...do you need most when you're moving?

this is the question that got me thinking about starting this blog, since i just got to my new house after two grueling weeks of traveling, packing, wrapping up loose ends, and driving three days and 1250 miles with a cat who was not particularly happy about the whole situation. after all that work – and with a huge truckload of belongings still to remove from the u-haul and put away – here are my top three picks for items you need most when you’re moving.

as a side note, i’m especially, but not exclusively, focusing on the more unique items – things you might not know about or consider – and leaving out the no-brainers (like boxes). i select items based on usefulness (would you be lost without it?), range of functionality (can it be used for more than one purpose?), accessibility (can pretty much anyone go out and find it somewhere?), and, of course, coolness, which needs no explanation.

so without further ado…

1) packing tape – okay, duh. but not just any tape. the cheap stuff just won’t do. you’ll end up using twice as much tape as soon as you see it tear spontaneously within the first few minutes of use. on the other hand, you don’t want to have to struggle to cut it, or fight with an ineffective dispenser. a high quality tape dispenser, instead of those flimsy plastic ones that come with some kinds of tape, will save you time and frustration. and money, since you won’t be throwing out crumpled ball after crumpled ball of messed up tape because the dispenser does a better job of sticking tape to itself than to the boxes.

one reason i am bothering to list tape here is that i have discovered over the past couple of weeks that it can be used in a whole bunch of other ways besides just taping up boxes. such as…

a. when you take apart shelving or furniture, put all the screws and nuts and little things that get lost easily in a zip-lock bag, then tape the bag to some part of the item you’ve disassembled. that way, when you’re ready to put it back together, you won’t have to go searching for the tiny parts – they’ll be right there.

b. also when you take apart all those ikea shelving units that i just know you have (because everybody does), wrap some tape around pieces that are the same size, like tall side pieces – this is also great if you have those shelving units that come apart into four poles and a couple of wire shelves, it’s great for making sure all the poles stay together during the move.

c. i don’t know about you, but i have cords and cables of all kinds EVERYWHERE. and when it came time to pack them up, things were in such disarray that i couldn’t have found rubber bands even if i had some. what i did have was a roll of tape in my hand constantly – so i used it to tie up the cords in a neat little package. if you do a fairly neat job, a quick clip with scissors will free the cables from packing tape bondage.

2) mr. clean magic eraser – this thing is really magic. seriously. after you get all the crap packed up and stowed away in a truck or your new place, you’re usually left with walls that started out clean but have dirty finger and hand prints by the light switches, all kinds of dark marks from things scraping against them, pencil marks from hanging pictures on the walls – not to mention linoleum that has seen better days, scuff marks on the floors, and sinks and bathtubs with stains of indeterminate nature. this thing gets them all. it looks like a sponge, but is really a concentrated cleaner that dissolves as you use it. all you have to do is run it under some water, squeeze out the extra, and start erasing. i don’t usually get excited about cleaning products but using the magic eraser makes me want to try it on everything possible. there was a commercial a while back where a woman thought it was so neat she went to her friends’ homes and started erasing their stains. that’s how i feel about this product. nothing else i’ve used comes close to the versatility and speed of the magic eraser.  more info: http://www.mrclean.com/en_US/products/eraser.shtml

3) work gloves – the thing about working with cardboard is that if you handle enough of it, it absorbs the oils in your skin and you end up with very dry and painful fingers and hands. one of my first jobs was packing and shipping cameras out from a repair shop, and i learned this lesson the hard way. and apparently forgot it, because after everything was packed into the truck, i was left with fingertips that had cracked and bled. i’m still waiting for them to heal. it wasn’t until we unpacked that i insisted on buying a pair of work gloves, and it made all the difference in the world. if you’re in a hurry, a lot of convenience stores and gas stations carry them with car stuff and tools. they don’t need to be expensive. if you can find gloves with “gripper” rubber on the palms and fingers, that’s another bonus, and they’ll help you securely carry just about anything – without leaving you with dry, cracked, painful hands.

runners up:

4) folding hand truck or dolly – carrying heavy boxes one by one is a really slow, not to mention exhausting, way to move your stuff. and carting around a standard hand truck can be a pain, especially when you try to squeeze it into a super full van. the solution: a folding hand truck (also called a dolly). the ideal model is light enough to carry easily, folds flat so it can be slipped in just about anywhere (i put mine behind the passenger seat in the u-haul), and strong enough when unfolded and extended to carry a load of heavy boxes without trouble. i have nerve damage in my right arm that makes lifting heavy stuff impossible (unless i’m willing to endure a hell of a lot of pain) so having a hand truck available all the time is fantastic. i can do a lot of things myself that i usually have to ask other people to do.

5) multitool – if you’ve ever watched “survivor man” on the discovery channel, you might have noticed that he always, always brings his “trusty multitool” with him whatever the assignment. it’s just as indispensible when you’re moving, especially if it includes phillips and flathead screwdriver. a hex wrench or two is an extra bonus if you can find it, especially when you’re dealing with aforementioned ikea furniture which seems to always need a hex wrench, which is handily included when you open the box but never turns up when you’re ready to take it apart. it doesn’t have to be expensive – there are a lot of cheap multitools out there that have a good set of tools and won’t break the bank.

moving is a huge pain, but having the right tools close at hand makes all the difference. and being able to clean up the damage if you’re moving out of a rented place means you get more of your deposit back, and these days, who doesn’t need a little extra money?