Essential Packing Tips You Need To Know When Moving House
We all know that moving house can be stressful at the best of times. There is a lot of planning involved and steps to be taken, and time will fly by in the process. One of the most important steps is actually packing up your belongings ready for the move.
If you’re not careful, moving day will be here and you’ll still be packing. We’ve decided to help you out by creating a guide to on how to successfully pack up your home.
First Steps
Packing up for a move is a big task, there’s no getting around that. It’s not something that can be done properly on short notice, so save yourself the stress and give yourself enough time.
One of the keys to a successful house move is preparation; this includes allowing sufficient time to pack. You should start to pack things up around a month before the move. By doing this, you’ll have time to sort your belongings into piles and decide what you are and aren’t taking with you to your new home. This may sound like a long time, but moving day will creep up on you before you know it.
Creating a moving to-do list will help you keep on top of everything you need to do before the big day, so keep a note attached the fridge to remind you. It’s also wise to research some moving companies before hand, being able to choose the right one for you and book them in advance. When picking a moving date, it’s usually easiest to do it on a weekend, as you’re unlikely to need to take much time off work.
Another key thing to consider in the packing process is what you’re going to move your belongings in.
The easiest and most cost effective option is cardboard boxes. They’re very easy to come by and will likely hold the weight for the majority of your things. You will want to get a variety of small, medium and large boxes if you can, allowing space for bigger items. As far as acquiring cardboard boxes, you can often ask places like your local supermarket or even McDonald’s. If you don’t fancy asking for the boxes, you can pick them up pretty cheap online.
While cardboard boxes will likely hold the weight of any of your items, you could consider using plastic containers instead. They may be more expensive, but they provide a safe and sturdy shell for your belongings and can be re-used in your new house.
Time To Trim The Fat
Now that you’ve sorted out what you’re going to transfer your items in, it’s time to decide what to take.
Moving house is the perfect time for you to think about what you actually want or use and get rid of some clutter. Over the years you’ve surely collected a lot of unwanted or unused items, and now is a great time to clear out.
When going through each room, sort your things into three piles; things you want to keep, things you’re realistically never going to use again and things you haven’t made your mind up on. Having your items in piles will give you a clearer view of what you have and make deciding a lot easier.
Once you’ve decided what you want to take with you, look through your clutter pile and see if you can sell anything. You might have a hidden treasure that could get you some cash on eBay, even if it’s only a couple of pounds. Every little helps, right?
Items like clothes, books, toys or that CD you got as a present once that you’ve never listened to can all be donated, so consider that before you get rid. Anything that you think can be reused by someone else should be taken to your local charity shop.
As for the rest of the clutter, a skip trip is likely in order.
Tackling One Room At A Time
There is definitely a method when it comes to packing your home up. If you try and do a little bit in multiple rooms, you are likely to miss something.
Our advice would be to try one room at a time; starting with rooms you need the least. Start by packing away seasonal items, such as Christmas lights, garden tools and winter coats. If you don’t use it on a daily basis, get it in a box.
By going through one room at a time, it allows you to focus on that room and make sure everything is correctly packed away. This makes moving day a lot easier, as you know that you’ve gone through each room thoroughly. Moving house is stressful enough, so it’s best to stay organised in the process.
How To Efficiently Pack Your Belongings
It should go without saying, but you should try and put belongings in a box specific to the room it came from. By doing this, you can keep everything organised and you won’t have to rummage through ten different boxes looking for the hairdryer.
Labelling goes hand in hand with this, and is very important when organising your boxes. You should write the contents on the side of each box, as well as the room it came from and write fragile if the contents could be easily damaged. In most cases, your belongings aren’t going to completely fill a cardboard box, so you should fill it out using the likes of newspaper or bubble wrap. This is essential if the contents are fragile, as it will stop them from moving around and getting damaged in the process. It may seem like common sense, but make sure the heavier boxes are kept at the bottom so they don’t crush or break anything.
Once you have filled each box, tape it shut with some packing tape and you’re good to go.
Final Checks
Now that the majority of your things are packed and ready to move, you should prepare a box of essentials. This contains things that you will either need for the trip or will need quick access to once you’ve arrived. Examples could be snacks, toiletries, towels, pet food, first aid kit and eating utensils. You’ll be thankful for this box later.
After you have completed all of these steps, you should be ready to move. Double check each room before you leave, make sure you haven’t left any water running or lights on and get ready to move to your new home.
