Moving day is fast approaching and packing needs to start in earnest… but what do you prioritise, cost-effective packing; care of valuables; easy unpacking at the other end? Happily, by packing smart it’s possible to manage all of these priorities and still have energy for the excitement of the move!
These packing tips for moving have been compiled by a family run removals firm with over 15 years’ experience packing up people’s belongings and transporting them the length and breadth of the country.
Image credit: Kasey-Samuel Adams
Cost-effective packing
• Once you know a move is imminent, save packaging from parcels and purchases to recycle for your own packing (get others to pass theirs on to you as well).
• Use household linens as additional packing. Items such as towels, tea towels, linens and tablecloths can all be used to wrap fragile goods – a considerable environmental and wallet saving on bubble wrap!
• Use the local pound shop for everything else you need: labels, tape, string, marker pens, self-seal bags – no need to spend unnecessarily in this area by buying branded goods.
• Gather plenty of boxes well in advance, either from your removal company or by collecting your own from local shops and supermarkets.
Image credit: Tambako The Jaguar
Purposeful packing – with the other end in mind
• Don’t leave it all until the last minute: plan to pack each room over a couple of days or evenings, depending on your work schedule.
• Don’t pack for the sake of it: now is the time to purge your home of things you don’t like / want / use.
• Taking everything you need into each room with you makes packing quicker and more productive.
• Think relative size for wrapping: if your lounge holds all your tiny ornaments, make sure you take your napkins and smaller linens in there, ready for wrapping, along with smaller boxes. Similarly, keep your clean towels and linens close at hand in the kitchen and dining room for your crockery and bigger dishes.
• Consider relative size and weight for packing: pack heavy items into suitably sized boxes which can be lifted without injury.
• Think too about any extra rooms you’re gaining at the other end. So if you’re gaining a conservatory, identify the items you’ll want in there by visiting each room in your current home and gathering the items. Then, it’s a case of packing them into the boxes marked ‘conservatory’ before you pack up the rest of each room.
• Ensure that every single box is labelled with the room it’s intended for at the other end.
• Dedicate an area of your current home for your vital, still-in use items – this tends to end up being the kitchen because the kettle’s always in use until the last moment! Keep a plastic folder there too of all vital documentation to do with the move, including identification documents, so that it’s all to hand on the day and not accidentally packed away.
Care of valuables
• If you have some extremely valuable pieces, you may want to let a trusted family member take care of these for a few days over the moving period or move these yourself.
• If you’re keeping your valuables with you, pack them in boxes marked for a person, along with a mark, such as an asterisk. Make sure everyone in your household knows what this mark means and use a trusted family member to be responsible for these particular boxes at all times. This is a useful job for a relative who’s helping with their car (so long as their insurance covers all eventualities).
• Finally, on that note, the smartest way to pack for a move is to ensure that your contents and car insurance and / or your remover’s insurance covers all of your possessions whilst they’re in transit as well as sitting around in boxes.
Bio:
Community Coordinator, Alex Murray, says:
“Alliance Removals is a family-run removals firm (established in 1997) with a strong emphasis on making moving home as flexible and as easy as possible. Knowing how to pack your belongings effectively and efficiently may not seem like the world’s greatest skill but we’re all a bit jealous when we see people getting on the plane for a two week holiday with just hand luggage and moving home should be no different!”
