Packing Tips for Moving

Moving is one of those trials almost everyone must face. Of course, particularly with moving, the success of the endeavor really depends on avoiding moving mistakes and planning ahead to make the process as smooth as possible. A lot can go wrong during a move. With all the details and moving parts, there’s no one-size-fits-all guide with moving tips for every single scenario that could come up during the moving process. Different people will have specific needs or concerns that may require special accommodations, but for most cases, this general list of how to pack things for moving will help.

1. Use the right size boxes

Put heavy items, like books, in small boxes; light items, like linens and pillows, in bigger ones. (Large boxes packed with heavy items are a common complaint of professional movers. They not only make the job harder but also have a better chance of breaking.)

2. Put heavier items on the bottoms of boxes, lighter items on top

And if you’re loading the truck yourself, pack heavier boxes first, toward the front of the truck, for balance.

3. Don’t leave empty spaces in the boxes

Fill in gaps with clothing, towels, or packing paper. Movers often won’t move boxes that feel loosely packed or unbalanced.

4. Avoid mixing items from different rooms in the same box

It will make your packing quicker and your unpacking a lot easier, too.

5. Label each box with the room it’s destined for and a description of its contents

This will help you and your movers know where every box belongs in your new place. Numbering each box and keeping an inventory list in a small notebook is a good way to keep track of what you’ve packed―and to make sure you still have everything when you unpack.

6. Tape boxes well

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.

7. If you’re moving expensive art, ask your mover about special crating

Never wrap oil paintings in regular paper; it will stick. For pictures framed behind glass, make an X with masking tape across the glass to strengthen it and to hold it together if it shatters. Then wrap the pictures in paper or bubble wrap and put them in a frame box, with a piece of cardboard between each framed piece for protection.

8. Bundle breakables

As you pack your dishes, put packing paper around each one, then wrap bundles of five or six together with more paper. Pack dishes on their sides, never flat. And use plenty of bunched-up paper as padding above and below. Cups and bowls can be placed inside one another, with paper in between, and wrapped three or four in a bundle. Pack them all in dish-barrel boxes.

9. Consider other items that will need special treatment

Some movers treat TVs like any other piece of furniture, wrapping them in quilted furniture pads. Plasma TVs, though, require special wooden crates for shipping if you don’t have the original box and can be ruined if you lay them flat. If you’re packing yourself, double-box your TV, setting the box containing the TV into another box that you’ve padded with packing paper. If you do not want to keep a lot of things at your new place or you need assistance in moving your belongings, you'ce come to the right place! Contact Rhodes Self-Storage now and enjoy your moving process. Source: Real Simple.