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Practical Gift Ideas for Moving & Housewarming

Here’s reason #459 why my M.I.L.  is awesome:

Last summer, the night before we moved into our new home in Orlando, she gave us one of the most precious gifts a Floridian could ask for.  A gift some deem more precious than gold….

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving & Housewarming | The Thinking Closet

That’s right: RAID!  She is a Floridian herself and knows how very pesky critters down here in tropical climes can be (even in the cleanest of households).  Roaches or “palmetto bugs” are resilient little big buggers.  (Ugh, just typing that sentence gives me the heebie jeebies).  Thanks to her, on the very first day of arriving to our new home, we were prepared.  And boy did that RAID prove useful.

She also gave us several other practical gifts on moving day, from stocking our empty fridge with groceries…

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving & Housewarming | The Thinking Closet

…to sticking around to help us clean…

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving & Housewarming | The Thinking Closet

and organize….

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving & Housewarming | The Thinking Closet

She even brought us a bouquet of flowers to help our house start to feel like a home.

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving & Housewarming | The Thinking Closet

They say that moving is one of the most stressful events in a person’s life, and I can attest that encouraging and practical gifts like these can go a long way!

Merry Moving Kit

So, when I found out that our friends J & A were preparing for an upcoming move themselves, I knew we had to gift them with some practical items.  They’re in Ohio, so since RAID is not as necessary, I decided to pick up a few items to help their packing process run a little more smoothly and well…colorfully.

So, here you have it!  The “Merry Moving Kit.”

Merry Moving Kit & Other Practical Ideas for Moving or Housewarming Gifts | The Thinking Closet

 The kit comes complete with…

  • 2 rolls of packing tape.  (Tape always finds a way to grow legs and walk off.  You just can’t get enough of it.)
  • Chevron tin from the Target $1 bin.  (The chevron…it draws me.)
  • Avery labels to keep their moving boxes organized.
  • A variety pack of sharpies, “all the colors of the rainbow,” so they can color-code their boxes according to room!

Some colorful bows just complete the look, don’t you think?

Merry Moving Kit & Other Practical Ideas for Moving or Housewarming Gifts | The Thinking Closet

Round-Up

And just for the fun of it, here’s a round-up of plenty more practical gift ideas for your friends who are moving or in need of some house-warming.

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving & Housewarming | The Thinking Closet

Brie has a list chock full of practical gift suggestions such as a gift card to the local hardware store.  Home Depot run, anyone?

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving Day | The Thinking Closet
House-Warming Gift Bucket | Darling Doodles

I love that with this collection of gifts, the mop bucket is a gift in and of itself!

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving & Housewarming | The Thinking Closet
Another Awesome House-Warming Gift Bucket | Coriosity

Or how about a laundry basket overflowing with cleaning supplies?  Now, that’s practical.

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving & Housewarming | The Thinking Closet
Laundry Basket of Cleaning Supplies | AndreaDekker.com

And no need to take things too seriously.  Here’s one for those of you who enjoy a good pun:

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving and Housewarming | The Thinking Closet
Funny but Frugal Gift | The Appraiser’s Wife

You can use Cheri’s tutorial to make your own luggage tags, customizing them with monograms and a new address.

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving or Housewarming | The Thinking Closet
Monogrammed Luggage Tags | I Am Momma, Hear Me Roar

Encourage a friend to keep in touch by gifting her with a return address embosser and new stationery.

Practical Gifts for Moving Day | The Thinking Closet
Return Address Embosser | Coordinately Yours

How about a monogrammed door mat?  Check out Cheryl’s tutorial for how to make your own.

Practical Gifts for Moving Day | The Thinking Closet
Monogrammed Door Mat | That’s What Che Said

I love the idea of personalizing a window box with a new house number.

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving Day | The Thinking Closet
Personalized Window Box | googiemama

How clever is this?  A ready-made junk drawer, full of the useful odds and ends you use every day!

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving Day | The Thinking Closet
Ready-Made Junk Drawer | Darling Doodles

Here’s an idea: one amazing tool to rule them all…a laser level!  I think I could play with this giftie for hours.

