It’s spring and the tulips are blooming. That means it’s moving season! No matter how organized you think you are, you never truly realize how much stuff you own and how overwhelming keeping track of that stuff is until you have to move it.

My sister and her husband recently bought a house, and I helped them this past weekend by babysitting their adorable 19-month-old and helping to unpack their kitchen. No matter how organized you are, moving while watching a toddler is an almost impossible feat—or at least one not lacking moments of frustration.

How can you combat going totally nuts when you move?

Well, I have some tips and tricks to save your sanity:

Packing:

1. If you’ve already logically organized everything in your old place, try to keep all of those items together in the same box.
2. Label your boxes as specifically as you possibly can (e.g.: kitchen>bowls, plates, salad plates).
3. Throw out unmatched pairs (socks) or broken items (plates, etc.). Don’t pack up anything that you don’t need or absolutely love.

Unpacking:

1. Turn off all distracting forms of media and communication. Turn up the music, grab a bottle of water, and put on your comfy pants!
2. Start by setting up your bed. Then, focus on your kitchen until it’s totally done. Next, your bathroom. Then, your bedroom. Everything else is lower priority. Why? You don’t want food to sit out or dirty dishes to pile up. You want to get a good night’s sleep so that you can be productive the next day.
3. Unpack one room at a time, and don’t move on until that room is finished.
4. Immediately organize that room logically. Don’t put it off, or it might never get done. Decide immediately the most logical place for your glasses, silverware, Tupperware. Keep items closest to similar items. For example, put spices near the oven; keep silverware on the top drawer above less frequently used utensils; keep plastic utensils and Tupperware in the same area.
5. If you come across unmatched pairs (socks, mugs) or broken items, THROW THEM AWAY! Don’t keep junk. You might even realize that you should have gotten rid of something BEFORE you packed it and moved it all the way to your new house. It’s not too late to declutter!
6. Don’t put off a single box. It’s better to throw away boxes of stuff rather than deciding to “unpack it later.” Less is more!

Keep all plastic containers and temporary storage containers together; organize by size and shape.

Keep grains, oils, flours, beans, coffee & tea near similar items.

Final tip: Don’t forget to ask for help! Moving is overwhelming. Don’t do it alone.

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