10 Packing Tips that will help you When Moving House
Moving house is an exciting time irrespective of whether it is into your own home or rented accommodation. However, it often fills people with dread because quite often they just don’t know where to start. Things such as contacting utility companies, updating your driving licence details and looking for removals in Bournemouth or elsewhere in the UK, can be a stressful experience. This is before you get to that monstrous job that is packing up your belongings. It can also be an expensive experience if you don’t do it right and you’ll want to keep your removal costs down, especially if you’ve just brought a new house.
So to try and help take some of the stress out of relocating here are 10 top tips to help you pack up your house quickly and efficiently.
Source Packaging Materials in Advance
There is no point beginning your packing to suddenly find you haven’t got enough boxes or the ones you have are totally unsuitable. Don’t forget you will undoubtedly need boxes of different shapes and sizes to accommodate all your belongings. If you already have some plastic storage boxes utilise them to pack some of the more fragile items.
Along with boxes try and ensure you have a plentiful supply of additional packaging materials like Bubble Wrap, Packaging Tape and labels. Complete packaging kits can be sourced online, and most packers and movers offer a full packaging service, however, this comes at a cost. If your budget doesn’t run to this you can try and source boxes from places such as supermarkets and grocery shops, among others.
Begin Packing Well in Advance
It is always advisable to start packing before you think you should. The length of time taken to pack up for a move is entirely dependent on the number of items you need to move. For a large house starting two months in advance and packing a box a day is ideal, whereas with a smaller house one month would be sufficient. This is obviously not an exact science however you get the idea.
Always start with Rooms and Items you use Least
Maybe start with the loft, attic or spare bedrooms and work downwards. Also, pack items that are not currently being used first. Seasonal items for example gardening tools, Christmas lights and decorations are perfect examples of this. Regularly sorting through packaged belongings makes the choice of what you are keeping and donating or giving away easier.
Declutter and Donate
Use the opportunity as a good excuse to get rid of things you keep for no other reason than they’ve always been there. There are several options for disposing of them, you could take them to charity shops or if you want to make a few extra pounds to help with the move there is always eBay.
Make a Detailed Inventory
These are extremely helpful in terms of ensuring everything goes where it should. Clearly label all boxes so you are not messing around on moving day playing box roulette. You can upload your inventory to your phone or tablet to help ensure the moving day runs seamlessly.
Pack One Room at a Time
This is one of the most important packaging tips and one which for some reason seems to get neglected. People often debate whether it is better to store your items by room or category. Our advice would be to pack items by room as it will help you remain organised and help your removal company whether you’re using NYC movers or London local ones.
Unload and Unpack in Reverse
Always try to ensure you unload and unpack your belongings in reverse from the top to the ground floor. This will help you avoid unnecessary strain on your muscles because by the end of the day it is likely you will be too tired to keep climbing the stairs.
Store all your Valuables in one Place
Make sure all your valuables are stored in one place and make a detailed inventory of everything in there. This should help ensure you don’t lose anything. If you want to be doubly sure you could always rent a safety box at your bank for the entirety of the move.
Use Plastic Bags for any type of liquids
Similar to when going on holiday always ensure spill-able items are transported safely and without the possibility of leaking onto other belongings. Use plastic bags that can be sealed such as freezer bags so if the bottle opens by accident the contents will remain in the plastic bag.
Take all your Documents with you
This includes things like birth certificates, passports bank and credit card statements etc. If they can all fit in one box pack them together and take them in your car. With identity theft becoming evermore commonplace it is imperative you keep all personal information as safe as possible.
While this list is by no means exhaustive it will certainly help make the moving experience less stressful.
