Moving house is hard, even if you've done it plenty of times before. Knowing when to start packing can be difficult. Knowing where to pack first can also be confusing. So, here's a breakdown of where to start, when to start, and how to pack boxes!
You can start packing the rooms you use at least about two months before you move. This gives you lots of time to pack each room, making sure you don't rush and ensuring you don't miss anything. You should start packing storage areas, spare rooms, attics, and lofts first. You can also pack anything from other rooms that you know you won't need, like a slow cooker or a sewing machine. The boxes that you pack can be stored in the rooms you've packed, allowing you to still live comfortably in your home.
Then, around a month before you move, make a start on bedrooms and entertainment rooms, leaving out only the essentials like beds, a small selection of clothes, and the TV. Then finally, in the week before you move, pack the kitchen and bathroom, and anything left in the other rooms.
When you pack, you need to be sure to leave out a suitcase or essentials box with things like a first aid kit, toilet paper rolls, basic kitchen utensils, food, clothes, and bedding. That way you're under no pressure to unpack immediately! This will help to make the day much less stressful.
Uncover more: How To Start House Moving
Before you start packing, you should always take a week or so to actually assess how many of your belongings actually need to be moved. You might be surprised to find that a lot of the items you own you haven't used in the last six months or more! If that's the case, consider taking the items to a car boot sale. This will make packing easier, as you'll need fewer cardboard boxes, and it will even make you some money (which you can spend on packing materials!).
If you want to keep track of how you're progressing, making a checklist of every space in your house is a good way forward. This checklist is essentially just a list of every room and storage space in your home. Beside each one, you can estimate how many boxes it will take to pack, allowing you to ensure you have enough boxes before you begin. You can even assign them a deadline to be packed by!
By creating a list, you are allowing yourself to really see how much there is to do. You can also then objectively decide which spaces are not going to be needed in the next couple of weeks. For example, if it is the summer, you're unlikely to need the Christmas decorations from the attic, and you probably won't be using the thick bedding and blankets you store in the airing cupboard.
Check out: The Ultimate Moving Checklist For Homeowners
As you pack, it is crucial that you label boxes, even the small boxes! This will help when it comes to moving house as each box will end up in the right room. It is also worth noting how many boxes you have for each room once packed. This way, when you've moved, you will be able to determine whether there's anything missing
One of the easiest ways to make packing and moving house easier is to make sure that you have all of the right packing materials. The right boxes, the stuff to protect fragile items, and plastic bags to protect your items from spillages all make the packing process so much easier.
If you're not sure what to buy when it comes to packing supplies, here is a list of useful packing materials:
You may find that you don't need all of these. Not everyone wants to use wardrobe boxes, for example, and many people have digital copies of important documents rather than physical ones these days. However, this is a good base for you to use. If you have most of the items on this list, you're ready to begin packing.
Moving house is already an expensive process, so you want to save as much money as you can wherever you can. One of the places you can easily do this is when you're looking for packing materials.
You will be surprised how many boxes you'll be able to find for free on Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, and other similar sites. You might also find that taking a trip to your local supermarket is worth it, as they will be able to give you any boxes they were going to throw out.
Packing paper and bubble wrap can be found on eBay and Amazon and can be kept from other packages you receive in the lead-up to the move, too. Packing tape can be found cheaply in stores like Poundland, and plastic bags can be just standard carrier bags or freezer bags. Old newspapers can be kept and used in place of packing paper.
It is likely that when you're moving house you will need to handle and pack furniture at some point. This is not the same as when you pack boxes, as you will likely need to take the furniture apart, especially for larger pieces like a bed or wardrobe.
The best way to pack furniture is to carefully take the item apart. Keep the screws, washers, bolts, and other connectors together in a sandwich bag or similar, and, once the item is completely taken apart, you can attach this bag to the furniture using some masking tape. If there aren't that many pieces, you may want to connect each part of the item with tape, too.
Remember that disassembling and reassembling your furniture is down to you unless you have arranged it in advance with a moving company.
Gain insights: Moving Oversized Furniture
Mattresses and sofas are often intimidating when it comes to moving house. A lot of sofas do not come apart, and we always want to keep the soft cushions and our mattresses clean and safe - so how do we do it?
You can wrap your mattress with cling film, blankets, sheets, or even a dust sheet to keep it safe while it travels. This will protect it from dirt, stains, and tears.
Your couch can be handled similarly. If you can remove cushions, do so and wrap them carefully in cling film, blankets, or similar to protect them. The frame can then be moved by your movers.
Packing your fragile items must be done with care. You should not rush this task and should make sure you have all the right materials before you begin. This might be paper or bubble wrap, or, one of the best packing tips for moving is to use clothes, towels, and sheets. If you wrap delicate items in these materials, you'll keep them just as safe as bubble wrap.
You should pack fragile items in smaller boxes, regardless of what you're using to protect them. In large boxes, there is too much space, and the items will move around. Even with packing paper, this runs the risk of breaking them.
Pack your items slowly, with bigger items on the bottom if you're placing things in the same box. Items that are the same shape will likely stack (think plates, bowls) but you should always use something protective in between them, just in case.
Discover more: How To Pack Fragile Items
We all have heavy items in our homes, and while you don't have to worry too much if you're hiring a removal company like Bear Couriers & Removal, it is useful to make the heavier items easier to carry. One way to do this is to use pullable suitcases. Books work especially well in pull-along cases.
If you do have to pack heavy items in boxes, then be sure to start off with these items. The heavier items should go at the bottom of the box so that they don't cause any damage to the lighter items at the top.
In order to keep your plants safe, it may be worth taking them out of their pots. Placing them in tupperware boxes will ensure that they do not move around when the van is travelling! You should wrap the pots in bubble wrap.
For smaller electrical goods like game consoles and your television, these should be unplugged and placed back in their original boxes. If you don't have the original box, wrap the item in bubble wrap or blankets to keep it safe.
For larger items such as tumble dryers, dishwashers, fridges, and freezers, you will need to unplug them and have any water lines professionally disconnected. For freezers, this should be done a few days before you move so that it can defrost.
Your removal company will not remove water lines for you. They will be able to pick up and move your electrical goods, but you must prep them first.
Valuables like jewellery need to be carefully packed so that they are not lost or broken in the moving process. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use old egg cartons or toilet roll tubes. Place your valuables inside and seal them shut, then label accordingly!
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