For most people, moving is an exciting experience. But you know what’s not exciting at all?
The packing part!
It’s not something anyone moving looks forward to. After all, you’ll have to deal with lots of boxes, plastic, tape, paper cuts, and so on. And with all the stuff a person can accumulate while living in a house, you might not even be sure where to start!
Well, there’s no need to type “house moving tips packing” or something to that equivalent in your search bar. This article is just what you need.
In honor of our ten years of being in the transportation logistics industry, we’ll be giving ten packing tips for moving house!
Want to learn how to get your move and packing up organized? Keep on reading!
So what is the best way to pack when moving house? Well, before you even begin to unfold a box or wrap up one of your possessions, you have to ask yourself the following:
There’s no concrete answer to when you should start packing before a move, but probably at least a month or two. There are many factors that can affect the timing, such as how big your house is, how much you currently have, and how many you are in the family. Based on these, you can make an estimate when you should begin packing.
Arrange the move as soon as you know when you’re going to move. That’s especially if you plan to move during the peak season, which is usually summer. It’s best to book as soon as possible to both lock in the price and to ensure you have a company who will cater to your needs. Otherwise, you might find yourself paying higher prices or worse, not having any moving company available when you need one.
Items that must not be packed when moving homes are dangerous items like beauty products, cleaning agents, and garden chemicals. While these are fine when they’re at home, a lot of things can happen when they’re being moved in a truck, such as encountering bumpy roads or accidents. If anything goes wrong, these chemicals may endanger the public. Do not also pack perishable food and valuable items or documents. Dispose of the food, and keep the valuable things close to you instead of placing them on the moving truck.
Pack items first that aren’t being used at the moment as well as non-essential items, such as artworks and decorations. At least you know you won’t be needing them in the days leading up to the move, right?
The size of your home will determine the things you can bring. If you are moving from a two-story, three-bedroom house to a one-story, two-bedroom house, it's likely that not all of your current belongings will fit in your new home. It's time to take inventory of what you have to ensure you have enough space and decide which items are essential to bring with you to your new home.
The distance to your new house will affect how properly you pack your items. If your destination isn’t that far away, you might get away with packing in a more relaxed manner. But if your new house is farther away, you’ll have to be more careful in packing so that your belongings are more protected.
By knowing the answers to these questions, you’ll have a clear plan and direction to follow when you get to the actual packing up stage - and that the packing process will go as smoothly and as efficiently as possible.
In no particular order, here are our 10 moving house tips for packing and staying organized. They’re based on our extensive experience of being house movers and we guarantee that they will be useful for anyone preparing for a house move.
Making a detailed inventory list when moving is important so that you can stay orderly. It will help you keep track of what items you’re bringing, where they are in the house, if they are already packed, and so on. This will ensure that you don’t leave anything important.
Keep it as detailed as possible so that you’ll never be in the dark where your things are. In fact, if you can, take pictures as visual reminders. And whatever you’ve done with your items, make sure to actually update your list!
As mentioned earlier, you might not be able to bring everything in your old house to your new house. And if you think about it, do you really want to? You may already have non-working items such as lawnmowers or microwaves just dumped in your tool shed - what purpose will they serve in your new home, right?
They’ll also take up valuable space in boxes or in the moving vehicles, whether it’s the truck you hired or in your car. That space could be used instead for items you can actually use in your new house.
It’s time to throw away items that are already broken, and give away things that you’re no longer using, instead of holding on to them. Hey, if ever you get friends to assist you out during the move, maybe you can even give some of your items to them as a reward for helping you out.
If you’re moving during the summer, you probably won’t be needing your winter clothes and boots, right? Start by packing those first. Since they’re not essential, you won’t miss them in the hubbub of the move.
Include also items that you don’t use on a daily basis, like costumes, special jewelry, and so on. When you start with these items, you’ll have more energy to dedicate to packing important items later.
You know the problem with boxes? They all look exactly the same and you can’t see what’s inside each one.. So if you pack your stuff in boxes without labeling them, you’re going to have a hard time knowing what’s inside!
And what’s going to happen in case you need something from one of the boxes, either at your new house or because you need it before you leave? Well, you’re going to have to open up each box again until you find it. That’s not fun at all.
So make sure that with each box you pack to label what’s inside. It can be something as generic as “Toiletries” or “Dad’s clothes”, or something more specific as having the things in the box itemized, complete with pictures. What’s important is that you and your family member will know or have an idea where to find what.
