Pro packers will always make packing the house for transit look exciting and fun. Don’t be deceived – packing is more difficult than the glamorous assemble you see them do. It takes organizational skills and strategic techniques for it to come out successful as they paint it. 

If this is your first move and you are planning the DIY route, you will need more information to recreate a stress-free transit as seen in many pro packing videos. This guide offers you some top packing to move tips to get your next home move looking stress-free and easy.

• Get sturdy large, medium, and small boxes

Our first tips on packing to move are to gather as many boxes as possible. Not those flimsy cartons with tears at the corners but solid cardboard boxes that can carry huge and heavy items. 

You could buy one from your local malls or visit online thrift stores to shop for new and solid boxes. Alternatively, meet your loved ones, ask neighbors or visit liquor shops, supermarkets, or bookstores to get free yet sturdy cartons built to hold heavy items. 

Reminder: ensure you get boxes in various sizes since you will need to hold heavy, lightweight, and large items in different places. 

• Let every heavy stuff sit at the bottom and lighter ones on it

How well your goods hold up till it gets to your new place depends on the organizational structure, not just during the packing process but also when loading your things inside the truck.

But what exactly do we mean by organizational structure? Plan how you stack the cartons in the van.

Your box may weigh over 40lbs and lighter ones only a little below 20lbs. The perfect way to ensure no harm comes to either is to put the weighty ones first before placing the lighter boxes on them. 

• Leave no room for space

Like how weight plays a significant role in determining whether your belongings survive the transit or not, empty spaces in a box also play the same role. Even if you’ve never moved houses before, you probably know that empty spaces in a box will cause the items to shake and shift. Well, if this happens on transit, your valuable home equipment will likely crack, break, and damage. Rather than leave room for spaces, bunch some papers and stuff the storage compartment till there are no signs of gaps. Otherwise, use small linens and towels to pad the box. 

• Pack by room

The next tips for packing for a move to keep in mind is to avoid mixing up items from different rooms. Instead, finish packing up one room before going to another room. This way, you know you won’t leave any item behind, and your setup remains orderly.

• Label each box

This packing for a move tips is not a step you want to forego because it gives you an idea of each box’s contents even without opening them. Plus, you also get to know what room the box should be placed in when unloading them from the truck, whether it contains delicate items, and which side should face upwards. 

• Carefully tape moving boxes

Before you place any item in the box, whether small or large, you want to make sure that the cartons are in the perfect shape to hold these objects. Opened boxes will cause your possessions to fall out of their compartment, break, and damage. To avoid this, prepare the cartons before using them as crating for shipping. 

Put the inner flaps inside and the outer ones together, then tape as many times as possible to make the bottom solid. Once you’re done filling the box with the necessary items, pad and like you did with the bottom, tape the top flaps continuously until they are strong enough not to open easily.

• Specially care for your kitchen wares.

Your kitchen holds more delicate things than you can count, from glass cups, plates, and tabletops to ceramic plates, cups, spoons, and metal utensils. Before you pack them, make sure you have protective supplies like packing paper, corrugated cardboard sheets, sturdy cartons, and all it takes to store them well. 

• Remove frozen items in the freezer a day before the move.

You don’t want to move with frozen foods and perishables in your fridge because they can spoil on the road, pollute the air in the fridge, dirty it, and cause mold to form. Make sure that you remove every frozen item, no matter how many they are, from the fridge and clean them before the relocation day. If you worry about wasting food, invite family members and neighbors, then give out every perishable you know will spoil on the road. 

• Pack and organize boxes by category

Like how you box by room, you also want to arrange your possessions by type so you never mix things up. For instance, pack books in a separate box, clothes, shoes, kitchen wares, bathroom items, and every other room should be arranged separately to ensure ease of unpacking. 

• Use blankets, bubble wraps, and packaging paper as a protective shield

Chances are that you might hit serving when transporting the storage boxes to the moving van. Otherwise, the box may topple and fall when on the road. You need to prepare for such situations by protecting your possessions with protective materials like blankets and papers. 

• Research experienced moving companies

Plan to hire shippers, make sure to research them before hiring their services. No matter how reputable and professional they seem, you never know how legitimate they are until you contact their references or visit the BBB site for feedback. 

Conclusion

Packing to move out is the most stress-inducing stage when relocating. You might think you figured it out from watching the pros do it, but you never know until you try your hands on it. We hope these tips for packing to move across country will be the solution you need for your next home move out.