You’ve just signed a new lease on the home or apartment of your dreams. As soon as the initial excitement wears off, you realize you’re facing a daunting task, packing for the move. You have limited time and you want to make sure all of your belongings, including your big-screen television, your grandmother’s china and your collection of miniature unicorns, arrive safely. Fortunately, moving experts of all sorts have compiled a few essential moving hacks and tips for novice movers.
Essential Moving Information
- 1. To get free moving boxes, after you shop for your moving supplies, check behind the store. Most stores will have an abundance of great boxes there unless someone’s beaten you to them. If you’re moving around the beginning of the school year, try calling to a nearby school, since teachers get in new book shipments every year, so they usually have lots of extra boxes.
- For packing paper, if you’re living in an apartment, usually you can find a “paper only” recycle bin next to the mailboxes. So, before gathering old newspaper, raid this first. You can also use old towels, blankets etc too.
- Wrap smaller items in newsprint then pack them together in appropriate-sized moving boxes and surrounded with Styrofoam peanuts. Put heavier items (e.g., books) in smaller boxes.
- Protect Dishes with bubble wrap or towels and pack on edge of the box, rather than stacked. Use dish towels or pot holders to cushion the bottom and sides of these boxes.
- To protect glasses from breaking, shove wadded up paper inside the glasses and then wrap the glasses in several sheets of newspaper. Also, shove wadded up paper between breakables. Pack until you can’t pack any more.
- Use towels or blankets secured with tape to protect furniture. Wrap it around lampshades, chair arms, table legs, bed frames and the like.
- Don’t use tape directly on wood or painted furniture, however, because the sticky residue can ruin the finish. Instead, wrap these items with cushions and blankets (rather of movers pad) and tie them with rope to secure them.
- To pack a large mirror or picture, cover both sides with bubble wrap and heavy cardboard, then run masking tape around the entire object. Or use a large flat packing box.
- Don’t empty your dresser, secure it with stretch wrap. Move it as it is if it has only lighter items. Use garbage bags or vacuum sealing bags to pack your clothes.
- Don’t just mark boxes KITCHEN or BEDROOM. Break things down into subcategories. It’s easy to do and makes unpacking a breeze. For example, you might have a KITCHEN – Dishes and Silverware; BEDROOM – Sheets and Comforter, etc.
- If you’re packing a system with complicated wiring, (e.g., a stereo or a computer) take a picture before removing them, so you’ll be able to reassemble the system in your new home.
- For out-of-control electrical cords, wrap each cord around your hand or forearm, then use rubber bands or baggie twist-ties to secure the wrapped cords.
- When you move boxes, you’ll be stacking them, so don’t just write the contents on top of boxes, write them on every side. Also, use colored markers or labels to indicate which boxes belong in which rooms of your new home.
- Don’t forget to pack an essentials kit containing paper plates, plastic cutlery, toilet paper, soap, aspirin, flashlights, telephone numbers, prescription medicines, snacks, pet food and all your other must-have comforts. Mark this box “OPEN FIRST” in large letters.
- Along with your essential box, put everything on your AFTER THE MOVE LIST in the bathtub of your new place. Why the bathtub? Because it’s just about the only place you won’t be squeezing boxes into, and it’s always usually clean.