1.     Types of packing supplies

2.     Planning your packing process

3.     General packing techniques

4.     Packing tips for different types of household goods

5.     Unpacking tips

Planning your packing process

Professionals can normally complete the packing for an average move in one day (usually the day before the van arrives). "Do-it-yourselfers" should allow more time, several weeks if possible. It's unlikely that you will be able to drop everything to devote a full day to packing, so try to work it in between making necessary pre-move arrangements and your regular activities.

To pack or not to pack. First decide if you want the movers do the packing for you, or if you want to save some money by doing all or some of the packing by yourself. Second, decide what you would want to take with you and what to leave behind. Consult the following tips to make your decisions easier:

• Before you start packing, determine the items you want to throw away, give away or sell. You will save money and have less to pack and unpack.
  
  This is the perfect time to unload unwanted items or call a local charity to remove items for you. And remember donating goods is a tax credit.
  

• If you decide to do your own packing or partial packing, remember that the moving company is not liable for damage to boxes packed by the customer. For the safety of your items, tell the movers which boxes you packed. They are required to inspect each box prior to shipping.
  
  The driver has the right to refuse to accept any carton that may be improperly packed. If the driver has to re-pack cartons that the customer has packed, additional charges will apply.
  

• You can save a lot of money if you do the bulk of the packing on your own. Limit yourself to non-fragile items such as books, linens, clothing and shoes, and replaceable items such as plates, dishes (not fine china or expensive silverware), and small kitchen appliances. These items will be cheaper to replace in case of damage as opposed to hiring workers for the extra labor. Leave the furniture, mattresses, and heavy appliances to be packed by the mover.
  

• Dresser drawers do not need to be empty. Movers usually move chests of drawers with the contents of the drawers left intact. Do look through all drawers and remove any breakable articles for packing in boxes. Be sure that the contents of a drawer are not too heavy. Too much weight in the drawer could cause damage to the drawer while your furniture is en route.
  

• Important items, such as photographs, wills, jewelry, home videos, and any other important documents, should be packed separately so that you can personally carry them with you on moving day. Another alternative you might want to consider is placing these belongings in a safety deposit box until after the move.
  

• To protect themselves, movers will not disconnect your major appliances. Make sure your refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer are all unplugged and ready for the move when they arrive.

Start collecting boxes early. If you decide to do your own packing, get packing supplies and start collecting strong boxes suitable for moving. Consult the following tips:

• Look for boxes that have a uniform size, rather than just grabbing any old box you can get your hands on. The reasoning behind this is that such boxes are far easier to safely stack both in the truck and on a dolly. If a mover can take eight of these boxes out on a dolly in one trip and stack them all easily so they're no risk of falling, it's a win/win situation.

• Get more boxes than you think you will need. Most people tend to underestimate the amount of boxes needed for their move. Use our Moving Box Calculator to estimate how many boxes you might need for your move.

• It may be necessary to purchase from your mover some of the specialized cartons that will be impossible for you to find elsewhere. This would include such boxes as wardrobe cartons, mattress covers, containers for large pictures and mirrors (telescoping boxes), and possibly some large size cartons for tall table lamps (lamp boxes). Some of the specialized packing supplies can be found in our Packing Supplies section.

• Use towels and blankets to protect fragile items. Instead of just packing your towels, blankets, comforters, etc., use them to cushion delicate items like china and glassware.

• An easy way to store cartons so that they won't require a great deal of storage space is to open both ends of the cartons and flatten them out. You can open them again and re-seal the bottoms with your mover's tape when you are ready to use them.

Start the packing process early. It always makes good sense to begin packing well ahead of the move. Most people have no idea how much energy and time packing requires. If you start too late and can't get the job done before moving day, you may either have to pay the movers to finish or change your moving date

Complete all packing by moving day. You will be busy enough on moving day to have to worry about packing. You could start in areas where the goods are not in frequent use, such as the cellar, attics, garage, closet shelves, etc. Any items that you don't need for your daily living routine should be packed first.

There's no reason older children shouldn't do some of their own packing. It will make them feel a part of the process and save you some time and effort as well. Just keep an eye on how and what they've packed before the containers are sealed.

