move yourself / you always live your life
blk's Guide to Moving Using Crowdsourcing.
This guide assumes that you have already decided not to have professional movers come in and move you (and optionally pack for you as well), because if that is an option, please save everybody the work and do that instead. Do research to find ones with a good reputation, pay for damage insurance, tip well, and then don't stress about it.
OK. You have decided that you're going to have a couple or couple dozen friends come by and give you a hand carrying stuff. No sweat, people do this all the time. I've moved a few times using friends, and these years I am paying back moving karma, so by now I've helped quite a few with this process. Here are some tips I recommend that will make it more likely that your friends will still respect you in the morning, or at least be willing to ever get their hands dirty for you again. [If you think you see yourself in this, well, you probably do, but you have plenty of company.]
1. Pack everything (non furniture) in boxes.
No, really. Everything. Everything possible, at least. The more boxed, the easier things can be stacked and packed and handled and carried and protected while doing so. Put things in boxes, then close and seal (or tape shut) them (on top AND bottom). Ideally, use boxes of similar size to each other, of a size and weight that can be carried by one average person. Boxes about the size of a case of standard printer paper are nice, particularly if they some kind of sturdy handle slot on the side. 18 gal Rubbermaid totes are fantastic. Try to stick to < 20 lbs per item. Obviously some things must go over. Label those.
Label the boxes. Label if they are fragile or heavy or important, but also label in general where they should go, particularly if the destination house has more than one floor. Number them with the floor or the room they should end up in, then label the rooms at the destination with really big, obvious signs. It will make the unpacking job slightly less laborious later.
Get more boxes than you think you will need. Many box stores will take back unused ones. You will probably use more than you expect. Box things BEFORE your movers arrive [ed: unless you are specifically inviting people over to help you pack]. The last 10% of "random stuff lying around that we'll grab on the way out" will easily take as much time to move as the other 90% of stuff that was already boxed.
2. Rent a truck.
If you are moving more than one block away, rent a truck. Do not be fooled by the dozen of your friends who volunteer space in their SUV or minivans or pickup trucks, unless you are not moving anything larger than one standard-sized single college dorm room's worth of stuff, with absolutely no furniture. Consider renting one size larger than you estimate you need, because when the truck company says this size will move an $X-bedroom apartment, that estimate assumes you pack the truck efficiently and completely full. Large, awkwardly-sized items can mess this up. Your goal is to move on moving day with ONE TRIP. Using personal trucks and vans means far, far more complication in deciding what to pack where and which furniture fits in which vehicle, and far more wasted time in shuffling vehicles in and out of the loading zone, or driving off to unload after getting loaded, leaving multiple places source short on hands, and creating a lot more LOCKs and WAITs on the general process than with just one destination. Additional trips can be done on your own time.
Tip: Many moving trucks come with a dolly and/or furniture blankets zip-tie "locked" in the back of the truck, "just in case" you want them. If you do not plan to use them, ask to have them removed at the garage, BEFORE you drive off with your rental. If you do not do this, these items will sit there and be annoyingly in the way the entire time, taking up space that you could be using. In the worst case, you might accidentally free them and then be charged extra for them.
3. Use your helpers efficiently.
I cannot stress this point enough. Your friends are coming, our of the goodness of their hearts, to give you several hours of sweat and physical labor in return for, on average, one low-budget meal and a few drinks. One of the worst things you can do to them in return is to waste their time. The best thing you can do for them is to use them effectively. Ideally, nobody should ever be forced to stand around and wait. Not only is it boring and frustrating when preventable delays happen, many people are on time schedules and want to be done as soon as possible.
As an example: if you think about it, each minute that one person stands around and waits is an extra minute (or two) that you'll have to work carrying things later. If you have a dozen people forced to stop and wait just 5 minutes for a truck to manuever into position, or a bottleneck to clear, or you to get the house unlocked, that's an extra hour or two that you could be working late at night or the next day, after they've gone home, when you're tired out and wishing you could collapse and be done.
a. You, as the person moving, are needed for direction, not labor.
