Whether it is your first time moving or you have relocated many times in your life, packing up all your belongings and moving them can become a stressful and time-consuming task. It is crucial to stay organized and efficient from the beginning of any move. Here are some tips for packing your house to make your move to your new home less stressful and easier on the whole family.
Stay Organized
When starting to pack up your house, it is most important to stay organized to help with both the packing and unpacking of your belongings. By staying clean and organized, you will be able to quickly locate items and know where they go in your new home.
Easy Ways To Stay Organized
Create A Last Minute Box
Creating a “last-minute box” is a great way to ensure that you will have everything you need in one place during your move and before you get to unpacking once you have arrived. There is nothing more frustrating than being unable to find something after a long day of moving! Some of these necessary things might include:
- Medication
- First Aid Kit
- Personal Papers (records for home sale, school, doctors, etc.)
- Expensive Jewelry
- Toothbrushes & Toothpaste
- Toiletries
- Towels & Washcloths
- A Change Of Clothing
- Alarm Clock
- Coffee Pot and Coffee Supplies
- Chargers For Electronics
Designate a space for the items that you will be moving personally. Place these somewhere like an empty closet or the bathtub and put a note on them, so movers know that these items won’t go on the truck. Setting these items aside will allow you to focus on the bigger picture and make packing everything easier.
Pack By Room
Packing by the room will allow you to keep everything in specific rooms together. This is helpful while you pack and unpack because it will create an easy way to determine where the box belongs. When packing up rooms, be conscious of packing all like things together before moving on to the next set of items to be packed. Make sure you are using the appropriately sized boxes based on what goes inside. For example, heavier items like books should go in smaller boxes, while dishes and fragile items should be placed in heavier, more durable dish packs.
Label Boxes Clearly
Labeling your boxes is one of the most helpful tips for packing your house. By labeling your boxes clearly, you will know the contents and where the box belongs in your new house. If possible, color code the labels to make your job even easier when unpacking. You can also use abbreviations such as MBR for the master bedroom or KIT for the kitchen, so everyone knows what room boxes belong.
Donate
When packing up the contents of your home, you may find things that are out of date, or maybe you just haven’t used them for a long time. Moving is an excellent opportunity to get rid of items you no longer need. This may include furniture, clothing, decor, and electronics. Creating a donation box will allow you to store your items before donating them to nearby donation dropoffs or other local charity organizations.
Find Ways To Save Space
Finding ways to save space is one of the most important money-saving tips for packing your house. The less space your belongings take up, the smaller moving truck you will need and fewer trips back and forth. Consider a few of these space-saving tips:
- When moving dressers with clothes in it, you can leave light-weight items inside, remove drawers when moving the piece of furniture, then replace the drawers once it is moved. Avoid leaving heavy or breakable items inside as it could damage the drawers or your items and be difficult to move.
- Use towels and linens instead of paper to wrap mirrors and other breakable items so you don’t have to pack them separately or buy more packing materials.
- When packing pots and pans, consider placing other small, non-breakable items inside them to utilize the empty space before packing them into the appropriate sized box.
- Make use of all baskets and totes, but don’t overload them with heavy items.
Ask For Help
Whether you are moving one person or moving an entire family, moving is a big job to take on. From heavy furniture to tedious things like wrapping dishware and fragile items, it can be easy to get stressed and overwhelmed. Asking friends or family members to help is not only a tremendous help, but it may also save you time and money. When asking friends and family to help with your move, have a clear packing strategy to ensure everyone is on the same page. If recruiting friends and family to assist, providing snacks and drinks is a great way to let them know you appreciate them and their contributions to making the moving process go more smoothly.
Hire Help
If you want to make sure your move goes as stress-free and efficient as possible, hiring a professional moving company is the way to go. S&M Moving Systems has been family-owned and operated since 1918. We specialize in packing and the transportation of household goods, electronics, and furniture. S&M Moving has residential moving services in California and Arizona and is dedicated to servicing families and companies moving across town and the world. Let us do all the hard work for you! Visit our website to learn more about our services and to request a quote today!