Moving can be chaotic. On the day of the move, the house will be emptied and all your things will be loaded on to a truck to be moved to you new place. The whole process seems fairly simple, but it can only run smoothly when it is backed up by thorough preparation and a solid plan. The core of your move depends on your capacity to pack every single item properly and with care. Pack carelessly and you will end up with a few broken things. Allow yourself to be distracted and you may lose track of your things.
Packing is quite important in the moving process. The following guidelines should help you with this:
- Prepare an inventory Before anything else, you should take an inventory of all your things. While doing this, you should also identify which items could be thrown away, given away or sold. Only pack things that you are taking with you—which means you should endeavour to get rid of things you do not need.
- Categorise your belongings. After taking an inventory, you need to categorise your valuables so that they will be easier to pack and locate. Note the sizes of your items because it will also dictate the sizes and number of boxes, bags and crates that you may need. One simple categorisation would be to group them by specific rooms: kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and so on. Things in the specific rooms can be further classified: kitchen utensils, canned goods, perishable food, plates, glasses etc.
- Obtain all your packing materials. Based on your preparations, you should know how many and what sizes of boxes, bags and crates you will need. Get a few more than you think you may need, so that you do not waste time and effort going back and forth for supplies. It is not unusual for people to underestimate how much packing materials are required for their move. Among the usual packing materials necessary are boxes, bags, packing tape, permanent markers, scissors, cutters, bubble wraps and newspapers.
- Secure smaller and fragile items. Before you bring out the big boxes and crates, you will need to wrap the fragile items with bubble wrap or paper, first. Secure smaller items in boxes, Tupperware or small containers. If you kept the boxes of the different appliances when you bought them, you can bring them back out.
- Start packing. Once you have categorised your things and secured the smaller and more valuable items, you can start the wider packing process. When packing, make sure not to put heavy items above fragile or breakables; try to maximise the space you have; and evenly distribute the weight between boxes. It is also important that you properly seal the boxes so that they do not break open in transit and spill all their contents.
- Label the boxes. So that you can easily locate your things among the collection of boxes, crates and bags, make sure to properly label them and keep a list of contents with you. This may seem tedious but when you are unpacking, it will make the process so much easier for you when the boxes are properly identified and labelled.
During a move things can get lost or broken. A good packing system can prevent this from happening. If your budget allows for it, it is also a good idea to hire a trusted and reliable packing service provided by removalists such as Giraffe Furniture Removals, to handle your packing and or unpacking needs. Their trained professionals know exactly how to best pack each item for maximum safety and cost efficiency.