Packing Tips to Make House Moves Easier

Welcome to Sterling’s first blog post for 2021. With our long history in both residential and commercial moving services in New England, we want to share a number of handy packing tips that will make you move easier..

Please let us know if there are any topics you would like us to cover. If you’re looking for information on a topic within commercial or residential relocations, warehousing, or logistics, chances are others are too, and we’d like to share that information with all our readers.

Packing is a lot of work! For most of us, this is not a skill we use very often. Here are some packing tips for moving to save you time and trouble. General Packing Tips:

• Make sure all boxes are properly labeled and sealed. Descriptive labels will save you time when unpacking.
• On the side of the box, write the contents and the room where they belong.
• Use colored tape to organize your boxes. For example, green taped boxes go in the kitchen, yellow taped boxes in the master bedroom, etc.
• Don’t over-fill boxes.
• Pack items you will need first in clear plastic bins.
• Have all your packing completed before the movers show up.

Dresser drawers:
Remove all breakables and items that can spill. Furniture is often tipped or turned during a move, and you don’t want these items falling out or breaking.

Light bulbs:
Wrap each bulb in bubble wrap and secure with tape. Pack them all in a box and fill the gaps with more bubble wrap or paper. Label the box “fragile” and “this side up”. A regular box is fine, but a Christmas ornament box works even better.

Tools:

• Hand tools may be left in the toolbox. Fill spaces with crushed paper or any good packing material you have.
• Always use small cartons for heavy tools.
• Use old towels to wrap and tape any sharp-edged tools.
• Have plenty of sandwich bags on hand to hold screws and small hardware for anything that
• needs to be taken apart before the move. Label the bags with a permanent marker to make sure you know where the hardware goes.

Holiday decorations:

• Use the original packing – it was designed to hold the decorations in the first place.
• If you don’t have the original boxes or a Christmas ornament box, use sturdy plastic bins. Use cardboard to create dividers for better organization.
• Label every box on multiple sides with a black permanent marker so you can find it easily next year.
• Wrap everything – packing paper and bubble wrap is best.

Plants:
Plants are the last things you should pack. This will reduce the stress on the plant.

• If you are packing plants for moving, re-pot them into plastic containers a few weeks before the move. Then you can pack the now-empty, breakable pots the same as you would any fragile item.
• Prune them a few days before the move.
• Make sure they have some water to make the journey, but do not over water them.
• On the day of the move, wrap them in tissue paper or old sheets to protect the branches from breaking. Smaller plants can go into a box with air holes. Make sure the pots are secured with padding, so they don’t shift in transit. If possible, keep the plants in your vehicle. It is less stressful than a moving van.

Take pictures

Pictures are great unpacking guides. Take pictures of the china and serving dishes that fit perfectly on your cabinet shelves prior to the move. That perfect arrangement of display pieces you worked hard to achieve may be difficult to replicate after everything has been packed in boxes.

Pack an overnight bag:

Pack an overnight bag for yourself and each member of your family when you are moving. It will make that first night will be less stressful and make settling into your new home a more pleasant experience. A handy guide for first night necessities can be found here.

Moving into a new home is an exciting experience, and we hope these packing tips make your move easier.