How do you move hundred of books to a new house?
Seriously. Books weigh more than anything put together. I am pretty sure even furniture weighs less than a box of books (weight distribution I would think would make it feel lighter). Anyway, I have an extensive library and I went through the ringer trying to get it to my townhouse.
I ruled out boxes, because those get heavy fast. I thought about randomly mixing them in with other things I had to pack, but there is just too many. How about taking over a little at a time? A daunting task. So what did I do?
I put them in a suitcase! I shoved them in two rows deep vertically so that when the suitcase was standing up nothing would move. Luckily I have a lot of the same sized books. After that I put a flat row on top (what you can see) and put the snappy things on it.
This thing weighed a TON! I pushed it around mostly, but when we had to get it up stairs it took two of us.
The ones that didn't fit were taken in another smaller rollable case seen above, and the rest are either a)still at my parents house or b)in random boxes. Good times.
The good news is that my eBook library is considerably easier to move than my real library.
Well, dear readers, how have you solved the moving crisis? Did you give away your books? Discuss!!
I know right? For me, giving them away was never an option! I have a back problem so I tried to stay away from the tubs and stuff!
That is a great idea! I actually did what you say you didn't do, I mixed them in randomly with lighter things. I had like a box of pillows, and books.
While I also used suitcases, I did have to rely on some smaller boxes and I did put some lighter things on top of the books!
I mean, mixing things with the lighter stuff did occur after I filled the big suitcase. I had more suitcases (I travel a lot) but we were using the other ones for dishes and (can you imagine?) clothes!
You can only do so much. Actually I did forget a step on the book transport train. I also used the post office mail carriers my dad uses for work for some of my binders and such. They were heavy but reinforced so they didn't break.
Oh I hear ya! Now that I have the majority of them here they are laying in piles or in the suitcase still, waiting for me to reorganize. Other things have taken precedence though... like figuring out how to cut my boxspring so it can fit up the stairs!
YES! That is exactly what I did in our recent move. Somebody on Twitter actually suggested to use rolling suitcase and it was the BEST IDEA EVER. I have HUGE mammoth suitcases so it was perfect!
It really worked better than I hoped. I was really worried about not packing it tight enough because I didn't want the books rolling around in there getting all smashed!
Thanks! I am sleeping in the livingroom right now and most of my furniture arrives on Saturday and I have seen a large unknown bug but I am really enjoying it thus far! It'll be nice to be out on my own!
when I moved i did boxes as well, because i was on the first floor and had a trolley, but putting them in the car??? was a b*tch. I did boxes, suitcases, my gym bag, handbag, carried some in plastic bags, the plastic covering from my duvet, and several trips, i still have one box at my parents (children books mostly that i want to hang onto). I once gave away some of the books i had on my shelf that i never read and sold some that were one time reads. didn't help much i still have three tall (over six feet with five shelves each) bookcases plus one small one and i'm beginning to run out of space again. I love the ebooks aspect just for this reason but i miss the smell of the books.
Wow!! Every time my family admonishes me for the number of books I own I think of all of you guys online who own waaaay more! That must have been some site!! And plus it would take forever too. BUT the bonus is all the books you get to keep.
I love my eReader, especially when I am traveling, but it will never replace the feeling that I get when I am walking up and down rows and rows of books with their pretty spines screaming "Read me!".
I sold many. I gave away to my family and friends. I donated several to the library. And put in boxes others definitely did want to save. But I did not put them in suitcases. Very funny. Very useful!
When I moved last (4 huge shelves full) we had to do boxes. I tried to do 1/2 books and 1/2 linens, but they were still insanely heavy. Thank goodness for the big strong men helping out!
I started swiping empty copy paper boxes from the office I worked in when I moved home from grad school. They are sturdy, and not unbearable when full. Boxes + a dolly are much safer for the books. I'd worry too much about them shifting and pages and jackets getting damaged in a suitcase. I'm the sort that obsesses about that with 4 in a bag at the book store.
I don't think I got rid of any/many then. I'm doing that now. Some ways its easier, since I've not seen many of them since they got packed up.
LOL! The suitcase thing was brilliant. When we moved from California to Idaho, we ended up needing a second moving van because I had so many books. I'd managed to pack our entire house into the largest van, but I had too many books and that overloaded the weight limit, so we needed a second, smaller one to handle it all. My husband still likes to bring that issue up on occasion.
We moved a while back and we put all my mother's medical, gardening, antiquing, and miscellaneous books into a rolling suitcase. My brother lifted it to put it on the back of the trailer...and the handle completely broke off. So it was a great idea....but make sure you lift it correctly or have sturdy handles.
My books were put into smaller boxes with my scarves on top. This came in handy when a downpour occurred while driving to the new house. Only two books fell victim to the rain, both were books left over from college so I didn't cry too much.
