Packing Tips For Moving To a New Home
Plastic Totes and Free Packing Materials Make Moving Easier
Aug 29, 2009
Some of the stress of moving home can be alleviated by assembling the necessary packing materials ahead of time.
Stores May Have Free Packing Materials
When packing fragile items, bubble wrap is the best thing to use, but it can become expensive when there are a lot of items to wrap. One solution is to visit gift shops, pharmacies and other stores that stock fragile items, and ask if they have any free wrapping materials. Often merchants send their excess bubble wrap, packing peanuts and even sturdy boxes to the recycle bin, and they are delighted to give this material away.
If using peanuts for packing, put a couple of inches in the bottom of the container, then put a flat layer of newspaper on top before placing any wrapped items inside. This keeps wrapped objects from shuffling through the peanuts and ending up on the bottom of the box with no added protection.
Plastic Totes Are Great For Moving
While cardboard boxes work for a lot of things, moving is definitely easier when using plastic storage totes. They are easier to carry than boxes and have the added advantage of being waterproof and mouse-proof. They also stack well.
Totes come in many different sizes and often go on sale. If a move is planned, watch for sales and buy totes ahead of time. They store easily because the shape enables them to be stacked inside each other, something boxes won’t do. After the move, use them for storing everything from guest bed linens and towels to toys and out-of-season clothing and holiday decorations.
Pack Books in Liquor Boxes
Liquor boxes usually are available for free at the liquor store, and they come in different sizes that suit different shapes of books. They are sturdy enough to hold heavy books, and are still small enough that they can be carried easily once they are filled.
These boxes also work well for magazines, computer paper and other kinds of printed materials. Small plastic totes are also the perfect size for these items and can be used later for long-term storage of magazines, newspapers and so on.
Some liquor boxes are also suitable for packing LPs and other vinyl records. Remember to pack them standing up, not flat, to avoid damaging them.
Pack Small Items in Little Containers First
To avoid losing or damaging small items, get some small plastic containers at the dollar store or even at a local thrift shop. Each little box will hold a group of small things. Then these little boxes can be packed inside a larger tote or cardboard box.
This works really well for art materials, pens and pencils, school supplies, sewing materials, craft supplies, jewellery, tiny toys and small tools.
Items that are somewhat fragile or which might get scratched can be wrapped in towels, table clothes, pillow cases, sweatshirts and so on. They need to be packed anyway, and this saves using additional packing materials.
Label Boxes Accurately
To make unpacking easier, label each box to show what it contains and/or the room it came from, and also what room the box should be placed in at the new residence. This is really helpful if moving into a home with different rooms from the previous residence. For example, there could be items coming out of a garage that will go into a basement workshop.
If using plastic totes, don’t write on the plastic! That box might be used later to hold something else. Use wide masking tape and write on that. Then the label can be changed later.
Finally, after everything is unpacked, instead to sending the cardboard boxes to the recycle centre, put up a notice at a local community centre or an ad in the newspaper first, offering the boxes for free to anyone who wants them. There might be someone else getting ready to move who will be delighted to come and pick them up.
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