How To Pack Your Office When You’re Moving Your Business

You’ll have so many office items to pack when you’re moving your business to a new facility. To make sure the entire relocation turned out as expected, you’ll have to start packing early. But in such a fast-paced environment, what should you pack first? You can start by packing rarely used items. But then you’ll have to pack your office decor, office equipment, desks etc.

Here is how to pack your office in 4 easy steps:

step 1: How to pack your office decor

You can start by taking decorations down early – several weeks before the moving day. The facility and layout of your new office will determine what decor you can keep, discard or donate prior to the moving day.

Pack your artworks appropriately – Pack framed artworks using bubble wraps and packing papers. You can use the packing paper to prevent contact between the glass and the air bubbles to avoid impression. Consider using special telescoping boxes designed for mirrors and artworks.

Buy insurance for your high-value artworks – Buy additional insurance to protect your high-value artworks and other relevant items against loss or damage.

Prepare your plants for relocation – Many moving companies don’t ship live plants. You’ll have to move the plants in your car or find a special item mover to ship the plants.

Step 2: How to pack the filing cabinets

Start by sorting through your documents and creating three categories: Move, shred and recycle. Irrelevant and outdated paper documents can end up in the trash can. But if they contain any confidential information, they can be shredded.

Paperwork that contains personal information should be shredded to prevent identity theft. Read more about how to protect yourself from identity theft during relocation.

 Organize the other files – You can organize your files using the system you have in place. That way, it’ll be easy to set up the same system at your new office. Pack your files in a file box that is sturdy enough to hold them together without shifting while in transit.

Label each box appropriately – Label the boxes on all sides and indicate what side should be up. Indicate ‘Fragile’ on boxes that contain fragile items and ‘Confidential’ on boxes that contain very important files and items.

Step 3: How to pack your office equipment

Pack electrical appliances in their original boxes – Pack all office equipment such as computers, printers, fax machines and copiers in their original boxes. If you no longer have these boxes, buy alternative boxes that is strong enough to hold these appliances.

Separate and organize all wires and cables – Separating and organizing cables and wires can prevent them from tangling while in transit. You can use zip ties to keep the wires bundled. For easy identification, you can take photographs of cables and wires before disconnecting. Also, you can pack similar wires together, USB cables in one box, and Ethernet cables in another.

Back up your important data – Be sure to back up your important data to a cloud service or a hard drive. That way, you can have access to some of your data and get some work done while your other files are in transit.

Step 4: How to pack the desks 

Let employees pack their desks – Give your employees a handbook with guidelines on how to pack and move an office. Also, give your employees a schedule for the move so they’ll be prepared and make sure their desks are all packed prior to the moving day.

Pack personal items – If you have any personal items displayed on your desk, you should pack them early enough before the move. Wrap your picture frames and coffee cups with bubble wraps or protective papers to prevent them from breaking while in transit. Also, you should advise your employees to take all other personal items home prior to the moving day.

Empty all drawers – Pack all office supplies in one box and label the box on all sides. Trash old junk that wouldn’t do any good in your new office like useless and bent paperclips, irrelevant notepads, dried up pens, and any other useless item.

The key to having a successful business move is to start planning early and hire the right moving company. You can get up to 6 free moving quotes from licensed and BBB rated moving companies on MoverJunction.com.