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Packing your household goods is one of the most important things that must be done when you’re moving your home. How your items are packed may determine if they will arrive at your new home in one piece or not.
While preparing for your move, you’ve got to make up your mind if you’ll either pack your household items all by yourself or hire a moving company to help you get the job done.
If you intend to pack your household items yourself or with the help of friends and family, you have to know what to pack, how to pack it, what to donate or what can go for a yard sale.
Packing always seems very easy until the actual work begins. So here are simple packing tips you can use for a DIY packing:
How to pack like a Pro and Move Easily
1. What Exactly Should Be Packed?
Moving is the perfect time to sort thru and reorganize your life. We all are hoarders to some extent, some more than others. That is the reason, why we keep accumulating stuff that we don’t even use anymore. The garage and basements keep filling up with loads of stuff that we haven’t used in years.
Do you really want your new home to be full of clutter as well?
If you’re like me, your answer is probably ‘No’. So before you start packing, take some time and decide what you really want to take with you and what stuff you can get rid of.
Helpful Packing Tip: Create 3 Groups – Pack, Donate, Yard Sale. Then make a simple list of all your items and put each item in one of the three groups.
Some of the items you may decide not to pack are:
- books you don’t want to read again and wouldn’t need in the future
- clothes that don’t fit or the ones you no longer need
- Items that are broken and cannot be fixed
- any item that is cluttering up your home that you don’t use and doesn’t have any emotional value etc.
The list is endless.
If you own delicate items, some of which are often fragile, you may consider hiring a professional packers to help you pack them. Large glass pieces (sculptures, over-sized mirrors, and glass top tables), chandeliers, as well as some fine antique furnishing that may require professional handling.
Also, some of your appliances may require special handling. If you intend to move them yourself, check the user manual which often contains how to move such items.
2. What not to pack (Non-Allowables)
Some household items are illegal to pack into a moving truck for relocation. These items are listed as “Non-Allowables.”
If you hire a moving company, chances are you will be given a list of non-allowable items. The list contains items the moving company will not transport. But if you’re having a DIY move or packing all by yourself, here is a list of items you shouldn’t pack or transport:
- Alcohol
- Any type of gas in bottles or tanks (including propane or oxygen)
- Paints, varnishes, solvents, thinners and oils
- Household cleaners (like ammonia and bleach)
- Batteries
- Ammunition
- Fertilizers and pesticides
- Aerosol cans (regardless of content)
- Flammables (like Sterno, charcoal, lighter fluid, matches, and lighters)
- Nail polish and remover
- Fire extinguishers
3. Choosing the Right Packing Supplies
Moving Boxes! One of the first things you’ll consider whenever you intend to pack. Packing with moving boxes can make your entire packing absolutely easier. But there’s always the temptation to either buy new boxes or simply walk into the local grocer’s store and request for used boxes. Whichever you eventually opt for, there are advantages and disadvantages.
Do whatever is best for your stuff and budget. But if you intend to go for used boxes, try slightly used ones. They are often better and stronger than heavily used ones that appear weak and crumbled.
Also, you may consider using shredded paper to fill boxes you intend to use for packing delicate and fragile items. The shredded papers may hold things inside the box together during transportation and prevent unnecessary damages.
There are other packing supplies that may be useful and make your moving easier. Some of these items include markers, labels, specialty boxes, packing paper, packing or sealing tapes, anti-static bubble wrap, and bubble wrap. Consider getting these items too!
4. Label All Boxes Appropriately
While you’re packing, make a full list of everything inside each box and label the boxes appropriately. You may indicate the intended room for each box in your list. Appropriate labeling will save you lots of time, and save you from stress when you arrive at your destination.
You can include the following things on your list to make your labeling easier:
Name: your name, kid’s name or your pet name, just any name would do.
Location: where exactly do you want the stuff in the box to be in the new house? Is it your child’s bedroom, your bedroom, the kitchen, or dining room? Indicate where you want the box to be.
What should be in The Boxes? You may consider putting similar contents inside the same box. You may pack all your kids’ toys inside the same one or two boxes, or all your shoes inside the same box etc.
Appropriate Listing: in some of the boxes that contain important or delicate items, you may list what’s inside on the boxes. It makes it absolutely easier for you to move such boxes, place them in safe places during transportation and unpack easily.
Labeling: make sure you label the boxes properly so movers can have an idea of what it contains. Fragile, heavy, delicate, even expensive items are some of the terms you may use to label your boxes.
Now you know how to pack your household items appropriately. It’ll be a lot easier for you to be better prepared for moving your home. But just before you move, here are 8 things you can do to make your new home more appealing.
