Packing Tips for a Smooth Move

Let's roll up your sleeves and do some packing. The one area you can truly save money when moving is during the packing but let's make sure you pack everything correctly. Poor packing is the most common cause of breakage during a move.

First things first, get rid of the clutter. Purge, give it away. If you do not love it or need it, do not take it with you.

Tip #1: Do not put off packing, pack a little every day. Packing will probably take longer than you think and it's better to be done with packing earlier rather than rushing to get it all done last minute. Pack several cartons each day. Be sure that the items you pack won't be needed before your move.

Tip #2: Pack on a room-by-room basis and do one area of the room at a time. This will allow you to see your progress and gauge what you need to pack next. Do not jump from room to room, you will get frustrated and not feel like you are making a dent in your packing project.

Tip #3: It's best not to mix items from different rooms in one box. To prevent small items from being lost or mistakenly thrown out with the packing paper, wrap miniature knickknacks and other small items in brightly-colored tissue paper before placing them in the box.

Tip #4: On the sides of each box, write a general description of the contents and the room from which it came (or the room it will go into in your new home).

Tip #5: Use only unprinted newsprint paper to wrap items. Regular newspapers and colored tissue papers are messy and they may bleed ink on your possessions.

Tip #6: Use cartons designed for moving. Boxes obtained from grocery or liquor stores are not always clean, and may not withstand the weight of the items that you'll be putting in them. Also, their odd sizes tend to make loading more difficult.

Tip #7: Don’t leave empty spaces in the boxes. Fill in gaps with clothing, towels, or packing paper. Boxes that are not packed to the top may end up getting crushed by the weight of the box on top of it.

Tip #8: Tape that box. Use a couple of pieces of tape to close the bottom and top seams, then use one of the movers’ techniques―making a couple of wraps all the way around the box’s top and bottom edges, where stress is concentrated.