Your primary role should be that of delegating and giving direction. You have the keys (house and truck). You know where things go. You know what is fragile. You know if things need to be still packed, or dismantled, or re-organized, so tell someone to do it. There will be questions at every point that only you can answer. On the loading end, this is usually not quite as important, but on the unloading side, you should probably not even be carrying things. Make sure everybody else knows how they can be useful.
If you feel overwhelmed by this role, find a close friend and ask them to help you delegate. Some of the roles that that might need to be filled include: A person to drive the truck. People to help direct the truck into tight parking spaces. Someone who is good at Tetris to stand in the truck and pack everything into an efficient, stable arrangement. Someone to make sure there are cold drinks available and accessible, and that food is timed properly. Someone to be make sure all relevant places are unlocked before the truck and people get there. People to disassemble things before loading them and reassemble after move. Someone to direct where furniture gets dropped of and where boxes get stacked.
b. Learn the power of the bucket brigade.
Assuming you have followed the rule in (1) and have boxes that are closed, taped shut (top AND bottom), and of a standard shape, size, and weight, and that you have enough people, bucket brigading all these boxes is much, MUCH faster and more efficient than having each person carry boxes from room to truck, increasing fall risks and creating bottlenecks while passing in narrow spaces. Even a traveling brigade (where each person has to go a few steps) will be better, particularly if you have to navigate any doorways (which is always), staircases, gates, or hallways.
c. Repay people - show your gratitude.
If you hire grunts off of Craigslist, pay them. If you hire movers, tip them. Have cold drinks (minimum water) available at both ends. Food is nice but immediately afterwards might not be the optimal time for it. [On the other hand, in the middle of moving is an even worse time for it. People will find it much harder to get up and work again after taking a long relaxing food break. Put food at the end, or after a delay.] Thank them. Then repay your moving karma and help someone else out later.
This guide assumes that you have already decided not to have professional movers come in and move you (and optionally pack for you as well), because if that is an option, please save everybody the work and do that instead. Do research to find ones with a good reputation, pay for damage insurance, tip well, and then don't stress about it.
OK. You have decided that you're going to have a couple or couple dozen friends come by and give you a hand carrying stuff. No sweat, people do this all the time. I've moved a few times using friends, and these years I am paying back moving karma, so by now I've helped quite a few with this process. Here are some tips I recommend that will make it more likely that your friends will still respect you in the morning, or at least be willing to ever get their hands dirty for you again. [If you think you see yourself in this, well, you probably do, but you have plenty of company.]
1. Pack everything (non furniture) in boxes.
No, really. Everything. Everything possible, at least. The more boxed, the easier things can be stacked and packed and handled and carried and protected while doing so. Put things in boxes, then close and seal (or tape shut) them (on top AND bottom). Ideally, use boxes of similar size to each other, of a size and weight that can be carried by one average person. Boxes about the size of a case of standard printer paper are nice, particularly if they some kind of sturdy handle slot on the side. 18 gal Rubbermaid totes are fantastic. Try to stick to < 20 lbs per item. Obviously some things must go over. Label those.
Label the boxes. Label if they are fragile or heavy or important, but also label in general where they should go, particularly if the destination house has more than one floor. Number them with the floor or the room they should end up in, then label the rooms at the destination with really big, obvious signs. It will make the unpacking job slightly less laborious later.
Get more boxes than you think you will need. Many box stores will take back unused ones. You will probably use more than you expect. Box things BEFORE your movers arrive [ed: unless you are specifically inviting people over to help you pack]. The last 10% of "random stuff lying around that we'll grab on the way out" will easily take as much time to move as the other 90% of stuff that was already boxed.
