10 Best Packing Tips For an Efficient Move
March 08th, 2024
Packing Tips For Moving
What is the most efficient way to pack for a move? Here are ten of the best packing tips to help make moving easier!
Moving to a new neighborhood is exciting, but packing can be an overwhelming and intimidating process if not done correctly, especially if you are moving out of state. While packing is essentially just throwing things into boxes, if there is no rhyme or reason, then things can get lost or damaged, which is what you do not want.
Once a move-in date is established, you will need to purchase all of your packing supplies and start thinking about a packing plan. What rooms do you need to pack first? What items are you packing together? What does your new space look like? These are all questions that you should be asking before packing even begins.
If you are moving with pets or small children, these are important factors to consider when approaching packing. Whether this is your first time moving or you have moved multiple times before, there are specific packing tips you can follow to ensure your move is painless and uncomplicated.
Here are the best go-to packing tips to use for your next move
Chapters
1. Set Aside Enough Time to Pack
Packing can be daunting when moving, so it is important to set aside enough time to get it all done before your move-in date approaches. As soon as you realize you should sell your home soon and know you will be moving, you should start putting together a moving checklist and planning your packing strategy at least one to two months before your move-in date.
While packing itself might not take more than two to three weeks, figuring out where to start and what to bring will take up the most time. There is nothing worse than rushing to pack everything in boxes, so allowing yourself enough time to get everything done will ensure an efficient and stress-free move.
2. Keep Similar Items Together
When moving, it is essential to stay organized, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is to keep similar items together during the packing process. For instance, bedding should be kept in one box, and if you are moving with kids, kids' toys should be kept in another.
If similar items are kept together in boxes, unpacking will be a breeze once you officially move. When random items are thrown together, it will take twice as long to figure out where things go once in your new home.
3. Pack One Room at a Time
The best way to keep similar items together is to pack one room at a time. Once you have all the necessary supplies for an efficient move, which should include boxes, packing tape, bubble wrap, and permanent markers for labeling, it is time to get to work.
The best place to start is packing up guest bedrooms or any other rooms you use the least. This will ensure that you are not disrupting your daily routine too much when packing. Once the first room is packed up, you can use it as storage for all your full boxes as you continue to pack the rest of the home.
Packing room from room allows you to organize items inside the boxes and boxes by room once everything is loaded onto the moving truck. When it comes time to unload everything from the moving truck, you can also organize all of the boxes room by room, which will make for an easier unpacking experience once you start rearranging items and decorating.
| Room Name | When to Pack |
| Garage | First |
| Guest Bedroom | Second |
| Attic or Basement | Third |
| Office | Fourth |
| Laundry Room | Fifth |
| Living Room | Sixth |
| Bedrooms | Seventh |
| Bathrooms | Eighth |
| Kitchen | Last |
*Data Sourced from Pods.
4. Label Everything
Labeling everything during packing is perhaps one of the most important things you should do. If boxes are not properly labeled, unpacking will become overwhelming since you will not know where things should go.
Whether you choose to use a permanent marker to label boxes or purchase stick-on labels specifically for packing, as long as you know what is in each box and what room each box belongs to, it should not matter how you choose to label.
5. Get Rid of Unwanted Items
Why not start your spring cleaning early? One of the best ways to ensure an efficient move while saving money on moving costs is to eliminate unwanted items before you start packing.
Nothing is worse than spending all your time, effort, and money packing items only to get rid of them later once you have settled into your new house. Once you have a packing plan, take the time to go through your closets, drawers, and storage and sell or donate any items you no longer need or use.
Decluttering will not only help prepare your home for sale, but it will benefit you in the long run when it comes time to pack your life into boxes during the moving process.
6. Pack an Essentials Bag
When moving, it is a good idea to pack an "overnight" or essentials bag, which should include all the most important necessities you will need while everything is still packed in boxes.
When packing an essentials bag, make sure to include what you might need for the next couple of days once you move in. Instead of having to scramble to find things you might need, an essentials bag will ensure that you have all important items ready.
The best way to prepare an essentials bag is to pack chargers, batteries, lightbulbs, extension cords, toilet paper, towels, a couple days worth of clothes, toiletries, cleaning supplies, paper towels, hand soap, scissors, paper plates, utensils, garbage bags, and a small toolkit with basic tools such as a hammer and screwdriver.
7. Keep Clothes On Hangers
If the clothes in your closet are already on hangers, then there is no reason to take them off and pack them in boxes if you can just wrap them in a bag with the hangers still on.
By keeping clothes on hangers when possible, all you have to do when unpacking is hang the clothes back up. While there are packing boxes you can purchase made specifically for clothing with hangers, it is more affordable, if not easier, to poke a hole at the bottom of a trash bag and slip it over a stack of your hanging clothes.
Whether or not your bedroom has a closet, moving with your clothes still on hangers is a space and time saver.
