Having a moving crew come in and take care of a move is a great step in the right direction if one is concerned with having a relaxing move. However, there is a lot of work to be done before the date of the move. Too few people actually use their time while packing to bring some organisation to the chaos that unfolds during the packing process. This goes hand in hand with people underestimating the workload that packing for a move actually is.
The best way to make an upcoming move easier is by moving step by step through the rooms of the house and packing with a plan instead of simply tossing everything in random boxes. Especially when time is running out and the moving crew is supposed to come the next morning while only have of the belongings are packed up, many people start to panic and begin packing without any kind of system.
If you want to avoid running into time or other trouble that will cause a tremendous amount of stress and likely a headache or two, you need to ensure that you pack with a purpose right from the start. Organise your belongings and make sure that everything is packed safely and in a way that ensures that you can find what you are looking for if you need to.
Here are some useful tips that can help you to get organised before your move:
Do you really need it?
A few years into living in a place you will likely begin to notice that you are the proud owner of a lot of things that you aren’t frequently using. With an upcoming move inching closer and closer, you are also approaching the perfect time to ask yourself the question whether you actually need everything you own, or if the time may have come to say goodbye to some of your things.
When you begin packing, you should start with areas that you know contain a lot of things that you may want to get rid of in one or the other way. While tossing everything you no longer need on one large pile and calling a company to remove the junk is probably the easiest, it is also not the most efficient solution to the problem.
A lot of the items you are sick of seeing may still carry some value, making it worth to line up a yard or garage sale to not only lighten the workload, but also to bring in some cash. However, doing so requires time and preparation. You need to advertise your yard sale or find a local flee market that you can attend in order to get rid of your things. Even if you have some really nice items for sale, at prices that would blow just about anybody away, you will still need the customers to buy them.
Therefore, you should start weeding through your things a few weeks before the movers are scheduled to show up. That will give you enough time to sort through old and useless stuff, separate it into junk and valuables and set up a sale to fill up your moving budget.
Don’t just pack, organise!
Once you have sorted through your shed, your attic, basement, closets and whichever other places you may have had stuff you wanted to get rid of, the actual time to pack will quickly arrive. Again, in order to keep things relaxed and organised, make sure that you give yourself plenty of time in advance so that you don’t have to start sacrificing sleep, just in order to have everything ready for your moving crew.
Before you start, bring in all of the moving supplies that will be necessary to shoulder the workload. Purchase or borrow enough boxes for all of your stuff, utilise old luggage that you don’t mind getting dirty and try to waste as little space as possible. Set aside enough tape, markers, bubble wrap and other cushioning materials that you will need and have them handy for when you get started.
Begin packing everything that you know you won’t have to use before your moving day. That may or may not include your seasonal clothing, silverware and other items that are only used for specific occasions. Label each books with the weight (you don’t have to weigh every box, in terms of heavy or light and indicate whether something breakable is in the container. Don’t turn your house into a minefield of boxes and random stuff lying around, but instead choose a room and dedicate it to holding the boxes and containers until the day arrives. You can stack your containers against a wall in order to save space and retain the functionality of the room in the meantime.
If you follow these simple tips, you will be able to move in peace, with less stress than you could have ever imagined.