Packing tips for a house move 

When you are moving house some of you will choose to take on the job of packing yourselves. Our first top tip is don’t leave it to the last minute. It’s is a bad idea as it often ends up with your precious belongings getting broken so, remember you can never start packing too early and pack things carefully. Here are our packing tips for a house move.

Get yourself a good range of quality double walled cardboard boxes, good quality packing tape to fasten the bottom and tops of your boxes and plenty of packing paper for wrapping and filling the gaps. Make sure you have a wide selection of different sized boxes, medium sized ones for your kitchen china, smaller ones for books, cds and videos. Even bottle boxes are great not just for your wine, they can be used for your tall stem glasses and champagne flutes. Don’t be tempted to cut corners by using cheap or inferior materials as they won’t do the job and your belongings will get broken.

Don’t over fill your boxes but make sure you always fill them up to the top and fill in all the spaces. Pack your heavy items in small boxes and light items in the larger boxes. If you are packing a box containing items of different weights, put the heavier items in first as it spreads the load. But pack all the boxes to their tops, filling all the spaces with crushed paper. If you have big spaces or you don’t want the boxes to be to heavy then fill the gaps and tops with pillows and cushions. What you want is the boxes to be rigid when you pick them up and this will help you stack the boxes properly in the van.

Specific packing tips for a House Move

China, crystal, glass etc.

Start each box with a layer of cushioning, screwed up packing paper or tea towels are ideal. Wrap the plates and dishes individually and pack them vertically into the box. When you’ve wrapped the bowls and cups in paper nestle them inside each other. Always pack your heavier items on the bottom and lighter items on top. Place a layer of cushioning material between each layer of china and finish each box with cushioning so it is full right to the top.

Books

Collectively books are heavy so use small double walled boxes and fill them to the top because gaps can cause boxes to crush when stacked. Always fill the voids up in side with crushed paper. For precious books there’s no harm in wrapping them in extra packing paper to protect them further.

Clothing

Loose clothing and bedding can be put into bin liners, but we would recommend you use specific wardrobe boxes for your hanging clothes. That way you can just lift your items straight from the wardrobe on their hangers into the box keeping them clean and crumple free. Also you have room at the bottom to place shoes and other accessories. Put your shoes in bags to keep your clothes clean. Standard sized removal boxes work well for your folded clothes and trousers.

Mirrors and framed pictures

Protecting large mirrors, paintings and other artwork wrap them in cardboard or paper blankets. Pictures or mirrors with very delicate frames may need extra packing. We use our flat boxes and by sealing the bottom we can create an envelope/sleeve in which we place extra packing paper and then slide the picture or mirror in. Tape and seal the top.

Electronic and Hi-Fi equipment

If you have the original packaging repack them in it with any of the infill packing – this is always the best solution. Like all boxes tape them securely. For those who still have a turntable and LP collection remember to tape down or secure the pick-up arm on your turntable. Also wrap and pack your LP’s vertically.

Beds

Strip them bare and pack all of the bedding into boxes. Mark up your boxes clearly with whose bedding it is and try to make these the first boxes you unpack so that beds can be made up as soon as possible. The last thing you want to be doing after a long and emotional day is to be searching for bedding late into the evening. You can buy single and double plastic mattresses covers which are fantastic for keeping your mattresses clean and more importantly dry on a rainy day move!

Furniture (self-assembly)

These are generally not designed to be moved around assembled. So it’s best you dismantle them before your moving day.  Also any other furniture that is too big to negotiate doorways will need dismantling. You can always ask for advice from a removals firm they’ll be happy to help. They may even assist you with one off items like pianos.

Freezers and refrigerators

Fridges need to be emptied but freezers can remain full unless moving to store or long distance in which case they must be fully defrosted and dry before removal. Remember to secure all the drawers and loose parts inside.

Cookers

The advice on these is simple make sure they are disconnected by a qualified person.

Garage/Garden

Make sure your tools are clean and any sharp edges are wrapped and taped together if you are packing them loose. Your power tools should be packed with plenty of padding/infill. To further protect your possessions from oil and grease cover the pedals and chains of any bicycles and greased tools.

 

Finally don’t forget your local removal company can be a great resource for extra help and you can usually buy their packing boxes and materials. So after all of this  advice if you decide you might need some extra help or need to buy some supplies call us on 01494 774186 or to request a quick quote from us click here.  We’ll be happy to help.