2. Rent a truck.
If you are moving more than one block away, rent a truck. Do not be fooled by the dozen of your friends who volunteer space in their SUV or minivans or pickup trucks, unless you are not moving anything larger than one standard-sized single college dorm room's worth of stuff, with absolutely no furniture. Consider renting one size larger than you estimate you need, because when the truck company says this size will move an $X-bedroom apartment, that estimate assumes you pack the truck efficiently and completely full. Large, awkwardly-sized items can mess this up. Your goal is to move on moving day with ONE TRIP. Using personal trucks and vans means far, far more complication in deciding what to pack where and which furniture fits in which vehicle, and far more wasted time in shuffling vehicles in and out of the loading zone, or driving off to unload after getting loaded, leaving multiple places source short on hands, and creating a lot more LOCKs and WAITs on the general process than with just one destination. Additional trips can be done on your own time.
Tip: Many moving trucks come with a dolly and/or furniture blankets zip-tie "locked" in the back of the truck, "just in case" you want them. If you do not plan to use them, ask to have them removed at the garage, BEFORE you drive off with your rental. If you do not do this, these items will sit there and be annoyingly in the way the entire time, taking up space that you could be using. In the worst case, you might accidentally free them and then be charged extra for them.
3. Use your helpers efficiently.
I cannot stress this point enough. Your friends are coming, our of the goodness of their hearts, to give you several hours of sweat and physical labor in return for, on average, one low-budget meal and a few drinks. One of the worst things you can do to them in return is to waste their time. The best thing you can do for them is to use them effectively. Ideally, nobody should ever be forced to stand around and wait. Not only is it boring and frustrating when preventable delays happen, many people are on time schedules and want to be done as soon as possible.
As an example: if you think about it, each minute that one person stands around and waits is an extra minute (or two) that you'll have to work carrying things later. If you have a dozen people forced to stop and wait just 5 minutes for a truck to manuever into position, or a bottleneck to clear, or you to get the house unlocked, that's an extra hour or two that you could be working late at night or the next day, after they've gone home, when you're tired out and wishing you could collapse and be done.
a. You, as the person moving, are needed for direction, not labor.
Your primary role should be that of delegating and giving direction. You have the keys (house and truck). You know where things go. You know what is fragile. You know if things need to be still packed, or dismantled, or re-organized, so tell someone to do it. There will be questions at every point that only you can answer. On the loading end, this is usually not quite as important, but on the unloading side, you should probably not even be carrying things. Make sure everybody else knows how they can be useful.
If you feel overwhelmed by this role, find a close friend and ask them to help you delegate. Some of the roles that that might need to be filled include: A person to drive the truck. People to help direct the truck into tight parking spaces. Someone who is good at Tetris to stand in the truck and pack everything into an efficient, stable arrangement. Someone to make sure there are cold drinks available and accessible, and that food is timed properly. Someone to be make sure all relevant places are unlocked before the truck and people get there. People to disassemble things before loading them and reassemble after move. Someone to direct where furniture gets dropped of and where boxes get stacked.
b. Learn the power of the bucket brigade.
Assuming you have followed the rule in (1) and have boxes that are closed, taped shut (top AND bottom), and of a standard shape, size, and weight, and that you have enough people, bucket brigading all these boxes is much, MUCH faster and more efficient than having each person carry boxes from room to truck, increasing fall risks and creating bottlenecks while passing in narrow spaces. Even a traveling brigade (where each person has to go a few steps) will be better, particularly if you have to navigate any doorways (which is always), staircases, gates, or hallways.
c. Repay people - show your gratitude.
If you hire grunts off of Craigslist, pay them. If you hire movers, tip them. Have cold drinks (minimum water) available at both ends. Food is nice but immediately afterwards might not be the optimal time for it. [On the other hand, in the middle of moving is an even worse time for it. People will find it much harder to get up and work again after taking a long relaxing food break. Put food at the end, or after a delay.] Thank them. Then repay your moving karma and help someone else out later.