Storing Without the Hassle

One of the hardest things to move between homes is food. If you are making a local move to a new home, you can ease the stress of moving all your food by going through your food and making preparations ahead of time that will make moving your food on moving day go smoother. 

Go Through Dry Goods

About two weeks before you are set to move, go through all of your food. Start with one shelf or cupboard, and work you way through all of your dry food first. Depending on how large of a pantry you have, this could take a few hours or could be a task that you spread out over a few days. As you go through your dry, focus first on getting rid of any food that is past its expiration date. Then, focus on what you actual use and create a donation pile. If you have lots of soup, but never eat it, consider donating it. Find a food bank where you can drop off the dry food that you have but don't use.

Go Through Fridge & Freezer

Next, go through the items in your fridge and freezer. Throw away salad dressings that you never use, and get rid of the frozen food that you bought that you thought would taste good but never used, or those chicken bones you were savings to make chicken stock out of but have not touched in over a year.

Create A Meal Plan

After you go through all your food, throwing out expired food and donating food you don't really want, create a meal plan for the next two weeks that focuses on using up as much food as possible from your fridge and freezer, using items from your pantry as well. You may be surprised at how many meals you can get out of the food that you already have in your home. Make your meal plan and post it on your fridge so that you stick to it. 

Cutting down the amount of food that you have to move from your fridge and freezer will make your move easier. You are going to need to put all the food from your fridge and freezer into ice-chests, so the less cold food you have to transport, the less ice chests and ice you need to use as well. 

Pack-UP Dry Goods In Advance

A few days before you move, box up all of your pantry items that you don't plan on using in the next few days. This will cut down on the amount of packing you have to do the night before you move. Keep out enough pantry items for one box the night before. 

Prepare Ice Chests

The night before you move, purchase ice for your ice chests and put it in your freezer. That way, in the morning, you can just put the food from your fridge and freezer directly in to the ice chests and cover them with ice without having to make another trip to the store. Have someone assigned to move the food to your home and unpack it right away. 

A few weeks before you move, go through all of your food, getting rid of expired items and donating food items that you don't really want to use. Create a meal plan that will help you use up as much food as possible from your fridge and freezer. Pack up your pantry food except for one box of necessary items a few days before your move and get the ice chests ready the night before. Have someone assigned to transport and unpack the food on your moving day. 

Speak to a company like Bekins Van Lines Inc for more information.