Top Tips To Help You Organise The Dreaded Packing
Moving Home? The Storage Pod’s Top Tips To Help You Organise The Dreaded Packing!
With a bit of planning and organisation though it doesn’t have to be so stressful, and in fact is a great chance to de-clutter, recycle and start life in your new home with the things you actually need and use.
Experts in moving and storage – we’ve put together a few tips to help you get organised before you move.
First Step – Declutter
Before you do any packing it’s time to decide which possessions your need to keep, and which need to go. Get organised and declutter by asking yourself questions like – have I used this in the past year?, does this still fit me? Then put the things that are going into sections for recycling, donating, selling, or to be thrown away.
Plan Ahead
Packing can be time consuming, so it’s worthwhile overestimating how long it will take. Add extra contingency to your packing timeline so that you can avoid any last-minute rush. Plan to tackle one or two rooms each week if you can and this will break the job into smaller more manageable chunks so you can keep your focus. Reward yourself after a room is done with a nice cup of tea or a glass of wine.
Pack it Up
Buy supplies like boxes, packing tape and bubble wrap well in advance so you have everything you need before you get cracking. We’re here to help at The Storage Pod with heaps of packing supplies to buy and some great value packs. If you’re local to us we’ll even deliver them for you.
Have A System
Be organised in your approach to packing by tackling a room at a time, starting with the least-used room in the house first. Once done this room can then also become the place to store boxes from other more used rooms as you go. If you don’t have much space, or don’t want to be tripping over boxes for days on end then perhaps this is where a short term self storage pod may be the answer and we’d be happy to provide you a free quote for a Pod size that suits you.
Don’t Over Load
Tempting as it may be to fill a box to the top, check as you go how heavy the box is getting. If you are struggling to lift it then stop there, or separate the heavier items between boxes. And always make sure you put the heaviest things in the box first so they can’t damage any other goods. You can always fill space at the top of the box with old newspaper to secure the load without adding more weight.
Lists & Labels
Recording items as you pack not only helps keep track of items as they’re loaded on and off the removal van, but it also helps with finding items quickly when you are moving. Keep a list or write a summary of contents on the outside of each box. And make sure you mark each box clearly with the room in the house it should be taken to once it has been unloaded off the van – this will make life so much easier when you get to the other end.
Time To Thaw Out
Make sure you remove all of the food from your freezer before you move. Freezers can take a few hours to defrost, and ideally your freezer should be switched off at least 12 hours before you plan to load it onto the moving van to be on the safe side. Plan ahead and use any frozen food before the moving date to stop you from having to throw food away – come up with some creative dishes to fuel all that packing activity!
Furniture
If you’re dismantling some of your furniture for the move, make sure you put all screws and fixings into a bag marked for each item so you have everything you need in one place ready to put it back together again at the other end. It’s a great idea to tape this bag to a piece of the furniture it belongs to. And if you want to be on the safe side you can keep things like sofas and mattresses protected with special storage covers.
The Final Bits
Work out the essentials that you will need right up the last minute of the move. Kettle, clean clothes, toothbrush, toiletries etc – pack it all in a separate bag or box that you will take with you as you shut the front door on moving day. And don’t forget the tea bags!