Make sure as well that boxes containing fragile items have the word FRAGILE visible so that people moving them will take extra care!
If you start packing up stuff in different parts of the house all at once, you might feel that you’re never getting anywhere! That’s why it’s better if you start in one room first. For example, you can start at your bedroom first, and then move on to other rooms in your house as you finish each one.
Getting to finish up one room helps give you a sense of accomplishment and will help encourage you to continue doing the hard work of packing up. Plus, it helps keep you organized as you'll only have one set of boxes to deal with at a time rather than having multiple boxes open and scattered throughout your home.
Think about you going all over your house and seeing different opened boxes containing different items. That’s visually unpleasant and also very confusing, wouldn’t you agree?
This is a practical way to pack. Why? Because going up and down the stairs adds more strain and stress to your body - and you will definitely do more of that as moving day gets closer and closer.
So if you start at the top first and bring down the boxes on the earlier packing up days, at least you’ll exert less effort as the days pass since you’ll only be packing up ground floor items. That way, on the day of the move, you’ll have more energy to focus on supervising what needs to be done.
If you also plan to bring with you your refrigerator, water dispenser, or washing machine, you’re going to have to not use them a few days before you move! You have to let the ice melt in your ref, for example. There’s also likely water inside the washing machine - you have to let those dry.
If you let the movers just load up these appliances, there will likely be water involved in those trucks. Plus, they might short circuit, get damaged, or just affect items near them. It is best to let these dry, clean them up, and tape the wires to ensure that they do not cause problems during the move.
Why do you need a box of essential items? Well, think about it: once you arrive at your new house, you’re not likely to have energy to start unpacking EVERYTHING right away. But at the same time, you do need to change clothes, brush your teeth, take a bath, and so on, right?
That’s where this box comes in.
Aside from what was mentioned above, this can also contain food items to feed your family, your work laptop, your coffee maker - pretty much everything you think is important as you slowly start over in your new house.
Sure, there might be a convenience store or a grocery near your new home, but again, you just might not have enough energy to go out to buy. It’s better to have this box prepared for your convenience.
Unlike books or clothes, loose and fragile items like dishes and utensils need more protection and more packaging. If you don’t make the effort to do this, they might break or be tossed around the boxes and get damaged.
For example, for your forks and spoons and knives, place them in a plastic bag and secure the bags with rubber bands or tapes. For dishes, wrap them up with paper and then make sure not to stack them flat. In between them, use bunched-up paper, bubble wrap, or packing peanuts to absorb any impact during transportation.
It’s probably going to be slower packing these types of items, but better safe than arriving at your new home with a bunch of broken stuff, right?
You know what’s going to add stress to you on moving day? Doing any last-minute packing when you’re just supposed to be relaxing while waiting for the movers.
Make it your goal to be done the night before - otherwise, your timeline and plans might be disrupted for the day. It could happen that you’ll leave later than planned, or you might forget the boxes.
But if you complete your packing ahead of time, you can go about this important day with a clear mind and free of stress.
We hope that these tips for packing and moving house have given you an idea of what to do when you’re going to move. If you’re still feeling like there’s so much to do, here’s one final tip that can help you out:
Just get started on one thing.
That’s usually the reason we get stressed - we feel like we have to do everything at once. But you don’t have to carry out these packing tips for moving house all in one go. Look at all the tips, and carry out one that you feel is most doable.
Pretty soon, you’ll be surprised at what you’ve accomplished and that you’re ready come the actual moving day - and you’ll be able to look forward to moving to your brand new home and a brand new start.
If you're still Googling “how to pack to move house” or you just generally feel overwhelmed with the task of packing up your entire household for a move, you need professional help. Look no further than us at Quality Removals! We provide packing and unpacking services and have been in the transport industry for more than a decade, so you can be sure of the quality we provide.
Hey, we’re not known as The UK’s Fastest Growing Logistics Company for nothing!
We don’t just provide packing tips for moving house, either. Our team of professional movers will efficiently and carefully pack your belongings to ensure they arrive at your new home in the same way they left - in pristine condition. From important fragile items to bulky furniture, we've got you covered.
Call Quality Removals today at +44 (020) 8146 7955 to get your free quote! We look forward to hearing from you!
