Moving Tips Part II – Packing Up

Once all supplies are gathered, you are ready to pack up all your belongings. If you can enlist help from friends and family then this will make life much easier. Believe it or not, you can pack up an entire house in one or two days, depending on how big your space is. I am going to tell you how, but it is contingent on how much help you have. This can play out in several different ways.

If you have plenty of people to help pack up – I am about to reveal the secret to getting the packing done in one or two days! Assign a room to each person that will help you pack. Each person is responsible for packing that room. When they finish packing their assigned room, they can move on to another room and pack that room. That is the secret to packing quickly.

If you are packing all by yourself – You need to work a little differently over time if you are on your own. My suggestion is to pack one room at a time per day until you are done. Start with the least used room, such as a guest bathroom or guest room.

Reserve a moving company for the date you are moving as soon as you know what date it is you will move. Make sure that the movers will wrap your furniture in shrink wrap before they place it in the truck and use blankets to cover wood items or any item that needs extra protection from scratching. There may be an extra charge for these products, but it is worth it to make sure your furniture does not get scratched or dented. If moving within your city, expect the movers to take all day to move from one place to another. The movers should take apart and put together your bed and any other furniture that comes in pieces.

Pack an overnight bag with a change of clothes, toiletries, medications, pajamas, paper towels, paper plates, toilet paper, plastic utensils, paper cups, cleaners and whatever else you might need for the first night or two in your new place.

How to Pack

The secret to getting the packing done quickly is to have a group of people to help out. Put one person in charge of packing a room. If a person finishes their room before the packing is complete place them in another room that is not attended to, or have that person help someone else with their room. Typically, the kitchen takes the longest. One person should be in charge of taking down and wrapping all the wall decor, lamps and lampshades and closets. Believe it or not, these items take a long time to wrap and pack, so they are considered “a room.”

If you are on your own, implement the same concept of packing one room at a time; however, you will need to give yourself more time to pack. Start with the least used space in the home and work your way up to the most used room. The wall hangings and lamps can be packed last.

Tips

• Make several boxes of different sizes at once, so you do not have to stop to tape up boxes all the time..
• Keep paper, box cutters, tape, Sharpie markers, bubble wrap and other supplies nearby to prevent spending time searching for them. A small duffel bag is a great place to keep supplies because you can move the bag easily from room to room.
• Wall decor takes time to wrap. A lot of wall decor must be wrapped in bubble wrap due to its size and glass facings in some instances. Purchase some large wall decor boxes specially made for wall hangings. Wall decor is the most ideal item to pack first because they are not an essential need. If you have a group of people helping with the pack up, you can assign one person to be in charge of wrapping the wall decor and lamps. If the larger wall decor sticks out of the top of the box, fit another box over it and tape it up so it does not become damaged.

• Bundle small loose items together in wrapping paper; for example, place loose items in a desk drawer, such as pens, pencils and office supplies on some paper and wrap them together. Silverware and kitchen utensils can also be wrapped as a group. Bathroom items are also good candidates for group wrapping.
• If items are in an organizer of some kind, wrap the item as one; for example, wrap makeup in an organizer as one item together by wrapping paper around the organizer.
• Line one box with a trash bag for cleaning liquids that could leak during transport. Tie up the bag before taping the box.
• Stuff dresser drawers and other clothing drawers with wadded-up paper so you do not have to pack the clothing in a box. The paper will stabilize the clothing during transport. All you have to do on the other side of the move is remove the paper.
• Lamps – Wrap lamp bases with bubble wrap and place the bases all in the same large box if possible. Packing lamps should be one of the last things to pack. Remove the harps and light bulbs and wrap them separately. Fill the excess space in the box with throw pillows or blankets for padding. If you do not have pillows or blankets to pack in this box, use wadded-up paper. It will take a lot of paper to fill the box. Lamp shades must go in a box by themselves. You can place more than one shade in the box if they are stackable and fill excess space with paper.

• Purchase a couple of wardrobe boxes. These are expensive boxes but are worth it to transport clothing because they come with a bar to hang clothes. You can also place shoes in the bottom under the hanging clothes. Wardrobe boxes are also ideal for tall items, such as brooms and vacuum cleaners.
• Label everything. Do not skip labeling, thinking you will remember the box that a certain item is in. Trust me, you will not remember. Label the boxes with the room the box should go in at the other end and any contents that you want to find immediately.
• Dishes – Double wrap plates in paper and stack them on their sides in a box. Double wrap bowls in paper and stack one on top of the other. Wrap glassware in paper, making sure to stuff the paper inside the glass to cushion it. Stack the glassware on its bottom. and pack in a box one on top of the other. Extra care should be taken for stemware. Wrap the stem of the glass well in paper for extra cushion and stack one on top of the other. China, crystal and nicer serve ware pieces should be wrapped in bubble wrap and paper.
• Bedding – The last thing to go in a box is bedding. You will need an extra large box to accommodate pillows, sheets, blankets and comforters. On moving day when you get out of bed, remove all the bedding and pack it in a box. Tape it up immediately and label the box “Bedding” in large letters so that you will not miss it. You will be glad you do not have to search for bedding in a sea of unlabeled boxes.

With everything packed and ready to go, the movers will take it from here. Find a moving company that will shrink-wrap the furniture, take beds apart, load the boxes and put everything back together at the new place.

These are all helpful tips for large and small moves. To see Part I of this series, click here. See you on the other side!