Packing & Moving Hacks

This way, when you carry the box, you can easily read the top to see where it belongs. Labeling the side is helpful after you stack those boxes in your new home. You can leave the side label facing out so you can read it. Saving you from having to rummage through a pile a boxes to find what you need.

Make things easier on yourself for a few days after your move by packing a couple boxes full of the essentials you’ll need.

Make sure to keep them separated and easily accessible during your move, in a designated "Do Not Pack Or Move" area and include the following items.

These items are typically lightweight, so they won't make the dresser overly heavy to carry, and when your move day is done, you'll know exactly where they are for easy access come bed time!

Vacuum packing your bulkier items like pillows, clothing, and blankets, is a great way to save space. There are several ways to do this without having to buy special vacuum bags. Shrink wrap is a perfect example. If you have some on hand, simply wrap the item you’d like to vacuum seal in shrink wrap. When your done, poke a small hole through the plastic to stick the end of your vacuum into. Once you begin vacuuming, press and squeeze on the item, to help the air inside exit the hole. Once completed, place a piece of packing tape over the hole you created and your finished. You can just as easily use garbage bags or kitchen bags to accomplish the same result.

Using a marker to label a box as fragile is a bad idea. The ink just ends up blending in with everything else written on the box. If you want to let your movers know that a box is fragile, using a specially designed fragile tape is a much better idea! It makes spotting a ‘fragile box’ way easier! Especially in the dark, or other low light conditions, allowing your movers take proper care of your stuff!

Pots and pans don’t usually fit together well. Use the wasted space wisely and fill them with spices and other items in your pantry. It saves space! For good measure, add a few slices of packing paper to the mix to stop any glass from smackin’ and crackin’

The kitchen is almost always the most time consuming place to pack. Wrapping each plate individually is the safest bet, but can take quite a while to do. So to save time, buy a bunch of inexpensive paper plates and place them in-between your porcelain ones to stop them from smacking together and breaking during transport. Stack them vertically on their sides in a box, and add a bunch of packing paper to the mix for extra protection. Note that this method will leave you with a heavier than normal box, so be sure to use a smaller one.

Rather than dumping your junk drawer into a box, place the contents onto a sheet of packing paper, roll it up, and place it neatly inside to keep things organized. Same theory applies for miscellaneous kitchen utensils and cutlery.

Start packing a box big and heavy, finish light. Get the bigger, heavier items into you box as soon as possible. Finish the box off with lighter items. For example, in the kitchen, pack one or two layers of plates in the bottom of the box, then pack the remaining space with wine glasses or tupperware etc…

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To prevent spills, line your box with a garbage bag before you pack it. When you’ve finished packing it, tie the bag tightly and use packing tape around the knot to seal it.

Unscrew and remove the cap on any ‘already opened’ liquid containers you have, and place a piece of plastic wrap between the cap and the opened bottle, then screw the cap back on. This should prevent any leaks from occurring.

For the less tech savvy of us out there, this makes things way easier when it’s time to reconnect your electronics after your move.

Put the screws , nuts, and bolts, in a sandwich bag, then tape it to the piece of furniture it came from! Use caution when using tape on furniture though! The adhesives on tape can ruin finished surfaces. Use the tape ‘backwards’ - adhesive side up, and wrap tight. or use a more furniture friendly masking tape (and a lot of it).

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Unlike duct tape, which is made of a vinyl-coated cloth and tearable by hand, a quality packing tape is made of a film, and requires something sharp to cut it. If you don’t have a tape roller available, there are two simple methods, that can break packing tape easily using just your hands.

• Option 1

  Grab the very edge of the tape between your thumb and index fingers with both hands, as closely together as possible. Press the nail on one of your thumbs against the edge of the tape, and twist. When done correctly, the edge of the tape will split at your nail and, and tear apart very easily.

• Option 2

  Apply a strip of tape to the box as you usually would, then roll out an additional two inches or so of slack. Next, lift the tape up, over, and back down, folding it so as to stick the adhesive side of the tape to itself, then quickly pull it apart again. It sounds much more complicated than it actually is, but with a little practise, it can be done quickly and consistently with one hand.

It’s a simple and effective way to keep track of your tape during packing, providing it’ll fit over your hand.

In a pinch, roll up a ball of tape backwards with the sticky side facing out, stick it under your door, and voila, you got a door stop. If the gap beneath your door is to big for that to work, tie a piece of tape around the door handle, and stick the other end to the wall, or somewhere else appropriate.