Moving house can quickly become overwhelming, with the task of packing up your entire life into boxes stirring up stress and anxiety. Mismanaged packing leads to damaged belongings, lost items, and an exhausting unpacking experience.
However, mastering packing tips for moving house can transform this intimidating task into an efficient, manageable process. By leveraging expert strategies, you can safeguard your possessions and streamline your move.
This article is your ultimate guide to moving house, ensuring you reach your new home with everything intact and ready for a fresh start.
Our Go-To House Moving Tips
1. Packing Early is a Stress Saver
Starting your house packing process early is widely shared advice for a good reason. It can save you from rushing to pack everything at the last minute. As soon as you know you’ll be moving, begin to systematically move from room to room and pack at a comfortable pace. You will be able to avoid leaving everything until the day before the move and only focus on packing essentials.
2. Create a Moving Checklist
Creating a house moving checklist is a great step toward a smooth journey. This essential tool helps you track your packing progress and ensures no critical task is left behind. From the moment you decide to move to the day you settle into your new home, a moving checklist acts as your roadmap, guiding you through each phase.
A checklist will enable you to allocate tasks, manage time efficiently, and keep a clear head amidst the boxes and bubble wrap. Start with broad categories—sorting, packing, utilities, and essential documents—and drill down to detailed tasks. With a comprehensive checklist in hand, you’re setting the stage for a successful move, leaving chaos and forgetfulness in the dust.
3. Keep an Inventory List & Clearly Label
Keeping an inventory of your belongings and the corresponding box numbers can be extremely helpful. Not only can you keep track of what you’ve packed, but you’ll also be able to find specific items easier once you arrive at your new home.
To create an inventory list, simply number each box as you pack it and keep a corresponding list of the items in each box. Either a notebook or a spreadsheet on your computer will be fine to create your inventory list. Be sure to clearly label each box with its corresponding number, and keep your inventory list nearby so it’s easy to refer to and you don’t lose it.
4. Packing Boxes & Packing Materials
Running out of boxes while packing is a nightmare. It’s important to make sure you have stocked up before you begin. Having too many is better than not enough. Ensure you have enough packing materials to keep valuable and delicate items protected. Pack them into a small box to prevent them from getting knocked around during the move. With ample boxes and proper packing materials and techniques, you can ensure that your move is smooth and stress-free.
5. Overpacking Boxes Can be Disastrous
Instead of searching for the largest boxes for your move, we recommend you avoid overpacking your boxes to prevent injuries from lifting. It’s better to look for smaller boxes that can be packed without exceeding their weight capacity. Overfilling larger boxes might seem like an efficient packing method, but it causes strained muscles, back injuries, or even broken items. Therefore, it’s advised to choose smaller boxes to keep the weight manageable and make the moving process easier and safer.
6. Lift With Your Legs, Not Your Back
Packed boxes can be very heavy, to avoid injuring yourself, it’s important to follow safe lifting practices. Instead of bending down, squat down and use your entire body to lift. Having someone assist when lifting heavier boxes can also make the task easier and safer, allowing you to distribute the weight evenly.
7. Consider Putting Items into Storage
It’s common to discover items that aren’t immediately needed or have no space in your new home. Instead of cluttering your new living space, consider putting unused items in a self-storage unit. This solution offers a secure and convenient way to store your possessions until you decide what to do with them. Whether it’s seasonal decorations, excess furniture, or keepsakes you’re not ready to part with, a self-storage unit can help keep your new home organised and clutter-free.
8. Ask For Help
House packing requires a lot of time and effort. You may think you can do it alone, but asking for help from others can make the process much easier and faster. Reach out to friends or family to help with packing, looking after kids, or even help with unpacking at the new place. Many hands make light work, so don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
9. Wear Exercise Friendly Clothing
When it comes to moving, dressing appropriately is key. Wear comfortable clothing that is suitable for the weather and wear sensible shoes to protect your feet from any potential accidents. Avoid wearing sandals or thongs as they leave your feet exposed and can create the potential for injury. By dressing appropriately, you’ll be able to move around easily and safely while remaining focused on the move.
