Packing is the most time-consuming and demanding task of the moving process. Though it seems pretty glamorous from the outside, once started it gets more and more tedious and daunting. The most confusing part of this task is to decide where to start from. If you too are wondering where to start your packing and how to do it well for your upcoming move, here is a list of few tried and tested tips to understand when to start and where to start from.
Start Early
One of the most important tips is to start early. Don’t procrastinate your packing to the last week or day. Nothing can ruin your packing task more than doing it in hurry. Keep ample time in hand and start the process immediately after you decide your move. Packing your stuff early will keep half of your moving stress away. Early here means as soon as possible, so you can actually start your packing even months before your moving day. Things like seasonal clothes, goods kept in the store, unused and extra kitchenware can be packed a lot earlier.
Get Rid of Unwanted and Never Used Items
Downsize your move by getting rid of unwanted and unused stuff. Before you start your packing, make sure you remove all that you are not planning to use in the near future. It is often seen that people keep collecting over-sized and under-sized clothes and never wear them; it is a good time to get rid of any such stuff that creates clutter in your house and make your move size big. As big is the size of your move, as big amount you will have to pay to the movers. If you are moving across the country, cross country movers at Pricing Van Lines will charge based on the size of your move. You can simply sell, donate, and/or discard all the unwanted stuff. Don’t keep things in the name of memories; take pictures of things that have any sentimental value and donate the original stuff.
Get Enough and Right Packing Supplies
After downsizing your home, the next step is to buy or arrange packing supplies. While it is wise to pack electronics in their original packing boxes, many people throw the original packing immediately after the purchase. So, consider getting right sized and sturdy cardboard boxes for all your delicate electronics. Get enough packing material including boxes, packing paper, packing tape, markers, labels, bubble wrap, moving blankets, etc. Some things like moving blankets and moving dollies can be rented.
Break up Your Packing Process into Smaller and Manageable parts
Strategically planned packing process will not only be organized but also be simpler. You can break your packing process into smaller tasks. Don’t just take out everything from each corner of the house; instead pack one room at a time. Taking out all at once make you stressed and you may feel over-burdened.
Label Your Boxes
Labeling your moving boxes well can help you in more than one ways. While it will enable you to locate your required box out of a pool of many boxes, it will also help your moving labor to keep your fragile items safe. You can even consider pasting a list of items contained in a particular box. Next, color-code your boxes according to the room they belong too. For instance, you can use red marker for all the boxes that belong to the master bedroom and blue marker to mark the boxes of kids’ room. Follow the rule of packing one box at a time and do not complicate the process by packing different items together.
Designate a Room for Your Packed Boxes
Make sure you designate a room to your packing. Keep all your packing supplies there so that you can grab whenever you want anything. Also, use this space to keep and pile the packed boxes. This practice will help you keep your house organized till the end while your packed boxes will also be safe in one corner of the house.
Pack a Box of Essentials
It is important keep all the tools and things aside that you may need on the moving day. These essential tools may include screwdriver, Allen keys, a drill, hammer, and nails, etc. You may need these tools to disassemble and reassemble your furniture and other items. You will also need tools to remove and hang any wall hangings. It is wise to keep them separate and handy so that you can use them when needed.
Hire Professionals and/or Take Help
Hiring your professional moving company for packing is highly recommended as it can remove your moving stress to a great extent but if somehow it is not possible, taking help of family and friends is a wise decision. Do not try to do everything on your own as packing can be an extremely tiring and tormented process. So, be wise and do this tedious job in the company and help of your own people.