Key Takeaways:

• Before moving, go through all of your items and get rid of anything that doesn’t need to come with you to your new home.
• Go room by room and make sure you label boxes to simplify the moving and unpacking process.
• Consider moving in the off-season to save money.

For most people, moving happens because it must, whether it’s to a larger home for a growing family, a cross-country relocation for work or to downsize in retirement. Even when you’re excited about your new destination, moving day will always be a little stressful – there are a lot of details to coordinate and boxes to pack, no matter how prepared you may be.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to make moving and packing a little easier.

Here are 20 quick moving tips and tricks for making your move to a new home a success.

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Before you start packing, take the time to go through items in your closet, on your shelves or stored away in the basement or garage to decide what doesn’t need to come with you to your new home.

By purging old clothes, decor and toys, you’ll cut down on the number of things you have to pack, the total cost of the move and the amount of clutter that makes it to your new home. Hold a garage sale, post items for sale or free online, or donate them to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, as long as the items still have some wear left in them. Well-worn shoes and broken toys, on the other hand, should go in the trash.

When you start packing your belongings for a move, keep the unpacking process in mind. Avoid disorganized piles of items throughout your new home by consciously packing one room at a time.

This way, clothes in your closet can all be unpacked at once, as can your kitchen utensils and tools meant for the garage or shed. You may be tempted to take advantage of packing hacks, like using T-shirts instead of packing paper to pad dishes, but packing paper is often more compact and will make for a smoother unpacking process.

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Keep a marker on hand as you pack and seal boxes to note what’s inside and where the box should go once it arrives at your destination. Labeled boxes make it easier for movers to put them in the right place, and it will help you start the unpacking process

If you have more than one floor in your new home, consider adding a “first floor” or “second floor” label as well to get everything in the right spot. Then communicate the specifics with movers as well.

“On moving day – whether it’s pack day or pack-and-load day or unpack day – make sure you’re reachable,” says Ryan Bowley, executive director of the American Trucking AssociationsMoving & Storage Conference.

Increase the chances that your state-of-the-art TV makes it to your destination unharmed by keeping the box it came in. The manufacturer’s packing materials are specifically designed to safely transport the exact dimensions of a TV, computer screen or similar items. A large box and molded foam may not be a convenient item to easily tuck away in a closet or the basement, but if you move with some frequency, keeping it in your possession will pay off.

If you already threw out your original TV box, you can get boxes designed for TVs, other electronics and........

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