10. Always Have a Clear Path
On moving day, it’s important the path to the front door is clear to avoid any tripping hazards. With so many boxes and furniture being moved around, it can be easy to get disorganised. Make sure to have appropriate space for a path to the front door to make it easier to move your belongings.
11. Borrow or Hire a Trolley
With the right equipment, moving heavy boxes can be a breeze. To save yourself from unnecessary strain, consider borrowing or renting a trolley for the day. This will make it a lot easier to move heavy items in and out of the house.
12. Consider What to Do with Your Pets
Packing up a house can be overwhelming for your pets. They may become curious and get in the way, which could increase the risk of injuries to both you and them. To avoid accidents, you can read our blog about tips for moving with pets.
13. Hire Professional House Movers
Packing your house can be physically demanding. It’s important to prioritise your safety. Professional removalists have the expertise and equipment to move heavy items safely and reduce the risk of injury. It may be worth considering hiring a removalist to complete your move.
Speak to the professional team at Fox Removals for a quote if you’re planning a move.
14. Dismantle Your Bed the Day Before the Move
When it comes to bedroom furniture, dismantling the bed can take up a lot of time on moving day. To save time and minimise stress, consider disassembling it the day before the move. If you can’t do it yourself, make sure to tell your removalist that you need it to be done on the day of the move. It may also be worthwhile letting them know why it was difficult to take apart so they can be prepared with the right equipment.
15. Have Essentials Ready
Unpacking after a move can take a lot of time. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll have everything sorted by the end of the day. Pack a suitcase of essentials for your first night or two in your new bedroom.
Your Essentials Checklist
Here is an essential checklist of items you may need on the day of the move, consider items like;
- Clean bed linen for each bed
- Toiletries
- Medication, such as pain relief
- First aid kit, you may need a bandaid or two
- Toilet paper
- Paper towel
- Tissues
- Snacks
- Water
- Cups
- Coffee
- All-purpose cleaner
- Bin liners
- Scissors
- Paper plates
- Hand soap
- Tools to help you assemble beds and other items
- Pet supplies
- Dustpan
- Kitchen sponge
- Detergent for dishes
- Corkscrew/bottle opener
- Pack Your Clothes Properly
Packing your clothes properly can save you a lot of hassle when it comes to unpacking. Rather than tossing everything into a large box, organise your clothes so they stay neat and orderly during transit. Here are some tips for packing to move:
- Fold your clothes instead of just stuffing them into a box.
- Pack clothes in groups, such as all of your t-shirts together or all of your pants together.
- For smaller items such as socks, consider putting them in a ziplock bag.
- When packing your clothes, consider using wardrobe boxes. These tall boxes are designed to hang clothes on a rod inside, so you don’t have to fold them.
By taking the time to pack your clothes properly, you can make the moving process a lot easier on yourself.
3 Key Tips for Unpacking
1. Decide Where to Start
Decide which rooms will be the most visited in the first week, and start with those. High-traffic areas such as the bedroom, bathroom, and loungeroom are often great places to start. Make sure that you’ll be able to live comfortably in the first week even if you haven’t finished unpacking.
2. Assemble Your Bed
Consider asking your removalists to help you assemble furniture, especially larger items such as beds. Leaving this until late in the day, when everyone is exhausted and tired, can be challenging and stressful.
Review Your Inventory List
When you start unpacking, take the time to review your inventory list. This will help to ensure everything you packed has arrived safely and nothing is missing. Use your list to keep track of each box and its contents as you unpack, checking off items as you go. This will also help you prioritise which boxes to unpack first based on their contents and the needs of each room.
3. Great Chance to Purge
By purging unnecessary items before packing, you can take the opportunity to sell unwanted items on places like Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree, or donate to local charities. Additionally, consider labelling any boxes that shouldn’t be unpacked right away, such as decorations or sentimental items. This can help keep the unpacking process organised and stress-free.
Speak to the Professional House Moving Team at Fox Removals
As a professional house removal company, Fox Removals understands the importance of proper packing. We hope that the house moving tips provided in this post will help make your move smoother and less stressful.
If you want to remove the stress of your house move and leave it all up to the professionals, you can contact us at Fox Removals for a free quote. We are committed to providing our customers with the highest quality house moving services, and our team of experienced professionals is here to help you every step of the way.