Packing is one of the most cumbersome tasks when it comes to moving. That’s why you must exhaustively plan it and employ the most effective tactics. You don’t want to be packing on the morning of your moving day or when the moving truck knocks on your door.
Last-minute packing can be undoubtedly frustrating and overwhelming. Fortunately, you can find some best practices to simplify the process. Here are a couple of packing tips to ensure everything is packed and stays safe until its destination.
Get Storage Containers
Storage containers are a lifesaver during packing. These packing essentials allow you to store different items, including awkwardly shaped ones. With storage containers, you can be guaranteed the safety of your items, as many come with a robust lock system.
However, you should ensure to pick the right storage container size, depending on what you have. Many people recommend plastic bins, boxes, and wooden crates.
Secure the Right Packing Supplies
Besides storage containers, packing involves many other supplies that facilitate the process. These include bubble wrap for cushioning fragile items, tape for securing boxes, furniture covers, and labels for easier identification.
Others include markers, scissors, stretch wraps, packing paper, and peanuts. With these and other applicable materials, your packing experience will likely be smoother and less time-consuming.
Clutter and Organize Early Enough
Another practical packing tip is de-cluttering and organizing your items early enough. De-cluttering involves setting aside the most needed items from those you barely use or haven’t used in a while. After de-cluttering, you can now organize the essentials ready for packing.
De-cluttering allows you to purchase suitable storage containers in numbers and sizes. You can donate your less-needed items to charity or sell them to a second-hand shop to boost your moving expenses.
Pack With a Checklist
A packing checklist states what needs to be done and how or when. Packing to move can be a lot of work. Hence, a list helps to ensure nothing is left untouched or packed late. When designing your packing checklist, which should be done after de-cluttering, you should begin with the most critical items and proceed to the rest.
Also, it would help if you marked or ticked every item after packing successfully to stay motivated and ensure an easy checklist flow. A packing checklist should be jotted down early enough to ensure adequate time to pack.
Leave Clothes on Hangers
Leaving clothes on their hangers is one of the most practical packing tips to embrace. Instead of removing and folding every cloth independently, you can grab them with their hangers and pack them as they are.
You can use large elastic strings or bands to tie and keep them together before packing. Cardboard boxes or plastic bins are the ideal storage containers for clothes during moving. This technique makes work more manageable because you’ll remove the clothes and hang them up as they are in your new home.
Start from Top to Bottom
It would be best to start packing across the rooms and floors from top to bottom. This technique is ideal because it allows movers to work on the upper rooms when they still have excessive energy and time.
It would be best if you started with the loft and the rest of the upper spaces moving downstairs. This idea isn’t only energy saving but also takes less time.
Ask for Help
Moving can be stressful and demanding, considering you must attend to the entire house. Therefore, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help from your friends or family with the packing. This tip saves time and money that would be used on commercial packers and energy if you chose to do it single-handedly.
Most importantly, remember to appreciate those who decided to help you with packing, even if it’s not through monetary payment. For instance, you can offer them drinks and food after packing or return the favor by helping them differently.
Go Professional
While family and friends are helpful during packing, professional packers or movers would be more effective. This technique is ideal if you’re handling a large house or many household items, including electrical appliances and large pieces of furniture.
Being the experts, professional packers or moving companies know how to handle every household item for greater safety from breakage or scratches.
They can also undertake unpacking, assembly, and electrical re-installation at your new home. You can find a reputable moving company by evaluating their ratings and reviews or requesting referrals from people who have moved before.
Label Your Boxes
It would be best if you didn’t forget to label your boxes when packing to move. Outside every box, you should indicate boldly with a marker what essentials are in there or which room they belong to. Labeling makes it easier to identify your boxes during offloading and unpacking. For instance, you’ll take boxes belonging to the bedroom straight there and not to any other room.
