Now, it’s time to really get your hands dirty. As moving day approaches, it might feel overwhelming to have to put all your belongings into boxes, but start packing early and you won’t be scrambling to finish come moving day.
Here are some helpful tips:
- Set aside – Pack a week’s worth of essentials for yourself and every member of your family in a few suitcases. You’ll want to be fully packed when you move, and you won’t be able to unpack immediately, so you’ll be living out of this suitcase for a few days.
- Divide and conquer – Break your packing duties down by room, and start packing in sections. Tackling your home in sections will make the process much more manageable. Group boxes with similar items where possible.
- Heavy to light – Pack boxes with heavy items on the bottom and lighter objects on top.
- Roll clothes and towels – Pro packing tip: You can fit more if you roll. Roll soft items before putting them in boxes and suitcases.
- Label – Label everything. Be detailed.
- Name of items
- Name of room
- Special instructions: fragile, heavy, this side up, do not get wet
- Don’t leave wiggle room – Things are less likely to break if they can’t move around. Stuff empty spaces in boxes with old T-shirts or newspaper.
- Leave tools and cleaning products in an accessible place – Pack all tools and cleaning products—screwdrivers, nails, screws, drills, paper towels, cleaning sprays, mops—in an easy to find box and set them aside. Make sure when they are unloaded, they don’t end up under a pile of other boxes. You’re going to need access to these items a lot in the first month in a new home, so it’s essential that they’re easy to find.
- List and count – Make a list of all your boxes, what room they go into, and count them.
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