Advice for a cross country move

Dear Home Ec 101,

I wanted to know whether you could offer any advice in preparation for moving. I will be moving across the country in the end of July!

Signed,
OnTheMove

Ivy says:

Moving across the country is a pain. Since you have plenty of time in advance, it won’t be nearly so bad. I’ve made moves both big and small, and while neither are fun, I really, really don’t envy you moving across the country. Unless you live in Lichtenstein or someplace really small.

Now’s the time for a really harsh, critical look at the stuff you own. Don’t move a bunch of crap you don’t want across the country. Get rid of or sell as much stuff as you can. Especially if it’s a big item like furniture. A friend of ours moved from Indiana to California and she said it would have been cheaper just to sell every stick of furniture she owned and buy new when she got to California rather than move it all.

To save space in your moving van, consider mailing your books and DVDs using media mail. Media mail takes awhile for your stuff to get there, but hands down, it’s the cheapest way to move books and DVDs across the country, especially if you’re like me and have tons of books. (Trufax: I only own 8 DVDs.) But make sure you only put books and DVDs in anything you’re shipping via media mail- they do sometimes open the boxes and check.

The US Postal Service has some good moving advice AND you can change your address online! Woot!