8. Take Pictures
One of the best ways to keep track of all your possessions is by taking pictures before, during, and after a move. Pictures are not only a good reference for unpacking so you know exactly where things should go in each room, but they can help you remember what items are in each box.
Taking pictures of possessions, especially fragile items, before packing them away is also a good way to know if anything broke or was damaged during the move itself. Professional cameras are not necessary when taking packing pictures; your smartphone camera should work just fine.
9. Pack Heavy Items in Small Boxes
When you are packing boxes, small items should be packed in large boxes, and heavy items should be packed in smaller boxes. Heavy items should also be packed at the bottom of the box, while lighter items should be packed near the top of the box.
If a box is too heavy, the more likely it is to break and cause damage to the items inside of the box. Allowing the bulk of your larger and heavier items to rest in smaller boxes will make it easier to carry on move-in day.
Heavy items that should require smaller boxes include books, canned goods, or workout equipment. Clothing, bedding, or blankets are lighter items that can be packed in larger boxes.
If you hire a professional mover, they will do this for you.
10. Handle Fragile Items With Care
It goes without saying that all fragile items should be handled with special care when packing. All heavy, fragile items should be placed in small boxes, and only sturdy boxes should be used.
When packing dishes, mugs, glassware, picture frames, artwork, or any other fragile items, it is a good idea to use dividers and layer the bottom of the box with soft packing material. Blankets can also be used to wrap up and cover all fragile items for an extra layer of protection.
Hollow items such as glasses and mugs should be wrapped and filled with packing paper. All boxes that are filled with fragile items should be secured with extra layers of tape on the bottom, sides, and top.
Once on the moving truck, boxes filled with fragile items and any fragile furniture can be secured with bungee cords. All TVs, computer parts, or other electronics should be wrapped in bubble wrap and placed on top of all other boxes to avoid damage as much as possible.
Packing Supplies
When planning your move, all packing supplies should be purchased ahead of time so that packing can be completed quickly and efficiently. Most, if not all, packing supplies can be purchased from The Home Depot, Lowes Home Improvement, Staples, U-Haul, or online. Moving costs will vary greatly, and packing supplies can add up quickly.
| Packing Box Size | Price |
| Standard Regular Small | $1.38/each |
| Standard Regular Medium | $1.98/each |
| Standard Regular Large | $2.48/each |
| Heavy Duty Regular Small | $2.48/each |
| Heavy Duty Regular Medium | $3.48/each |
| Heavy Duty Regular Large | $4.98/each |
| Standard Wardrobe Extra Large | $18.98/each |
| Standard TV Medium | $19.98/each |
| Standard Picture Medium | $19.98/each |
*Data Sourced from The Home Depot.
If you are looking for packing boxes, many first-time homeowners or families who have just moved cross country give away their boxes for free or at a low price on Facebook Marketplace.
Here is a list of packing supplies that you will need for your move:
- Packing boxes
- Packing tape
- Stretch wrap
- Bubble wrap
- Permanent markers
- Labels
- Moving blankets
- Garbage bags
- Mattress bags
- Packing paper
- Scissors
- Bungee cords
- Toolbox
- Hand trucks
- Dollies
- Cargo straps
- Box cutter
- Furniture pads
- Cleaning supplies
Methodology
We used data and information from multiple reliable sources, including Pods, Forbes, and The Home Depot, to determine the best packing tips for an efficient move if you relocate to a new neighborhood in Raleigh.
FAQs
How long before you move should you start packing?
Depending on how much stuff you have to pack, you should start planning your move about two months from the move-in date and start packing about two to three weeks before move-in.
What is the best thing to pack first when moving?
The best thing to pack first when moving is stuff already in storage, including holiday decorations or unused furniture. Most of these items are already in boxes and are not currently being used, which makes them easy to transport.
What is the hardest room to pack when moving?
The kitchen is generally the hardest room to pack when moving since it is often filled with many breakable items, including appliances, cookware, and fragile dishes.
Packing Tips For an Efficient Move - Final Thoughts
It is never to early to start packing for your move. The larger the home you have, the longer it will take to get everything packed and cleaned in time before move-in day.
If you are moving to Raleigh and searching for your dream home, contact the experts at Raleigh Realty before you need to start packing. We are here to help and answer your questions about the home buying process.
Ryan Fitzgerald
Hi there! Nice to 'meet' you and thanks for visiting our Raleigh Real Estate Blog! My name is Ryan Fitzgerald, and I'm a REALTOR® in Raleigh-Durham, NC, the owner of Raleigh Realty. I work alongside some of the best Realtors in Raleigh. You can find more of my real estate content on Forbes, Wall Street Journal, U.S. News and more. Realtor Magazine named me a top 30 under 30 Realtor in the country (it was a long time ago haha). Any way, that's enough about me. I'd love to learn more about you if you'd like to connect with me on Facebook and Instagram or connect with our team at Raleigh Realty. Looking forward to connecting!
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