Cam's gram

I'll give you the same advice I gave a friend who was moving from a house she'd lived in for almost 50 years. Get a dumpster and start pitching. We have moved six times and we get a dumpster. We've packed but then have movers come in. All these moves were in the same county! Certain things we move - my sewing machines, family china, etc. Didn't have much fabric till this last move. I packed most of it in the tubs but not the big ones and some in the medium moving boxes. I taped labels on the top of what each one contained. Did that with all the totes I packed and wrote right on boxes.

tessagin

Helped a friend move just so I could spend more time with her. She had used some of her quilts to wrap her machines also that would be in storage for awhile. She used to belong to a guild so she had quite a bit of her guild kit to take with her so she would be able to still sew and quilt. They stayed temporarily in a month to month efficiency apartment. Her guild kit saved her mind as she called it. After 3 months they moved into their new home permanently. She used plastic storage with locking lids. Because they were clear she could see all of her stash and accessories.

eparys

I would say it will depend on how long you will have to store them that way.

8 years ago we moved north after 35 years in our home in Virginia. We moved ourselves so I did all the packing. Our old home was sold in January and when we arrived at our new home which was not finished everything we owned ended up if 3 rental storage units for over 5 months. I used large plastic tubs with locking lids and some of the tubs I bought also had wheels. Everything was fine even after the prolonged storage.

ragamuffin

If you already have the totes without the locks, you can tape them shut by taking the tape the whole way around and then taping it over the top of the tape itself. If you can get the clear movers tape , it will peel right off the containers without letting any residue. Good luck with your move! If you are packing a lot yourself, try to get a friend or more then one to help you. Put the soup in the crock pot and make it fun.

kyquiltlover1942

I wrapped all my dishes and other breakables with my fabric, the last time we moved cross country. Did not add any weight with paper and got to keep most of my fabric.

hudgoddess

Starbucks will give you coffee boxes. Bookstores will give you boxes. Those are perfect because they're heavy enough to protect your stuff and small enough so you don't overpack and not be able to lift them. Get all the same boxes so you can stack them easily.
I used fabric to wrap breakable a in some boxes. I also put fabric in kitchen garbage bags. Those bags can fit into the small areas of the truck between furniture.

fayeberry

A word of caution - keep an eye on the movers. The estimator they send out will assure you your stuff will be packed one way, but the people who actually do the work often have their own ideas, usually shortcuts. Guess how I know....

Snooze2978

I put my sewing room into storage while my house was up for sale back in Florida. I didn't realize it would take 3 years to sale but it did. Anyway, I packed everything myself, machines in their original boxes and fabrics, etc in large plastic totes. I used a big name moving company that also advertised A/C storage but I can't say they did that great of a job though. 1st off I don't think they put my stuff in an A/C unit as some items came out yellowed as if in high heat for a long time. When I did finally get moved to Iowa I found some of my totes damaged.........either the lids were cracked or the container themselves were damaged. Luckily none of my items inside were damaged. I noticed one of my embroidery machine boxes at the bottom of a pile in the truck and I screamed but they stated they knew how to pack so not to worry. I'm sure the fact I still had the original boxes with the thick styrofoam inserts helped tremendously too. They weren't so nice with my furniture though as I found one antique endtable with its leg ripped off, gouges in my cherry wood armoire, etc.

But everything from my sewing room came out okay, no damage or mildew on the fabrics so I'm happy on that note. I had up to 50 large totes just in fabrics so that's saying something and they were in those totes for up to 5 years. I still have some apparel and fleece fabrics in totes yet today for lack of room to put them onto shelves.

The boxes I used for my clothing and houseware goods I bought in town and they came out pretty well. Think I'm still missing a few boxes so when you do go to putting them into storage or moving truck, somehow mark which are which and whats inside them as I didn't and regret it.

tessagin

When my friend moved, she had an armoire family heirloom. Also cherry wood. Her husband said the movers knew what they were doing. She added more padding so there were no gouges. Told her husband she could add more to his "gun cabinet with the hand-carved front. He paid $15000.00 for it. It "was" beautiful. No that's ok, they know what they're doing. When they got to their destination and put things in storage guess what was damaged. His gun cabinet was a mess. He also didn't want her to pay for extra insurance. They knew what they were doing. She didn't listen to him. They filed a claim and reimbursed for all damages. Turns out they didn't pack the gun cabinet like they were suppose to. Because the cabinet was so large, it was placed at an angle.

ManiacQuilter2

I moved two years ago. I put the bolts of fabric in kitchen garbage bags (no scent) and the rest remained in the drawers they are stored in. My two Bernina and the important quilting notions where packed in a bag and I personally carried them to my new home.