Everyone knows the struggles of moving to a new home. Packing up all of your belongings can truly be a struggle. It can be easy to relax some after getting heavy furniture, clothes, books, and whatever else you might have stored for your move until you remember: the dreaded kitchen, or more specifically, the food in your kitchen. Moving a refrigerator can be tough enough, but taking out and storing all the food inside of it is a real hassle. So what do you do to salvage as much food as you can?
Don’t get flustered or frustrated because we have you covered. Take a look at some of the tips below to help you determine what to keep, what to donate, what to throw away, and how to move all your food to your new home.
1. First things first: if you know the size of your new kitchen, begin planning what you can and cannot take. If your new kitchen is smaller than your current one or has less cabinet space, you will obviously need to downsize what you take with you. Also, keep in mind the size of your new refrigerator if you are moving into a place that already has one.
2. Clean your fridge: Begin going through and cleaning out your fridge of expired or potentially spoiled food and produce. Unless you consistently keep your fridge clean of food clutter, you will open up a lot of space simply by doing a little housecleaning in your fridge. This goes for canned items and other food as well. If the expiration date is close at hand or passed, consider throwing it out to conserve space.
3. Pantry items: Donate pantry items you are not looking to take with you to a local shelter or soup kitchen. This is a good way to help those less fortunate while making sure the food doesn’t go to waste.
4. Thaw the fridge: Try cooking as much of your frozen food items as possible. If you are moving a fridge, it will need to be unplugged for at 24 hours before your move to ensure the freezer is properly thawed. That means any frozen foods you have will thaw and spoil unless you have a secondary freezer or an ice-filled cooler at the ready. Even if you are not moving a fridge, consider eating as much of your frozen food items as possible to conserve space.
5. Grab a cooler: Speaking of coolers, try to have a dependable one handy. It is good for not only storing your frozen and perishable items, but it is also extremely helpful in storing other essentials, such as an extra bag of clothing, a laptop, or other valuables you want to be sure you keep nearby.
6. Dump the glass: Consider donating, tossing out, or transferring any food housed within a glass bottle or jar. If a box or bag containing these kinds of heavy items falls and breaks, it can create a colossal mess to clean up, even if you carefully store them. If you do decide to take food-filled jars and bottles with you, place them at the bottom of your moving boxes and layer them with lighter goods on the top. This reduces shifting, makes it easier to carry and can minimize the likelihood of breaking glass inside the box.
7. Label, label, label: Be sure to note what is in every box you store your food in, and try to use small to medium sized boxes to store your dry and boxed perishable items. This cuts down on the weight of the boxes you are packing and allows you to be more strategic regarding packing. Having smaller boxes dedicated to one item, i.e. spices, rather than one big box filled to the brim with a myriad of different things keeps you from having to sort everything out later.
8. Don't spill the salt and pepper: Secure items such as salt and pepper shakers, sugar dispensers, etc. To make sure these shakers and dispensers don't spill their contents in transit, place some masking tape over the tops. Additionally, any salt, sugar, flour, or other dry good stored in your pantry should be put in a sturdy, airtight container for your move to prevent spilling.
9. Have some breakfast ready: Have something set aside for breakfast the morning of your move. Since everything will be in boxes or coolers, getting breakfast for your big move can be a problem. Plan ahead by making sandwiches or having granola or energy bars ready to eat in the morning and throughout the day. This goes a long way in keeping you going through a stressful moving day.
10. Get ready for some shopping: Take stock of everything you have that you are moving to your new home and create a shopping list to replace the items you had to donate, toss, or eat to keep from spoiling. That way you will be ready to hit the ground running at your new home when everything is set and moved.
If you need any help moving your food and other belongings, consider leveraging 1-800-PACK-RAT's sturdy and reliable shipping containers. Whether it is a local or long-distance move, 1-800-PACK-RAT allows you to pack at your pace and takes off your shoulders the burden of driving your stuff to your new home.