Moving Tip #1 Get Rid of Excess.
There is no better time than when moving to get rid of all the "stuff" that you really don't need. If you have the time, read Clutter's Last Stand by Don Aslett. This is a great book to read right before putting your house on the market. It will motivate you to get rid of the clutter. It will also make your house look better and sell for a higher price. Don is a wee bit over the top, but this book will definitely give you the motivation you need.

When we were moving from a six bedroom house in Iowa to a small apartment in Texas we made enough at a garage sale to pay for the move! It pays to get rid of "stuff!"

Moving Tip #2 Have Enough Packing Supplies
You will need way more than you think you will need. You can always return purchased boxes or toss boxes you've scavenged from the liquor or grocery store. Believe me, midnight runs to Wal Mart to get more boxes right in the middle of packing is no fun at all. Then to run out of tape is even worse! Make sure you have enough before you begin packing. Don't use newspaper to wrap knicknacks or dishes because you will have to wash everything when you unpack, plus your hands will get black with the ink. Use bubble wrap, towels, or roll end paper.

Moving Tip #3 Pack for the New House
When packing think of where the item will go in the new house, not where it is in the old house. If you've had an office in your master bedroom, but the new house will have it's own study, then pack with that in mind. Label boxes by room first, then list important contents. It's terrible for people helping you move to be carrying a box that says, records on it. You may know where you want the box with records to go, but they will not know. Label clearly on at least two sides of the box what room that box goes in ....moving into tip #4

Moving Tip #4 Color Code
Assign every room a color. Kitchen - yellow, Master bedroom - purple, livingroom - green, etc. On each box place a large sticker or piece of paper with the corresponding color. Also, on the front and back of each door, place the corresponding color. My brother-in-law has helped countless people move. He said the color-coding on the boxes made our move the easiest he had ever done. It saved time - no trying to find the owner of the house to see what room that box should go in. It saves energy - no moving one box from the living room to the upstairs office because it was put in the wrong place. And it saves your sanity - you won't have to ask what box contains the hairdryer, it will be in the pink box in the pink bathroom.

Moving Tip #5 Inventory Boxes
I know it's a hectic time trying to pack and get moved, but if you can record the contents of your boxes in a spiral notebook, it will save a ton of time later. Number boxes in each room. For example, Let's say the kitchen is coded yellow. All of the yellow boxes will have numbers on them. So, yellow box #3 contains all of the plastic dishes that you use every single day. When you look in your spiral notebook (that you did NOT pack in a box) you will be able to find your plastic dishes, because you know they are in box #3. This is a great job for someone who wants to help with the move but is really not able to lift or bend much. We all have relatives like that. Give them the job of inventory clerk!

Moving Tip #6 One Personal Box
Let each person have one personal box. This will be the box they need right away. It will include things like personal toiletries, a towel, favorite stuffed animal, etc. It's the box with the things they can't live without...even for one day. Keep this box with you. Don't put it on the moving truck!

Moving Tip #7 Box Placement - New House
Walk through the new house and decide where the boxes for each room should go. You don't want to have to keep moving boxes around to put the furniture in the rooms. Use one corner, or one wall to stack all of the boxes. Let your movers know where to put boxes by taping a sign on the wall that says, "boxes go here."

Moving Tip #8 Box Placement - Old House
Hopefully you will begin packing a few weeks before you actually move. The last thing you're going to want is to have boxes in every room of the house. Find one room to put all of the packed boxes. This also makes it easier on those helping you move because they don't have to walk all through the house looking for boxes, they are all in one place ready to go out the door.

Moving Tip #9 Cleaning Supplies
You will likely need to clean the place you are moving from, so make sure you have a box of cleaning supplies set aside to stay until after everything has been taken. When I was moving to Iowa from California, we packed the truck, including all of the cleaning supplies I had to run out to the store in the middle of the night to get cleaning supplies. Don't let this happen to you!

Moving Tip #10 Take Care of YOU
Moving is stressful. It's right up there on the "most stress" list. Everything seems to be a hurried frenzy at the last minute. Plan to do something after you have finished packing that is relaxing to you. Perhaps you can plan a nice dinner out. Or maybe you can take in a movie. You might want to plan to spend the night in a hotel so you can get in a hot bath without trying to figure out how you're going to dry off with all the towels packed.