One of the most stressful things about the whole moving process is trying to stay organized when packing for the upcoming move. Orderly packing is essential to smooth unpacking when you get to your new home. If you follow a few simple tips, it should help things go a bit easier before, during, and after the move.
1. Gather Your Moving Essentials
Before you start packing, it is important that you make sure that you have all the moving necessities. There are plenty of items that you will need to get your belongings to new home safely.
- Boxes in various sizes
- Packing tape
- Bubble wrap
- Covers to protect television screens, mirrors, and artwork
- Sharpie markers to mark boxes
- Box cutter
- Trash bags
- Plastic baggies
Note: If you don’t want to spend money on boxes, you can go to your local grocery store and liquor store and ask for boxes. If you don’t want to buy covers and bubble wrap, you can use clothes to wrap your fragile items and cover your televisions, mirrors, and artwork with blankets.
2. Pack an Essentials Box
When packing up your home, you are going to need to pack up an essentials box. In the box, you should pack toilet paper, paper towels, a few bath towels, toiletries, the bedding for each bed, pet dishes, and anything else that you think that you might need before you get your boxes unpacked. This step will save you the trouble of opening all your boxes in search of the things that you need when you arrive at the new home.
3. Keep Important Documents Safe
As you pack, place all your important documents in a large manila envelope and take it to the new home in your car. This will ensure that none of these documents get lost. A few documents that should go into the envelope include:
- Birth certificates
- Social Security cards
- Mortgage papers or your rental lease
- Any other important documents
4. Don’t Try to Pack in a Single Day
Packing should be a marathon, not a sprint. If you want to be sure that you are organized while packing, you should start early. Start packing room by room. When each box is packed, mark the box, so that the movers will know which room each box goes in. Be sure to mark each box on the top and the sides. Labeling this way will allow you to see the writing whether the boxes are stacked on top of each other or side by side. The last room that you should pack is the kitchen because you are going to need kitchen items up until the day of the move. When the movers come, make sure that they put the rugs in last. This will ensure that they will go into the new home first and you won’t need to worry about having to move furniture later to lay the rugs down.
5. Have a Moving Day Plan
On moving day, you should get to the new house early and label the door to each room, so that the movers can match the labels on the boxes with the labels on the doors. This will keep the main area from filling up with boxes that you will eventually need to move. When you are unpacking, the first thing that you should do is make all the beds using the bedding in your essentials box. This will allow family members to lie down if they get tired. Next, unpack the bathrooms. Finally, start unpacking the kitchen. If you get tired, go to sleep. There is no rule that says that you need to unpack everything on the first day. If you take your time, things will be put away neatly and properly.
6. Keep Your Pets Happy
If you have pets, you are going to need to make sure that they are safe and secure on moving day. It is best to take the pets to the new house with you and put them in one room with the door closed. This will keep them from getting out when the movers are opening and closing the front door. Be sure to give your pets something soft to sleep on and enough food and water to last them the day. This will ensure that they will be comfortable during the move.
If you follow the tips listed above, you should be able to make your move as stress-free as possible. Organization is the key to a hassle-free move from start to finish.