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving & Housewarming | The Thinking Closet
Laser Level | 4 Men 1 Lady

You could also give the gift of membership to a local museum or science center, encouraging your friends to be tourists in their new city!

Practical Gift Ideas for Moving Day | The Thinking Closet
Museum Membership | Photo Credit: AMNHNYC

Dear reader, what gifts have you given or received when moving that proved to be not only encouraging, but practical, too?  I’d love to know!

Have a wonderful start to this brand new week, friends.

{Linking up here.}

This is Lauren, signing off.

 

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91 Comments

    1. You’re so right! Who wants to cook after a long day of unpacking and moving in? Not this girl!

  1. Are your housewarming baskets for sale and delivery? I have a good friend moving to Orlando today and instead of sending flowers, I’d live to send her one of your baskets. Let me know, that would be wonderful!

    1. Erin, you’re so kind! I had never thought to sell them before…and perhaps if I had more time, I would! But you can probably pull one together with a quick run to Target and have it in the mail in the same day! 😉 The tin bins were in the $1 section, labels and markers in the office section, tape in the packing section…and voila! Gift complete.

      Bless your friend moving in today! It was a scorcher. We moved in almost a year ago exactly ourselves, so I feel her pain! Thank God for air conditioning in Florida, right? Good luck!

  2. OOh, I’m gonna remember this one for a future gift. I love me some good “kits” and I like this housewarming one! I’ll never forget how when I first moved into Lismore House, you sent me some incredibly designed address labels. I think I teared up…I was so moved that someone, my sister, would think of those little needs like that and help me take care of it. I felt so loved.

    1. Who doesn’t love a “kit” right? Survival kits…moving kits…kit kat bars! 😉 Glad to know those address labels met a need and also blessed your heart. There’s something about brand new address labels with a brand new address that just make me feel giddy inside. It was a fun gift to prepare and send off to you, my loved Lismore Lisbeth!

    1. Ha ha…yes, moving is anything but merry most of the time. Hence the need for a merry moving kit! Ha ha. 😉 I also just love me some alliteration (English teacher nerd alert). Thanks for your kind words, friend, and for stopping by!

  3. Lauren — great ideas. Love the color coding sharpies! We moved to Ohio from Nebraska via Colorado and thank goodness there was no Raid required. Guess that’s one of the good things about freezing weather — maybe the only good thing, come to think of it. It does help keep the small beasties under control.

    1. Ha ha. Yes, it’s true. Every geographical location has a cross to bear, I suppose. I suppose up north it’s the frigid cold winters and down south it’s the big “beasties.” (Love your word choice there…going to start using that more often!)

    1. I understand, Mackenzie! We moved this past summer from OH to FL and while we don’t have kids yet, we did have two boats to bring down along with us…it was quite a drive! But thankfully, we split it up over three days, which made it manageable. And while we’re renting right now with plans to move in the next year or two, I hope we can find a place where we can stay for a LONG time.

    1. Lol. I’ll see what my people and I can do. (Who am I kidding? If I had “people,” then my house would be clean! Alas, that is far from the case.)

  4. Can you believe I’ve never thought about this, nor received any moving gifts??? lol, That is a super cool idea!!! Hummm I guess here in spain if I give as a moving gift a can of Raid they probably would shut the door on my face lol but I really like these ideas and some of them can be useful even here!!! Thanks you gave me a lot of thinking now!!! lol. Thank you so much for stopping by and linking this up at Bewitch Me & Titi! Hope to have you there next Sunday with a new awesome creation and garb your FEATURED BUTTON YAYYYYY… Ooooh yeah you are going to be featured!!!

    Hope you are having a lovely day

    Hugs
    Cami @ TitiCrafty by Camila

    1. Don’t feel badly, Camila! You know, I hadn’t really thought about it either until I received the barrage of gifts from my MIL and realize how very helpful and loving they were. And thank you ever so much for the feature! You shared the exciting news in the sweetest way…and I love your writer’s voice. Hugs back!