Designate a room for the boxes and prepare adequate workspace. Consult the following tips to make your move more organized and quick:

• You might consider setting up packing headquarters in a spare room, if available, so it's ready to use when you can devote even a little time to the job.

• Prepare a convenient place to work. The dining room table makes a good work surface. Be sure to cover it first with a heavy quilt or moving blanket. It's handy, also, to have a covered card table on which you can line up the things to be packed.

• Before starting the packing, separate your boxes by size, and place appropriate size boxes in each room. Have all supplies (i.e. tape, bubble wrap, packing paper) lined up next to your boxes when packing.

• If possible, put packed and sealed boxes in one room. This will minimize the disruption you and your family feel as the packing process continues, as well as speeding up the loading process when the movers arrive.
  
  It is recommended to designate a room closer to the door.  Remember to leave a clear path, in case certain items need to be put at the front of the truck.

Pack on a room-by-room basis. Don't get overwhelmed. Try to concentrate on one room at a time and do one area of the room at a time. Consult the following tips:

• It's best not to mix items from different rooms in one box. For example, don't pack articles from the living room in boxes with articles from the kitchen. This will save much confusion later when its time to unpack.

• Keep related boxes together so they will end up in the same room in your new home. This will cut the carrying time and make the move more efficient. 

• Don't tape your boxes closed until you're about to go, so you can add items as you see fit.

• Put things in boxes with a view to where they'll be in the new house, not where they were in the old one.

• To prevent small items from being lost or mistakenly thrown out with the packing paper, wrap miniature knickknacks and other small items in brightly-colored tissue paper before placing them in the box.

• Be sure that every box is clearly labeled by room and item.

Labeling.  It is important to label each box carefully, with respect to the contents and its destination in the new home. Consult the following tips on how to label your boxes right:

• For each room in your new home assign a number, for example, dining room – "1", living room – "2", kitchen – "3", etc. Write the number on each side of each box, and make it big. Use a broad, felt-tipped marker.

  
  The reasons to use numbers instead of full text on the box are 1) if you have a lot of boxes it is much easier to write a number on each box instead of "Master bedroom", especially when you are in a hurry, 2) you don't want to attract too much attention to your boxes with tempting descriptions written on it.

• To mark your boxes you can also use different colors for different rooms – as long as you plan the unloading carefully and mark the door of each room with appropriate colors (using colored balloons, for example).

• If you do specify specific items on the lid of the box, try to avoid mentioning anything that might tempt someone to make off with your belongings. 

• It is important to have your name and new address written on each box, especially for long distance moves. It might be difficult to do given huge number of boxes you might have. But in case one of your boxes is lost in the process it would be much easier for the moving company to find and mail it to your new address.

• To be more efficient, you can print the labels with your computer and tape them to your boxes. You can also ask your children write this information on the boxes so they can become familiar with their new address.

• Use red marker to indicate "FRAGILE" on delicates, and "THIS END UP" where appropriate. Make sure those notes are clearly visible and written on each side of the box.

• Make a master list of all household items and your belongings. You can also number the boxes, but make sure you don't confuse those numbers with the numbers of rooms already written on your boxes.

Prepare for arriving at your destination. It may take some time to unpack everything when you get to your destination. It is important that you prepare for that when you plan your packing. Consult the following tips to make your unpacking more comfortable:

• Prepare for the first night in your new home by packing essential items in a separate bag or box and carrying it with you. This bag or box should include:

1. Basic tools such as flashlights, pocket knife, hammer, screwdrivers, nails, masking tape, tape measure, and light bulbs.

2. Bathroom essentials such as hand towel, soap, toilet paper, shampoo, and shower curtains.

3. Personal items such as a change of clothes, toothbrushes, and prescription drugs.

4. Kitchen goodies such as paper towels, coffeemaker and filters, paper plates and cups, plastic utensils, dish detergent, a sponge, pet foods, dishes, can opener, and trash bags.

• Keep an emergency medical kit available. Make sure any medication you are taking is packed in the emergency kit, along with any other over-the-counter medication you may need, such as aspirin.

• When everything is packed and ready to load, make sure the items you need least are loaded first.

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