Are you planning a move? If you are smart about packing, you can make a move easier for yourself and movers. Read the tried and true packing tips from MoversFor.Me.
Boxes, Packing Tape, Markers, Packing Paper, Scissors
You need boxes to put your belongings into, markers to label the boxes and packing paper to make sure your belongings are cushioned and stable inside the boxes. make sure you buy packing tape. Other kinds of tape (masking and desk tape will fail).
Sell, Donate & Give
If you drive by a college dorm or residential areas near a college campus when a term ends you will see tons of furniture, household items, small appliances and clothing tossed out on the street. Much of it is still useful. Spend the 1st week of planning selecting items to give to family and friends. If the people you know pass on your items, post to public bulletin boards like Craig’s List or your local freecycle page. Make sure you take good pictures and describe the condition and age of the item accurately. Clothes are especially valuable to charities for homeless and transient people. Pick a 501(c)3 non-profit organization so that your clothing or household goods donations are tax deductible. Two great charities that accept most furniture, appliances and clothing you may want to donate are Habitat for Humanity’s “ReStore” and Goodwill.
About a Month
Leave yourself about 4 to 6 weeks to pack your home for your move. This allows you ample time to purchase or find additional boxes, packing material for fragile items and . This is about the perfect time for you to take extra consideration, evenly distribute items in boxes and parcels and to organize and label your boxes by the rooms they belong in. The better you pack, the cheaper your move will be. Pack items you do not need or use on a regular basis like .
Name and number
Keep your items from each room together. When you label each box, name it by the room the items belong in and the number each box by room (master bath 1, 2 3; kitchen 1, 2, 3 & 4). This way you can easily keep track of your move and take a quick inventory when your items are unloaded.
Don’t need it, Pack it first
Your fine wedding china and your debate team trophies aren’t something that you need to use every day. Pack these items first. In fact the rooms where most of the items are ornamental or rarely used should be the first room you pack. Label boxes containing your most used or necessary items “Open Me First!” or “Unpack First”.
Not too Heavy, Not too light
Many moving companies (and friends) will not move a box if it is too heavy and will require a repack or split of the box. A repack is a huge nuisance the day of a move. Make sure your packed boxes are at most 50 pounds. In addition an over packed box may rupture and result in damage to your belongings and physical injury to your mover. If you pack your boxes too light, that will result in additional trips by moving labor and may extend your move unnecessarily.