    1. Patty, based on your sweet response alone, I can tell that you are such a loving person, and I know you’ll be of great help to your son and DIL when the time comes!

  5. Moving can be such a pain. Sure, you get a new place to live once it is all said and done but the work associated with the move is awful. These are fantastic ideas for moving gifts. The tape and sharpie one is a definitely a perfect idea.
    Thanks so much for linking this up to the Pinworthy Projects Party!

    1. I know, Shannah! I was just telling my husband the other day that when the time comes for us to move, I hope it’s to a house where we can stay for many many years. As much as I love moving gifts, the process itself is far from lovable! Thanks for stopping by.

    1. No, siree. I’ve never given someone a plunger before…but now I’m tempted to try it! Ha ha.

  6. There are some awesome ideas here, I particularly like your tape and sharpie idea! I can only imagine how organised you were when you moved house. I bet you kicked ass 😀

    Would you believe I have move house 5 times in 4 years!!!!! Isn’t that just ridiculous. I think my family started to get fed up of us moving around about the 3rd house move and so gave up on getting us house warming gifts, anticipating it wouldn’t be long until we were off again. We love were we are now though and certainly don’t anticipate moving for a loooong time (touch wood!)

    btw, I don’t know what palmetto bugs are but just the name alone sound terrifying !
    xxx

    1. Ha ha. I’ll tell you, when we moved to Florida, I was extremely organized for half of the time. Then, our moving timeline speeded up, and we felt the crunch, so I threw colored markers and labels to the wind and just started boxing up any and everything like a madwoman. It definitely wasn’t calm, cool, and collected, but we got the job done, and that’s what mattered. Lol.

      Woah, and I didn’t realize how much moving you’ve done in your life, Hannah! I’m sure that would be so draining…especially after the 4th or 5th time, and I’m glad to hear that you might be able to put down roots at your current home. You’ve earned a break!

      And you’re so right about the name “palmetto bugs” being terrifying on its own. Don’t you even dare google it to see a picture…or you’ll be even more grossed out! Yuck!

        1. Oh nooooo! I worried about that, actually. So sorry you had to see that! Now, go look at google images of cute puppies in an effort to erase that wretched image from your memory.

  7. As someone who also lives in the Orlando area (and is also originally from New York lol), I feel your pain about the palmetto bugs. Those suckers haunt my dreams and nearly made me want to move out-of-state when I settled into my apartment because they’d come indoors during the summers. O_O.

    1. Woah! How crazy cool that we have the NY-Orlando connection, Jazmin! NY can have it’s own share of “pests,” but none of them seem to hold a candle to the terror that is the palmetto bug. I can totally relate to what you went through when you first moved here…I definitely felt under attack by them in those first few months. My hope is that this summer won’t be as bad, since last summer, we had just moved in after the house had sat unoccupied for a month…well, unoccupied except for the buggies! We had to remind them whose house it was! Lol.

    1. Glad to have a friend in you who can commiserate, Patti. I’m just bracing myself for what’s to come in the summer months ahead. We’re already starting to get into hotter, wetter weather. (This is going to be my first full year in FL, so I suppose it’s like my initiation. At least, the bugs seems to think so. Ha ha.)

    1. Thanks, Jeni! Believe it or not, I could have kept going with more ideas…I just kept coming across them in my Pinterest and google searching, but I realized it was starting to get a little long. Guess there will be no excuse for NOT giving a gift next time a friend of ours moves. 😉

    1. Thanks, Steph! It’s hard to resist a tin full of brightly colored sharpies, isn’t it? Almost as hard as resisting brightly colored washi. (Loved your teacher gift!)

    1. Love linking up to your partay, Vanessa! Thanks for taking the time to stop by and check out my round-up. I’m honored!

