1. Start Early: Seriously if you put it off it will be so much worse! As soon as you know you are moving start going through your closets and build your give away pile.
2. Pack an overnight bag containing your essentials. Things will be crazy and you don't want to search through a box to find your pajamas or toothbrush.
3. Pack a box containing all your essentials that you will need for the first couple of days (coffee maker, cleaning supplies, etc.)
4. Use foam plates to protect your dishes. This saves on bubble wrap and keeps you from wrapping each one.
5. Use garbage bags to cover your clothes and keep them clean, not to mention save you time in packing. Just put a hole in the bottom of the bag and pull the hangers through, then tie a knot at the bottom.
6. Utilize your space: for example packing your crockpot, fill it with your spices and whatever else can fit.
7. Use your items wisely. To save on bubble wrap use your clothes or towels or anything you have to cushion your breakables.
8. Label your boxes. This makes things so much easier, especially if you have people helping you. Make sure you put what room it goes to as well. Label the sides and the top so you can see what it is even if stacked. Label the rooms in your house. This was really helpful since we had people helping us move to know where to put boxes.
9. Keep sandwich bags handy for holding small parts parts of things you take apart, like curtain rods,etc. Make sure you label them.
10. Keep drawers in-tact by using press and seal. This saves you time on packing and you don't have to unpack when you get to your destination.
11. Use the right size box. Books are heavy if you put them all in a big box you won't be able to lift it. So heavy things in small boxes and light items in big boxes.
12. Put heavier items on the bottom of boxes, lighter items on top. When loading the truck, pack heavier items first towards the front, for balance.
13. Don't leave empty spaces in boxes. Fill in gaps with extra clothing, towels, or packing paper. This way your items are more protected.
14. Wrap important furniture pieces in quilts or blankets so you don't dent or bust anything. Better safe than sorry! Plus it saves space packing those blankets.
What are your moving tips?
We just moved and utilized a bunch of these tips. My family teased me for labelling the rooms, but when it came to which extra room was the guest room vs office, or between the two different bathrooms, they were glad I had labelled everything so well!
ReplyDeleteHi Erin, these tips are great and so useful. A couple of years ago, some friends and I offered to help my sister move. On moving day itself we spent hours packing clothes, discarding out-of-date food from the backs of cupboards, disassembling furniture and so on. I would definitely advise all movers to do these tasks before moving day!
ReplyDeleteJune Griffith @ Arnold Self