Moving home is exciting and a lot of hard work, emptying one house of your beloved belongings to place in another. What to take? When to start packing? It can get a little overwhelming. That is why you need to plan. One such plan could involve a removal company that offers a complete removal service, including packing and reassembly. A professional and experienced company like Parker Removals provides this comprehensive service.
Another option is to make a detailed packing plan and stick to it.
Planning Strategy For Moving
You need a plan. Without one, you will be all over the place, which creates frustration, stress and, often within a family, fallouts. Not what you want at this busy time.
Start early
Approx 6-8 weeks before the move is the optimum time for an average-sized house or flat. Do a clean through and identify what items you want to take with you. Maybe mark these with a red dot to help identify them to other family members and the removal company.
The stuff you don’t want, put together in one place.
About 5 weeks before the move, sell, donate to charity or friends or throw away the things you have decided you are not taking with you.
4 weeks before your move – double-check all the details and quote with your removal company. Let them know of any particularly heavy or difficult-to-move an item, like a piano. Worth checking out if the firm you have chosen has experience with moving this particular item.
3 – 4 weeks before your move – make sure you have an assortment of boxes to pack your items.
Starting To Pack
How early to start packing? This varies depending on how much you have to pack, but the earlier you start, the better for your removals. If it is a large house, start packing a box a day from 8 weeks before the move.
Start packing in the rooms you use the least, with items you use infrequently. Start with the top rooms or loft if you have one. Pack seasonal stuff that is not in use, like Christmas decorations, garden tools or winter coats, depending on the season.
Working through one room at a time helps with decluttering. Maybe hold a garage sale or put things on eBay with reasonable prices for a quick collection and sale. Invite friends around and let them pick through. Contact charity shops to donate unwanted furniture, especially if you are downsizing. Many charities will collect for free. Also, a lot of local councils will take away bulky items for a minimal price. If you need to keep all of your items then companies like parkers removals have storage solutions for you.
Packing Your Boxes
- Make inventories as you pack your boxes. These can be put onto a spreadsheet on your phone and then printed out and attached to the box. Label the boxes as to contents, fragility and which room in the new home they go in. Also, use an arrow to indicate the right way up. Maybe use a different colour per room, making a diagram of the rooms in the new house and colour code it.
- Don’t overload your boxes, no more than 30 lb a box. No one wants a back injury lifting a too-heavy box or just as bad dropping it as it is too heavy.
- Pack valuables separately. Making an inventory of them is an especially good idea.
- Keep birth certificates, passports, personal documents and paperwork separate, all in one box of file and keep with you.
- Pack the kitchen last.
- Another practical idea is to pack a day-box with daily essentials like clothes, medications and toiletries – anything you need daily. You might need one or two of these boxes per family member.
