Packing — it’s a necessity for every move, but somehow the secret to conquering this task still remains a mystery for many. Although this is an unavoidable step, packing for your relocation can feel like the most taxing and difficult part of completing your move, and because of this, people frequently dread the task.
If you’re preparing for a relocation, you may be feeling like packing is simply a necessary evil, but fortunately, you can actually take solace in the fact that packing doesn’t need to be evil at all. In fact, by utilizing the right tactics and following the most efficient steps, you can discover that packing for your move is actually much simpler and less painless than you were expecting.
Interested in finding out about the best way to tackle the task of packing and transforming your moving experience? Keep reading, and learn our eight simple steps to turn your next move into the easiest one yet!
How to Start Preparing for a Move
This may be the simplest tip on our list, but it holds a lot of weight. Starting in advance and allowing yourself plenty of time to pack all your belongings is one of the best things you can do to improve your packing experience as a whole.
Once you’ve finalized your relocation, it’s never too early to start preparing, and that means starting the process of packing your items as early as you can. This will allow you to spread the task out over the course of weeks or, ideally, months and divide the job into manageable chunks that don’t feel overwhelming or incredibly demanding.
Preventing yourself from rushing through the job makes packing feel significantly less difficult, which is an important consideration as you work through the moving process.
Home Decluttering Tips
To cut down on the time you need to spend packing, prioritize a major declutter before you even begin packing. By reducing the number of items you need to pack, you can greatly improve the task.
Sort through your home, specifically in places where you store a lot of items such as closets, drawers, and cabinets. These storage spots frequently accumulate items that you might have even forgotten about and no longer want or need.
Rather than needlessly holding onto these items, you can instead reduce the clutter in your household and do yourself a favor by limiting how much you need to pack.
Sort your belongings into four categories: donate, sell, trash, and keep. Try to rid yourself of as many items as you can, as this will decrease the time spent on both packing and unpacking. A great way to do this in large amounts is to host a garage sale or donate to a local thrift shop. By the time you’re done, you’ll have much less to pack — a major win!
How to Look for Packing Supplies
When you’re packing for a move, you need to have all the necessary tools at your disposal to complete the process. Make sure you have an adequate amount of the following items ready as you pack your home:
- Sturdy, high-quality cardboard boxes (or reusable plastic containers)
- Packing tape
- Black permanent markers
- Resealable plastic bags
- Bubble wrap
- Packing paper
- Moving blankets
Of course, it’s important to have these items because they’re very useful, but it’s also necessary to have the right amount so you don’t need to disrupt your packing flow due to a lack of proper supplies. Instead, stock up on everything you need so you have all the required materials available to you.
How to Pack Up Your Household
You might feel like moving around actually allows you to get more done, but in reality, the best way to approach packing is to move through the task one room at a time. You should always complete one room to the best of your ability before moving on to the next one.
Of course, if you have items that need to wait to be packed due to daily usage, those can be saved to the end, but each room should be as close to completion as possible before you move along to another one.
This is the most methodical way to approach packing, and it also prevents items from different rooms from ending up mixed together in a single box. As you pack, you should always keep items from different rooms separated, as this makes everything much less confusing and improves the unpacking process for your future self.
Don’t Overload Your Boxes
The real key to making the best use of your boxes is to be strategic in the way you fill them, placing items in a deliberate manner in order to prevent movement as much as possible.
The best thing to do as you fill your boxes is to try to keep things as nestled together as you can. Be mindful of how you place your belongings, and if you have extra room in boxes, you can fortify your items with extra padding using bubble wrap, packing paper, or even blankets and towels.
This allows you to rest assured that your items won’t move around in transit. However, you should take care to distribute your heavier items carefully so your boxes aren’t at risk of breaking when they’re moved.
Organize and Label Items
Another important aspect of careful packing is to keep your belongings as organized as you can and thoroughly label every single box you fill. Try to keep everything carefully segmented by putting smaller boxes within your larger ones for your small items. In the same vein, every box should be carefully labeled to include the details of what it contains. You should aim to write as much detail as you reasonably can regarding the contents of your boxes and containers, as this can make unpacking a breeze when you arrive to your new home.
Take Precautions for Special Items
When you move, you will undoubtedly have items that require a little bit of extra consideration to carefully transport without sustaining any damages. This includes things like technology, fine art, instruments, certain kitchen items, and anything else that is a little bit more fragile.
Be sure to provide these items the care that they need in order to avoid anything breaking while in transit. Whenever possible, use the original packaging for technology; for instance, the original box your TV came in is usually the best box to move it in if you still have it.
Pack Your Everyday Essentials Last
Finally, you should wait until the very end of your packing process to put your every day (or nearly every day) essentials into boxes.
Especially for your absolute necessities, it’s a wise choice to simply pack up an essentials bag on the night before or the morning of moving day that contains what you’ll need throughout the day and anything you’ll need right away at your new residence. This makes things a lot easier and more convenient for you.
Looking for Professional Packing Services?
With these tips, you can completely transform the way you pack and prevent the task from feeling like a pain. And once you’re done packing, you’ll need a reliable moving company to carefully transport your belongings to your new home.
Let Austin Moving & Storage help you through this process. Our team of moving experts has all the knowledge and tools to dependably move your items and simplify your relocation, all at competitive rates. Interested in discovering what we can do for you? Request a free quote today, and complete your move the Austin way!