October OnSite Blog1

Packing is one of the most difficult and time-consuming parts of moving. However, if you plan it out in advance and go about it the right way, you can save a lot of time and stress.

Pack for your move like an expert by following these tips.

1. Sort Your Possessions by Category, Not Location

The longer you live in one home, the more your possessions get spread out and mixed up. As you start the packing process, don’t do it by room since you may have items that should be in the basement but somehow ended up in the living room. Instead, go through your home and collect items by type.

For example, first go through and pack up all your artwork, regardless of where it is in the house, then move on to your clothing. You’ll be able to better see exactly what you have and where it should go in your new home instead of struggling to find places for your items.

2. Get Rid of Stuff

Another benefit of sorting your possessions by category instead of location is that you’ll identify the extra stuff you don’t need. Perhaps you have three sets of nail clippers, but they were scattered. If you pack all your items in each category at once, you can more easily see what needs to go.

Get rid of things you don’t like or you don’t use. You can either sell those items or donate them. Either way, get them out of your house so you don’t have to carry them to your new home. That way, you won’t have to pack, unpack and find a place for them later.

3. Start With the Non-Essentials

Don’t start packing with all your pots and pans. You’ll still need those up until the move itself.

Instead, start packing early so you don’t have to do it all at once, and start with things you don’t have to use right now. For example, home décor is great but you can function without it, so pack those items first. Seasonal items that you don’t currently use, like Christmas decorations and Halloween costumes, are a good choice for early packing as well.

4. Keep Your Boxes Small

When you buy packing supplies, you may be tempted to reach for the biggest boxes available so you’ll have fewer items to move to and from the moving van. However, you’ll be better off in the long run if you choose smaller boxes.

Not only are big boxes difficult to carry, especially if you fill them with heavy items like books, but people tend to end up throwing all sorts of items into each box just to fill all the space. You may have half of your kitchen utensils, your socks and your toiletries in one enormous box, which makes it difficult to remember which box has what you need when you unpack. If you choose smaller boxes, you can fill each one with just one type of item, making it easier to label and retrieve later.

5. Label Your Boxes Thoroughly

Since you’re going to be meticulous about packing like items together in your boxes, make sure to label them accurately as well. Label the box with both what’s in it and where it should go. You’ll have an easier time when you unpack if you’re organized now.

You can make packing much easier for yourself if you follow these tips. However, you don’t have to do everything by yourself if you don’t want to. If you would like expert assistance with your move, contact Island Movers. We can handle the heavy lifting so you’ll have more time for what’s important to you.