  8. I wish when I moved into my first home I got such good advice! Nobody told me that living in the country means “country critters”. I don’t know how many times I screamed because I found a snake just inches from me (I’ve even given up gardening because my heart just can’t take it) or finding a scorpion crawling over me in bed (I’m now fairly immune to their stings). You can call up the best exterminator in the world, but a few days later you’re just going to find something new crawling on you. A can of Raid would have been a very welcome gift, indeed!
    Oh, and my mother lives in Houston where the clime is also hot and humid. She doesn’t call them roaches. She calls them water bugs. You see a roach run across the patio and she’ll say, “squish that water bug”. 🙂
    Glad to know that you have such a supportive MIL. From experience of friends and family, not everyone is that lucky. You can tell just how much you love and appreciate her!

    1. Allison, I seriously felt chills up my spine to read your comment. I would have given up gardening, too (thankfully, Mark has the green thumb in the family). And hold the phone, did you say a scorpion crawled over you IN BED?! That puts my “gecko in bed” story to shame. My goodness! You’re a survivor, that’s for sure.

      Ha ha, and I can see how “water bug” is synonymous with roach. They definitely thrive in the summer time when the air is hot and we have heavy rains day after day. Since we’ve had rain every day this week, I’m starting to wonder if this is early summer for us! Eek! Time to shake up my can and have it at the ready. (This will be my first full year in FL, so it’s all new to me.)

      And I’m glad you can see how very thankful I am for my MIL! She truly defies those negative MIL stereotypes…overbearing and snippy she is not! 😉

  9. I love how many wonderful moving/housewarming gifts you’ve thought of here!

    Our favourite housewarming gift that we give to EVERYONE is a loaf of fresh bread, salt and a bottle of wine. We also write up the quote from It’s A Wonderful Life (our favourite movie):
    “Bread – that this house may never know hunger.
    Salt – that life may always have flavour.
    Wine – that joy and prosperity may reign forever.”

    Wishing you a lovely day!

    1. Oh, Jennifer, I love the idea of doing a gift a la “It’s a Wonderful Life.” That’s one of my favorite movies of all time, and I remember that moment in the movie well. I can almost hear Donna Reed’s voice now…. I’m going to have to try that myself sometime! 😉 Thanks for the inspiration, Jennifer.

    1. Thanks for the link, Jess! Those gold dots were simply smashing. Ha ha, and yes, I couldn’t decide on whether this round-up was about moving gifts or house-warming, so it became a little bit of both! Moving is definitely a crazy time when small, thoughtful, and practical gifts go a long way.

  10. Your thoughtfulness knows no bounds!! This is adorable and totally useful!! My in-laws just moved and I seriously didn’t even think of putting something like this together! Maybe next time 🙂
    Amazing job once again!

    1. Aw, don’t feel badly, Thalita! I’m sure your in-laws feel loved by you in so many ways. You are such a sweet gal! And believe me, I’ve missed many a birthday and holiday…for even my family and closest of friends. (It seems the dates always creep up on me.) That’s why one of my next projects is going to be a birthday calendar of sorts. 😉 Happy Wednesday, friend!

  11. Great ideas abound again! Is it bad that I’m hoping someone I know will move so I can give them a moving gift?;) Just teasing! I’ll have to pin this to keep it handy…our church has a lot of military folks that are members and it always seems like someone is moving in or out. I’m sure I’ll have a use for this round up sooner rather than later!

    1. Ha ha. No, that’s not bad at all! That’s really quite sweet in my mind. And it sounds like someone from your church will be moving in no time flat. I know how it can be with military folk. Several of my friends come from military families and my brother-in-law used to be in the air-force. I have great respect for their dedication and willingness to pick up and move from place to place throughout their time of service.

  12. Lauren, you are so fun and creative! 🙂 all these ideas are good and fun to receive! love the tape and sharpies! Hope you enjoyed your weekend with your friends. Bugs! ah! ah! I read Alex’s comment about waking up in the middle of the night and finding those bugs in the bathroom; too scary! but I’m scared of everything ha!ha! when we moved in our house, my parents bought us a “paint kit” with brushes, tape; everything it was fun to receive and much appreciated! & they got us food for the day and for all our friends who helped out !

    1. Buggies are so scary to me, too! So, it definitely part of God’s sense of humor that I ended up in Florida. (I also was terrified of going to the doctor as a little girl…then I ended up marrying one. Ha ha.)

