If it weren't for the excitement of moving into a new home, nobody would have the energy to actually pack and cart their stuff to a new domicile. Just so you know, I've moved over a dozen times. And procrastination is the biggest foe of a smooth move.

I've always been a do it yourself mover. So I don't know how to hire someone. I do know how to get through it the hard way though, and know some things to make it not so hard.

Here are the things I've learned about moving:

• Buy a tape gun. Buy tape too - get the bulk pack. In future years, if you ever have an opportunity to help other people move, they won't want your help - they'll just want your tape gun.
• Get some disposable dishes. 
• Buy zip bags and garbage bags. All sizes of zip bags.
• You can start packing a month before the move if you know about it in time. Start with non-essentials. Your library, the videos you rarely watch, the music CDs, computer software disks, cookbooks, and anything else you know you either are not going to use, or can live without.
• About two weeks before the move, start packing the semi-essentials - stuff you can get by without for two weeks. Some more clothing, kitchen items, etc.
• A week before, pack the dishes, and eat off plastic. Pack all of the kitchen except one sauce pan, one frying pan, one mixing bowl,  one cookie sheet, and a spatula and a stirring spoon.
• Designate a cupboard as the Do Not Touch cupboard. Put the garbage bags, the disposable dishes, and the few real dishes that you need to keep out in there. Don't pack them!
• Pack a toolbox with hammer, nails, screwdriver, pliers. The basics are fine. Just make sure you put them with the Do Not Touch stuff.
• Keep the vacuum cleaner, cleaning rags, broom, and dustpan, and a bottle of Orange Clean and Glass Cleaner, plus some paper towels in the Do Not Touch cupboard. You'll need them.
• The week before, you can also start packing food. Plan menus for the following week, and one for the first meal in your new house. Pack everything else.  
• Use the Zip bags to put things like silverware, and small stuff from the kitchen, that indescribable drawer that everyone has, and stuff from the bathroom. It keeps them together in the boxes.
• Use the garbage bags for blankets and pillows if you need to protect them while using them for padding in the truck.
• Pack an overnight bag right before you pack everything else in your closet and bath.
• Leave the dressers full. If they have heavy items in them, then pull the drawers out, move the dresser to the truck, and put the drawers back in.
• Leave the freezer full if it is a standalone chest or upright freezer. It will travel for 48 hours or possibly more, as long as the door stays closed. If it is a fridge and freezer, empty it and use coolers.

Not by any means the only tips to moving more successfully, but it should give you a good start.