Moving Day 1

So I’ll be moving into my new apartment later today, with the kind assistance of friends and family:

That’s not everything, of course;  the contents of Ye Olde Ammoe Locquer will require a separate trip:

…and needless to say I’ll be moving the humble remnants of my once-extensive gun collection myself:

Oh, stop it.  Remember that in Texas, this is referred to as a “starter” set.

The big stuff — furniture, appliances etc. — will get moved on Monday.

And speaking of assistance:  if anyone cares to spare some couch change to help me defray expenses, your generosity will be much appreciated.  This “starting afresh” business is expensive.


  1. Now you see that there is why you need a pickup truck, not that furrin volkswagen that wants to grow up to be a station wagon someday…

  2. Do the smart thing. Spend the money it takes to rent a truck and get everything in one load instead of trying to move it piecemeal with your car/friends cars. It saves time, money, and your back.



    But go one step further: palletize everything A standard pallet (in the US) is 48″ X 40″ wide, what’s generically referred to as a GMA pallet (Grocery Mfg’s Assoc) and excellent quality used ones are available for – usually – $5. Lowe’s, Home Despot, Menard’s, Staples, Walmart, Orifice Depot, et al sell a variety of boxes, especially ones 16″W X 16″ W X 18″ tall. GMA pallets are 6.5″ high, most garage doors (and storage unit roll-ups) are 84″-86″ high. A little math shows 4 layers of 6 boxes + the pallet = 79″ (approx), so individual loose boxes can be stacked on top of a pallet once it’s “parked” so now you’re moving & loading 24 (heavy) boxes at a time with wheels, not your back, plus even a pallet-load of the light ones that get stacked on top of full pallets.

    Cheap pallet trucks (<$200) are available from places like Northern Tool, Harbor Freight, etc. Pallet stretch wrap film at Amazon in 1500 ft rolls is a package of 4 <$50. "Going the extra mile" is defined as spending <$175 on a 7K ft roll of 1/2" strapping, a tensioner, crimping tool and a 1K box of strap crimps (using strapping “buckles” to tension strapping allows omitting the crimps and crimp tool). Depending on what's in your area, it may be possible to rent everything above except the single-use strapping, crimps and stretch film. If you have to buy it, I'm betting you can sell the reusable parts of "Kim's compleat moving kit" when you're done for 50-65% of your original cost. And, if you think about it, unless you live in an apartment up three flights of stairs, a 4,000 lb capacity pallet truck can often be a handy thing to have around, especially if one has things like large tool boxes, work benches, safes, etc.

    In a lot of cases, even moving-blanket-wrapped furniture can be palletized. Takes up more space in the truck, but it's now wheeled freight movable by one person, not "back testers" requiring 4 willing (or drunk) friends.

    1. In May of 2017 I sat down and figured out that I had moved, on average, once every 18 months *since 1984*. This includes the year I spent in Iraq, Boot camp, and A-school, but none of the other deployments (basically “address changes”).

      I *never* thought of that.

      Then again, a lot of those moves were in places where the pallet jack/truck wouldn’t be of much use (2nd story appt. with no elevator etc.).

      Thanks for the idea though.

      1. You’re welcome. I’ve moved across country several times as corporate moves where someone else is paying and lots of someone elses do the actual work. First time I did it solo it involved millions of one-person-manageable boxes, all the friends who were still talking to me, and it was the usual “hemorrhoid surgery with a rusty butter knife” experience moving always is.

        Then I figured out pallets, mostly because the last few times involved the intermediate step of (multiple) storage units so everything would get handled at least twice, and “wheels” beat “back” every time. You still handle lots of boxes – pack the box, carry to garage, place on pallet (unless it’s a heavy box you pack/unpack on the pallet) but everything else is just “move the pallet.” The average 2 car garage will easily hold 12-16 pallets and in 16X16X18 boxes 79″ high that’s a huge amount of stuff; some stuff won’t need to be boxed to go on the pallets (ammo cans, for one….) but strapping everything down is very, very important – if stuff starts moving around it will not move to anyplace that does not cause disasterous problems.

        For the most recent move I cheated – I did the pallet jack/lift gate truck thing for house-to-storage unit, but for storage unit-to-truck and truck-to-house I rented a medium forklift (3K lb capacity) with driver for an hour at each end for about $150 per. Excellent investment. You’ll need the pallet jack inside the truck, but forking pallets from the truck to the garage is a no brainer and hugely faster than anything else. Pro Tip: Planning, planning, planning – organizing the pallet contents and “combat loading” the truck (and storage unit….) is critical – keep “like stuff” together on the pallets and having all the kitchen and bedroom stuff on the pallets that are buried at the back of the garage is a death sentence. Also, plan your square footage for storage unit AND truck and use every bit of it – palletized furniture moves very easily but takes up lots of floor space.

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