      I love the idea of gifting a “paint kit” to new home-owners. I’m sure that came in handy! Not to mention the food that they brought. Sustenance is key, especially on moving day. Thanks for adding another great idea to my arsenal!

    1. Thanks, Kara! I had buckets of fun putting this round-up together, that’s for sure. Happy Wednesday to you!

  13. I live in Florida…just a little North of you so I can appreciate the first photo! lol LOVE the big tub of cleaning supplies and the plunger with the note is very cute! All great ideas! THANKS!

    1. Hooray for Florida blogger buddies who can commiserate with me on the need for RAID! And I’m usually not one for cleaning, but a big laundry basket full of fun products might entice me to give it a go! Ha ha. 😉 Glad you enjoyed the round-up.

  14. How adorable!! What a practical, adorable idea. I love the concept of a ‘merry moving’ gift. I was thinking that along with packing tape bubble wrap would also be very helpful. (That or a million newspapers but bubble wrap is WAY more fun!)

    Also, what a great round-up! I particularly like the cleaning bucket and the luggage tags.

    Oh! Another idea would be gift cards to a local restraunt or coffee shop so they could get away from all the moving for a moment and enjoy some delious local food.

    As always, thanks for the inspiration!
    – Dusty.

    1. Oh yes! Bubble wrap holds great practical potential, not just as a packing supply, but as a de-stressor! I’m going to have to remember to include that in my next “Merry Moving Kit.” And I really like your idea to give a gift card to a local joint where they could escape the fray for a spell…and get to know their new town! Really clever, Dusty!

  15. What a fabulous mother in law you have! I think I would die with the buggies you guys have. Seattle has… like… no bugs! Well, very, very little. The boys (my fiance and stepson) are both deathly afraid of spiders. I always forget that they live(d) in a state (Arkansas) with some scary bugs. Here, we don’t have anything scary. I am known for picking up spiders alive and setting them free outside. They are totally weirded out when I do that.

    Our packing tape definitely has legs of their own. Just the other day the guy was looking for it. But then, he’s awful at finding things. It’s usually because he doesn’t put things back in their designated spot and doesn’t have the memory capacity to recall where he put it. He’s constantly losing his keys, wallet, etc. He once lost his keys for a week! I couldn’t believe it. lol!

    OK, I got way off topic. I LOVE the new homeowners crapper gift. That made me laugh. These are all very thoughtful gifts! You are quite the pro at gift giving! Keep it up! Hugs!!! 😀

    1. Oh Bethany, I don’t know if I’ll get over the big bugs down here…but we have family nearby and the sun up in the sky to keep us rooted here! 😉 And how wonderful that you don’t have many scary bugs in Seattle. I admire you and your bravery at picking up live spiders. I am not so courageous! As much as my parents tried to compare spiders to “Charlotte” in Charlotte’s Web, I could never see them as friendly, docile creatures. (We definitely had spiders in N.Y. where I grew up.)

      Ha ha, and I love that you call your partner in crime, “the guy.” I suppose him forgetting where he puts things is one of the many reasons why he needs you! 😉

      And I’m glad you got a kick out of the crapper gift, too. I love a good gag gift…especially one that can actually prove useful!

      Happy Monday (now Tuesday!) to you, friend.

      1. It is funny. I do call him “the guy” to everyone. I also call our pet bird, “the bird.” I wonder if I’ll end up calling our first child, “the baby?”

        My Gran had a dog that he named dog. Yep. That was his name. Dog.

        Happy Tuesday, almost Wednesday! 😉

        1. Ha ha. I like where this is going, Bethany. Can I call you, “the blogger”? Oh, but you’re so much more than that! 😉 You’re Bethany! The ngnrdgrl! And I chuckled to know that this naming game runs in the family and that your Gran named her dog, “Dog.” Too funny. From all these stories, I can tell your family has a great sense of humor. I bet holidays together are a hoot!

