The Night Before A Move No One Was Stirring…Wait! Everyone was stirring!
Most of our moves require hours of driving, usually anywhere from 5 – 10 hours. (Any more than that and we usually boondock for a night.) We try to get a lot of the inside stuff done the night before so we have a quicker leave time in the morning.
The day before a move, we have a normal morning and early afternoon. If it’s during the week, the boys have school and Ben works. If it is the weekend, we normally try to get any groceries that will keep and any last minute sightseeing done. In the later afternoon/early evening, we will start to get the inside of the RV ready to move.
INSIDE THE RV:
KITCHEN/LIVING ROOM:
We have some collapsible bins that work great for holding items during a move. When they are not in use, they fit nicely under the kitchen sink. One is used to pack up the bathroom items (stuff that normally lives under the sink, in the shower, and in the cabinet). The other is used for packing up under the kitchen sink and any hanging items (my wood sign, any hats, etc.) and surge protectors/electrical cords in the living area. Items on the shelf over the fireplace (electric picture frame, bins that hold keys, remotes, etc.) go in the cabinets above the TV. Anything on the walls have to be stored: signs, calendars, pictures, notes, etc.
We empty the garbage, clean out the fridge, and do any remaining dishes. We place any meat in the freezer the day or two before moving, along with water bottles. Once the water bottles have frozen, we will place some in the fridge on move day to help keep it cold. If it is a long drive or we are boondocking, we will place cold items in the cooler with a bag of ice.
The Berkey* gets emptied of any remaining water and I remove the filters. I roll these up in a towel and place in the bottom compartment of the Berkey. Both sections go into the kitchen sink, along with the coffee pot and Nick’s Venus Fly Trap plant. Another towel is wrapped around the plant and coffee pot to help keep them in place. I make sure the window blinds are secured. (The blinds by the oven have tabs to lock them in place.)
The shoe rack/table gets emptied. After dinner, I collapse the kitchen table and the shoe rack lays on top of it. The entry way and couch floor mats get placed on either the couch or the table top (once it has been collapsed). The kitchen/living room area bin gets placed next to the fireplace/counter. (Everything has to be kept in place so it doesn’t move, so we place things so that the slides will help keep them in place once they are pulled in.)
Our hot spot and WeBoost* normally live in the kitchen/living area. I move those into the truck and get it set up for the next day. I will also take the back-up camera monitor and tire pressure monitor and put those back in the truck so they are ready to go in the morning.
The microwave glass plate and the pizza stone in the oven get removed, wrapped in a towel, and stored underneath the cabinet. It seems like a weird step, but in the forums and countless YouTube videos we have watched, occasionally the doors can pop open and the microwave plate can fly out. The oven can’t really open when the slides are closed, but I still worried about it sliding, hitting the glass oven door and causing problems.
We also make a snack bag for the truck. Once all the food is taken care of and any remaining dishes are put away, all cabinet drawers get bungie or gear tie wrapped* together.
BUNKROOM: After work is done for the day, all school and work supplies are put away (laptops, printer, etc.). Their desk chairs are packed up. Any loose items on top of the dresser or desks (books, toys, school items, etc) are put in their bins. The boys’ room is usually more of a cleaning up their mess so it is ready to move.
BATHROOM: We get showers the night before a move and turn off the propane and electric for the water heater. We pack up a collapsible bin with things we won’t need in the morning (loose items from the cabinet, shower items, things under the sink) and store it in the shower. I usually place a towel and/or the laundry hamper bag in the shower stall as well to keep the bin from moving around.
MASTER BEDROOM: The folding chairs (Ben’s office and boys’ desks) get stored under our bed. The large Ryobi fan and my air purifier* also go under the bed. The under-the-bed storage holds a lot. In fact when someone is trying to find something, it’s become a joke to ask “Did you look under the bed?”. It seems everything is down there.
I have a set of plastic drawers that hold my overflow of items. It normally sits on top of the shelf in the bedroom (over where the fuse box is), but it gets moved against the wall in front of the closet for moving day. We do have to make sure we get a change of clothes out first, as it will block the bottom drawers.
OUTSIDE:
The outdoor kitchen gets stocked with snacks and drinks for rest stops. Once we shut the water heater switch to off and are done with the stove/oven, we close the propane tanks outside. The boys are in charge of removing the tire covers and the x-chocks. We keep the wheel chocks in place. If we had the extra water hose hooked up, we will disconnect and put it away. We will normally leave the slides out, with water, electric, and sewer hose connected until the morning we move. If we had the coaxial cable set up for campground TV, we will also disconnect that. Nick climbs up to the top of the RV and sweeps off the roof and slides. The bikes get put away on the bike rack, mine gets stored either in the truck or on the couch. The outdoor rug is put away. After the sun has set and it has cooled off a little, I check and adjust the tire pressure on RV and truck.
DAY OF MOVE:
Most of the packing up is done, but we still have a few quick items to do. After finishing in the bathroom (brushing hair, teeth, etc.), we place the rest of the items in the bin in the shower. Then we close and lock bathroom fan and lock the shower doors. I’ll empty the black and grey tanks once everyone has gone and will disconnect and pack up the hoses. I’ll run back in and place a couple gallons of water, some Dawn, a capful of Calgon, and a RV toilet tab into the toilet and flush it down. Now it’s all ready for when we get to our next place. Sometimes we will dump a bag of ice down the toilet as well. It helps loosen anything stuck in the tanks as we drive.
I’ll unplug the cord for my phone (it lies across the floor). We double check around our bed and will bring that slide in. Once we turn the lights off and shut our bedroom and bathroom doors, the back of the RV is good to go. We’ll add some of the frozen water bottles to the fridge if needed, make sure everything is out of the way and then bring in the living room and kitchen slides.
Any phone cords in the bedroom have to be unplugged and put away (they are where the slide comes in). We double check around our bed and will then bring that slide in. Once we turn the lights off and shut our bedroom and bathroom doors, the back of the RV is good to go. We’ll add some of the frozen water bottles to the fridge if needed, make sure everything is out of the way and then bring in the living room and kitchen slides.
That part is usually pretty quick, or at least it’s getting quicker.
Next up is attaching the RV to the truck. This is what takes some time. We are getting better, but not super fast yet. We have the backup camera, but it does have some distortion until you get close, so I’m still learning and adjusting. Once we get it lined up, attached at the hitch and the cord plugged into the truck, we test out the turn signals, brake lights, and hazard lights on the back of the RV. We do a final walk around to make sure we got everything and it looks good. The boys will pull out the wheel chocks and store them in the back of the truck. I’ll pull out of the spot and drive a little bit while Ben is outside looking for anything wrong or weird noises. After everything checks out, we’re on the road!
Our favorite items for moving: collapsible bins, bungie cords, Gear Tie* wraps.
*Amazon affiliate link