I will soon be moving my books again and while I'm quite happy to be moving, I am not particularly looking forward to the actual lugging of my collection. As my husband has said, "If you didn't have books, we wouldn't have anything to move!" I've used mostly copy paper boxes which aren't big enough to get horrendously heavy, for the most part. There is no way I could fit all of my books (and cookbooks) into a couple of suitcases!
Oh dear me ... I don't even want to think about what it'd take to move all my books!? It'll definitely help you build muscles, hahaha!
Let's see... When I last moved I think we just used boxes and dollies. Everyone in my family (5) has a good number of books, so it was just easier to be uniform than trying to come up with weird (and wonderful) solutions. Going from home to college and back, I just used plastic drawer stacks, but I only ever filled up maybe 2 drawers because of limited space and whatnot.
Who knows how many I'll eventually end up moving - I guess it depends on WHERE we end up moving as much as anything; the last house we planned to buy was pretty minimalist and chic with less storage space - but I think I'll end up using a combination of manageable boxes, suitcases and maybe even large tote bags that can be stowed in the car. One thing's for sure, the impending move is seriously altering my relationship with my books, and I reckon I'd ultimately like to pare right down and buy as I read (and use the library) instead of amassing so many unread books again!
I'm at uni now and have built quite a massive collection of books from charity shops, even though I left my massive book collection at my parent's house. I think my plan is to try and get them all back there and hope they'll let me use my old room as a library while I'm travelling...!
After moving to PA in 1999, I ended up moving to different places within PA around 11 times in that many years...and my books went with me every time. Granted, my library was progressively bigger for every move, so the first two moves weren't bad, but it's a pretty big pain (both literally and figuratively). I used boxes every time, dispersing the hardcovers throughout the boxes to try to keep them to a "minimum" amount of heavy. I have always used a handtruck to move them to and from the moving vehicle. That makes it a lot easier.
We were going to sell our house and it didn't work out so taking a breather and then going to try again!
My books that were bookshelves are already packed. I am considering going through them a second time to try to get myself to sell them (all of them have been read but lots of reference books. My husband packed them in small plastic tubs that only the movers can move.
I have about TBR books that we don't want to pay the movers to move. It will only be about a 10 mile drive. I put them in small boxes for fans and space heaters and I have lots of tote bags. Just won another today. They will be easy to carry to the trunk. So tote bags are my way.
That was a smart move to put them in a rolling suitcase like that. It would have taken waaaaayyyy too many trips for by books to try that. You're right, though, books weigh a TON. I got boxes for mine. Just average sized book boxes from Barnes and Noble that fit maybe 20 books in it. It took a lot of boxes and trips, yes, but I didn't have to break my back trying to lug bigger boxes. I just bought my own house this past June and can't wait to get my office/library fully set up.
Very smart to put them in rolling suitcases! I've only had to move my whole library once, and it was still small - maybe 200-300 books max - and a moving company took care of the move for us, so they just got packed in boxes and taken away. When I moved bits and pieces of my library (to and from Uni), the books went wherever they would fit! Boxes, bags, purses, you name it, a book was in it. Now that my library's bigger (over 600), I have no idea what I'd do. Totes maybe? And use a trolly? I definitely like the suitcase idea.
I actually just did the same two weeks ago, except I never thought to put mine in suitcases! I wish I had! I ended up having six full (large) boxes, a large (new) garbage can full, plus three backpacks and a landry basket, which we also full! All of which we had to carry up four flights of stairs. Nooooo fun. And most of them are hard covers, too, which are heavier than paperbacks. I wish I'd thought to take pictures!
I hope you get settled into your new home without any problems! It can definitely be stressful.
I ended up just using boxes to move, but I don't think I have as many as you do. I did use suitcases too, though! Best of luck with your moving adventure!
I have a ton of books (regular and art history texts.) When I last moved, I spread my books out among my different boxes. The art history texts, though, I just put into a pile and carried them out by themselves in piles. I couldn't put them into a box because they were too heavy. Your suitcase idea sounds so much better!
I can so sympathize with this. But I think we had over 100 books when we moved... and we were laughing because most of our prized possessions are either Christmas decorations or books. haha. I did not put them in a suitcase though. That's a grand idea! I used regular packing boxes and (GASP) garbage bags. Yes I am a horrible person.
haha. Good luck settling in and enjoy unpacking those books!!
Ugh, stairs make it so much harder.
My answer is...strangely...book boxes. I am a high school teacher and I advise the yearbook, so every year I have an ample supply of same-size boxes just right for carrying books without breaking your back. Since there are 80 or so and they are all the same size, it makes it super easy to pack the truck as well as unload and stack them in the house. So I guess my advice is: befriend a yearbook adviser (or bookstore clerk) who will hook you up with the ultimate in book transportation devices!
I did almost the exact same thing when I moved from New Jersey up to the Bronx. One of the first things I moved were my books - and it took three different trips to get them all there safe and sound.