  16. What wonderful ideas, Lauren, that cover a multitude of situations and preferences!! I appreciated being reminded of how helpful Rachel was to you and M. during your move from Ohio to Florida. There were so many creative and helpful gifts she shared with you, especially the gift of her time and energy!

    I remember friends giving us a stack of magazines when we first moved to 319 back in 1990, such as This Old House magazine and Victorian Homes, etc. It was an unusual gift but gave us many inspiring ideas. I agree the best gifts are practical ones such as offers to help pack or help with throwing things out (hint, hint). Love you!!

    1. Indeed, Rachael was so very helpful to us! I feel forever indebted. And I’ll never forget the comfort of opening our mailbox a day or two after our arrival to receive our first “real” mail…from you guys! Thanks for thinking to warm our home with written correspondence. That was a much better “present” inside our mailbox than the bugs that were first occupying it when I opened it. Yuck. That was a real, “Welcome to Florida,” moment!

      And I love that idea of giving magazines or some inspiration for home decor and room layout. What a way to nurture new homeowners creatively!

  17. These are so great! I love the tape/sharpies idea! Moving requires SO much tape! When we bought our house, my uncle gave us this huge bucket filled with all sorts of home improvement stuff. {And also a smoke/carbon monoxide detector…he’s an insurance agent. ;)} Thanks for all of the fun ideas, Lauren! Hope you’re having a great day!

    ~Abby =)

    1. It’s true! It’s true! (You really can never have enough tape around…especially when boxes need packin’!) And I love that your Uncle thought to give y’all a smoke/carbon monoxide detector. That is not only practical, but potentially life-saving! Way to go, Abby’s Uncle!

  18. What a great idea…you are so right, tape DOES seems to grown legs and walk off when you are packing. I am now coveting the laser level.

    1. Isn’t that super cool? Truth be told, I can’t think of the last time I required a level…but I think I would find reasons to use one if mine had colorful lasers shooting out of it! Ha ha.

  19. I know all about that Raid in Virginia. I had no idea roaches could be that big and they are so disgusting! Nice moving kit…we have a group of friends here that helps each other move in or out and cleans the places up. Of course cooking meals is always helpful too.

    1. Oh, Darcel! I didn’t realize that roach RAID was required in Virginia…but I suppose any place that gets hot and humid enough. Ugh! You’re right about them being disgusting. I know we’re supposed to love all of God’s creatures, but I can’t help but think that roaches are an exception. Ha ha.

      I love that you have a cohort of pals that help each other out with the moving process. Helping hands are invaluable! Especially, helping hands you can count on! And you’re so right: never underestimate the power of a frozen meal to feed the body and soul, especially when cooking items might still be packed up. Thanks for adding that one to my list!

  20. I forgot that you used to live in Ohio. If you’re ever up this way, you are welcome to stay with us!

    So many great ideas! We live in a new neighborhood and have new neighbors moving in every few months. When we moved in, one of our neighbors printed out a list of all the families on the street on a map with phone numbers and everyone’s names, including the kids, with ages. I have referred to that list so often!

    I love the tape and sharpie idea. I used to be the queen of packing. I would make a layout of the new place and assign a color to each room. I had a excel spreadsheet that I would track each box, which would be numbered with a color coded label. The spreadsheet would include what was in each box. On moving day, I would have an inside crew and and outside crew (so that the house wouldn’t get dirty). I’d have maps of the house put up in each room with furniture placement. By the time our help left, all the furniture was in place (and TVs hooked up and beds made) and all the boxes were in the right room. My best move when I moved into my first house. We started at 9am and by 4pm every.single.box was unpacked, clothes were hung up, kitchen unpacked and groceries bought, electronics hooked up, and art on the walls. My mom was in awe of my 20 friends!

    1. Thanks for the open invitation, Jen! I forgot you were in Ohio, too!

      And how brilliant to share a list with the families on your street – – I wish our neighborhood felt that chummy!

