Moving Without Tears

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 693, 19 June 1929, Page 6

Moving Without Tears

TO MAKE OPERATION EASY Packing and Labelling MOVING is very like a minor operation. There are those to whom it is merely a thrill, a new experience, something' to be met in a bold adventurous'spirit. But these are the exceptions; most people view a coming removal with shrinking dread, and they cannot sleep o’ nights because their minds revolve ceaselessly with plans and devices for ensuring a smooth passage from the old' to the new.

Like so many things feared in anticipation, it need not be so bad in actuality. Remember it is better than half a dozen spring cleans, it is an opportunity for getting rid of all the rubbish and odds and ends that somehow will accumulate, and for making a fresh start in your domestic life. Now the best way to tackle this great adventure is to make all your arrangements well in advance. Get everything settled (except, of course, the contract with the firm who is moving you) exactly as if you were going into your new house a week earlier than you actually are. This will give you a margin for the inevitable set-backs. Let the painters, carpenters and plumbers get this “ante” date firmly established in their minds as the day on which they must quit, and then you will have a fair chance of getting on with things before the furniture is moved in. Whatever discomfort is to be endured, let it be in the old house rather than in the new. Give up your carpets, linoleums and, if practicable, your curtains. Do not be afraid of the carpets being spoiled, light ones can be protected by dust sheets, or even newspapers. If you employ a really good firm to move you ,you will find the men are extraordinarily careful and competent. You cannot over-estimate the importance of taking accurate measurements of the size of your belongings. See that you have the sizes of the carpets exactly, so that the linoleum or painted surrounds , may be adequate, if there are any stairs, see to the eyes for the stair rods make sure they are fixed so as to fit your rods. Have all the curtain poles fixed, and also the small brass rods for net curtains, if you are having any. If the curtains are to he new ones, get them

made and hung before “the day.” The same applies to any necessary alteration to old curtains you may be using. Have all the cupboards scrubbed out and, In the case of glass, china or store cupboards, have the shelves lined with clean paper, so that things can be put away at once. LABELLING FURNITURE Measure your larger pieces of furniture and measure your new wall spaces very carefully, then make up your mind quite definitely where each piece is to go. Fix on to each large piece a label, stating which room it is for, and indicate the position in which you wish it placed.

Tie a label on to each table and chair, stating to which rooms they belong, and to the beds and mattresses indicating whereabouts in each room they are to go. On the morning of the removal let each lot of bedclothes, pillows and bolsters be tied neatly together with the name of the owner pinned on to each bundle to save confusion when the beds are made up. You must, of course, pack into trunks such of your clothes as will not go Into drawers. If you have an oak chest or box ottoman, it is not a bad plan to fill it with cushions, silk eiderdowns, etc. Don’t forget to empty your inkstands; an oversight of this kind might be far-reaching. And one more thing—see that you have all the gas and electric fires and cooking apparatus fixed and in working order before you go in. It would be too Utopian to advise you to in*st on having the telephone installed before your arrival, but there would be no harm in trying to get it. It is very annoying to have a man making holes in the walls and floors for the wires just as you are settled. ON THE DAY Having exercised every forethought that is humanly possible, all that there remains for you to do is to pray for a fine day. When it comes, don’t fuss, and don’t tire yourself unnecessarily. And don’t be too depressed at the sight of your belongings on the pavement. Your own work will really start when the men have left, but provided the move is not one of great distance, and if everything has gone according to plan, you will be surprised how ship-shape things will look by bedtime.