Whether you are upsizing, downsizing, moving for the first…or the tenth time, the task that causes the most stress is PACKING. It may seem like an impossible goal, or that you could never find the time to do it properly. Fortunately, when done with a plan, packing can move faster, reduce your workload, and ultimately help you prepare to live in your new space. Mike the Mover has the tips you need to pack your house efficiently and carefully for a stress-free move.
Be Prepared
The biggest problem with packing is that people don’t start early enough. As soon as you have a date, it’s time to hire your moving company and start packing non-essentials. This means you need to acquire boxes, tape, markers, labels, wrapping, and packing materials. If you don’t already have boxes on hand and want to save some money, try to source them from dollar and grocery stores, and the local LCBO who often have sturdy reinforced boxes ideal for heavy items like books and dishes.
Focus on downsizing everything you aren’t using immediately. Stop shopping and start trying to consume anything in your pantry and cupboards. When it comes to clothing, toys, books, and decorative items: make piles to donate, sell, recycle, and trash. If you aren’t certain whether you want an item or not in your new home, rent a short-term storage unit and transport the items there to be examined after your move day. Chances are if you aren’t using it, you will be able to donate it once you are settled in.
How to Begin
Start in the room you use the least. Pack up everything you can and start vertically organizing your boxes in a corner that won’t hinder movement throughout the house. You want to ensure all boxes are labelled with their NEW location in the new house to make the move-day smoother. You can continue to move room to room, packing little-used or non-essential items as you go like décor, off-season clothing, or books and toys.
Time-Savers
Take photos. This may seem obvious but is easily forgotten. If you snap a quick photo of a box before you tape it shut, it can be much easier to locate a missing item later. Take pictures of your technology setups, the back of your television, the contents of your dressers, the way your desk is organized. If more than one person is helping with packing, share a folder and put the photos there for easy accessibility afterwards.
Use large items to hold small items. As you pack places like your washroom, kitchen, and laundry, you can use pots and pans to hold spices, or mop buckets to hold cleaning supplies. Any larger containers, boxes, or bins can hold smaller items safe during travel. Just remember to label items so you can find them when you get to your new place. If you are like the many people who save the original boxes for small appliances because they are “really good boxes”, now is the time to break them out and use them!
Don’t throw your linens into a box for packing. Use them as padding! Wrap up your fragile and breakable items with your towels and sheets. You can use socks for items like perfume, toiletries, and liquid kitchen items—just remember to unscrew the cap and place a square of saran wrap or a plastic baggie over the top before screwing it back on for spill protection. Dishtowels and rags can help protect utensils and knives, use an elastic band to secure them.
You don’t need to empty your dressers. Take the drawer out, wrap saran covering all around the drawer to hold the items inside and place it back into the dresser. On move day, you can take out the drawers, move them to the truck, move the empty dresser and then put the drawers back in for the ride. This also protects drawer fronts from nicks and scratches. You can also cover the top and sides of the dresser with creative saran wrapping. If the dresser isn’t too stuffed, you may be able to cover the whole thing and move it while still packed but you need to make sure that you are strong enough to do this and that you don’t have any awkward moves like stairs that will add to the strain.
Clothing in closets can stay on the hangers! Group clothing together and use a garbage bag to scoop them into the bag from the bottom, approximately 10-15 hangers per bag depending on how thick the clothing is. Tie the bag around the hangers at the top to keep everything contained and safe from dirt. You can still use a wardrobe box or clothing rack to keep everything vertical during transport and then they go directly into closets at your new place.
Pack your suitcases and duffle bags. Suitcases are ideal for heavy items since their wheels make them much easier to move from place to place. They work well for books and large serving dishes.
There is no magical trick to making a move go smoothly. You will most certainly encounter many challenges on the way as moving is an unpredictable task. You can ensure that you aren’t left scrambling at the last minute, and that you know what’s in all those matching cardboard boxes if you follow Mike’s tips for packing your house. We can help you move those boxes into your new home. Reach out to us today to find out more about what we can do to make your move stress-free so you can focus on the more important things!