      And I thought I was organized when it came to packing, but your description of the excel spreadsheets puts my system to shame! And I love that you thought to have an inside crew and outside crew, room layout maps, and 20 friends to help get everything set up in a day’s work! Wow. You are definitely deserving of the title, “Queen of Packing.” When it comes time for us to buy a home, I’ll certainly be coming to you for moving tips, Jen! 🙂

  21. Great post Lauren! You are one of the most thoughtful gift givers I have encountered, my friend! And you do have a very thoughtful MIL to work at keeping you bug free. The roaches in Texas are way nasty too. My pest control guy is my new best friend!

    We have had roots in our first purchased home for 8 years now, so it’s been awhile since I moved, but I too remember the best gift was the gift of family helping and cleaning and organizing! What a treasure. I enjoyed all of these ideas and will tuck them away to remember for my more nomadic friends. Another idea would be to gather up cute and festive disposable tableware (plates, cups, utensils, napkins) for that in between time when people are still unpacking the kitchen.

    1. You mentioning your “pest control guy” (a.k.a. your new bestie) reminded me of when I was in my first few months in Florida…which were the hottest months of the year (July, August, September), and the big bugs were in their hay day. When our pest control gal first visited our house, I mistakenly called her an exterminator. She said, “Now, we don’t claim to exterminate the bugs. Not in Florida. Here, we’re pest control. All we do is try to keep the pests…well…under control.” Sigh. A slight difference of semantics, but I now understand the harsh reality of that difference. Ha ha. Gotta laugh. Or you’ll cry!

      Anyway, I love your idea to give some disposable cutlery and tableware to relieve some of the pressure to unpack the right boxes in time! Brilliant!

  22. Such a great idea! We are in the process of moving into our new home this week. This would be a helpful gift and the others are great too. Keep up the good work Lauren! 🙂

    1. How exciting that the big move is this week, Hilary! Wish I could drop off a “Merry Moving Kit” on your front doorstep right now. Though you might already be boxed up…perhaps some cleaning supplies for the new digs would be more appropriate? Either way, sending virtual hugs your direction.

      1. Almost all boxed up but I could always use some pretty sharpies. 😉 Yes, cleaning supplies will be needed soon! Thank you for the virtual hugs and I’m sending some right back your way! 🙂

  23. Thanks Lauren for this great post. Last year when we sold our house and moved, it was not hard for me to go until all of our stuff had been loaded into the truck and my treasured home looked so bare that I couldn’t bear it 🙂 Hydrangeas were in bloom so I snipped a bunch and left them for the new owner with a few hand tools that they might need before they were able to unpack. It was very well recieved and made me feel better about leaving too!

    1. Nancy, this warms my heart! What a wonderful idea to leave a gift behind for the new homeowners! I’m sure they appreciated it and took great care of your hydrangeas after that. I can definitely see how that would help with closure. Do you have hydrangeas all a’bloom at your new home?

    1. My pleasure, Betty! I’m glad you enjoyed them. Hope that your week is off to a fantastic start.

    1. Thanks, Kenley! Your tablescape and party round-ups definitely inspired me to start doing some more round-ups of my own…. 🙂

    2. Lauren,

      I love the merry moving basket. We brought a new product to market that makes moving and packing a dream called the Tape Genie… do check it out and if you want to save 20% enter FRIEND as a discount code. It just came to market and we would appreciate you spreading the word. I was developing my own moving basket and found you!

      1. Thanks for the tip on the discount and your new product! That’d be a perfect addition to a merry moving kit! Have fun assembling your kit and best of luck to you and the Tape Genie team!

  24. I laughed so hard b/c when I was a kid we went to FL almost every year on vacation (Fort Myers). And I so remember the bugs. OMG. I would wake up at night to go to the bathroom and inevitably find the creatures scatter as I turned on the lights. They like to come out to play at night.
    Love the great housewarming ideas! Add in a bottle of wine and I’m yours. Keep up with the FL pics lady! It’s making me want to go to Orlando sooner!

    1. Oh, Alex, I just got chills on the back of my neck envisioning your late night bathroom trips. There was definitely one night in our first few weeks of living here when I slept with the lights on!

      And you’re right, a bottle of vino could go a long way in the midst of moving!

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