Packing Checklist
Once you have prepared all of your packing supplies, it’s time to start the journey of packing up all of your belongings in an efficient manner. Take into mind some of these important concepts before sealing up your boxes and loading them onto the moving truck.
1. Pack Items Used Infrequently With Each Other
It is important to pack strategically as you may have A LOT of items that you have used throughout the years. Take a minute to think about things you use on a daily basis, and things you have not used in the past few months or even years. These items should be packed together so that you can set them aside and unpack at your own leisure when you are settled into your new home.
2. Leave Items Out That You Will Need Until Moving Day
No-one wants to be living out of boxes, even for a short period of time. Therefore, you should leave items out that you will be using on a daily basis. These are things such as a coffee maker (if you like having coffee every morning), your toothbrush, blankets,
3. Pack Similar Items Together
Packing similar items together will help with organization purposes and make it easier to label boxes and put in the right rooms for when you move into your new home. This could be anything from kitchen utensils to toiletries.
4. Keep All Parts or Pairs Together
There is nothing more frustrating than having different parts or pairs of things scattered all in separate boxes. Don’t make yourself have to dig through a bunch of boxes in order to find all the parts to your blending machine. Keep everything together, including all parts, in one box.
5. Wind Up Electrical Cords Together
You can save a lot of room by winding up your electrical cords and packing them nicely in a box instead of just throwing them in. This will also limit the amount of untangling that will have to be done when you unpack.
6. Pack Fragile Items In Newspaper or Tissue Paper
It is smart to wrap fragile and/or glass items in newspaper or tissue paper to protect them. Before the move, try to stock up on newspaper and/or tissue paper so that you have plenty to wrap your fragile and glass items in, such as glass plates, glass cups, and fragile momentums.
7. Build In Layer With Heavier Items on the Bottom
When packing multiple items in a larger box, it is important to build in layer and pack the heavier items on the bottom. Don’t let your lighter items be crushed by heavier items.
8. Avoid Overloading Boxes
You may want to try and pack everything you can into one box, but you should try to avoid this. Overloading boxes can do more harm than good. First off, the more items you pack in one box, the heavier it will get. This can cause ripping of the cardboard box or your box can just break all together. Also, you will want to be able to close the flaps on the box and tape it shut. Overloading a box might make it impossible to close and secure your box.
9. Pack Firmly to Prevent Items from Shifting
Throwing loose items into a box without care can cause items to move around and maybe even break. Try to pack items firmly into the box in order to prevent them from shifting or moving around.
10. Seal Boxes Tightly with Tape
We discussed before which moving supplies you should have on handy and one of those items was tape. Once your items are packed securely in boxes, make sure to seal your boxes tightly with tape.
11. Label Boxes with a Sharpie
Use masking tape and a sharpie to label boxes in order to make it easier when bringing boxes to your new home. Label your box with a general idea of what is inside of the box and which room in your new home the box should go. For example: Silverware, Kitchen
