rooms are.
Other Helpful Hints
- When putting labels in the new house, try to stick the blue tape on plastic outlet covers, door frames, or baseboards instead of on the wall as to not damage the paint.
- Use one color paper to label furniture that moves to the new home and use another color paper to label furniture that stays in the old home. I use yellow paper for furniture that is moving and red paper for furniture that is not moving!