You're finally ready to upgrade to your first house, your dream house, or maybe just a bigger apartment. But before you can enjoy your new residence, you have to make sure all of your current belongings make it to the new place unscathed. To that end, you'll need to make sure you stock up on packing supplies and use some best practices for packing your stuff if you want to ensure moving day goes smoothly. Here are some tips to keep in mind ahead of the big day.
Find Boxes That Are the Right Size Without Needing a Ton of Bubble Wrap or Other Supplies
Yes, bubble wrap or even just crinkled-up newspaper can help keep items from shifting inside a large box, but it'll be much better for your stuff if you try to find boxes that are closer to the size you need for the items that will be inside. If you can't find empty boxes at a local department store, you may be able to find a moving or packing supply firm that sells cardboard boxes of various varieties.
Put Heavier Items at the Bottom of the Box and Heavier Boxes at the Bottom of the Stack
When packing things up in the box, try and put the heaviest item at the bottom and get lighter as you reach the top of the box, of course leaving some room for bubble wrap or other protective supplies. You don't want to crush whatever is at the bottom of the box by putting something significantly heavier on top of it. Follow this same logic when it comes to how you stack the boxes themselves onto the moving truck, with the heaviest on the bottom. A top-heavy box stack will spell trouble the first time the moving van has to hit the brakes.
Use Labels Across All Boxes and Organize Them By Room Where You Can
Your packing supplies company may also sell box labels or you can find labels of any size at an office supply store. Try and keep items organized by room so that there is no confusion when it's time to unpack everything at the new residence.
The movers you hire may be able to assist with packing for an extra fee, but if you are going to be doing your own packing, make sure you get boxes of various sizes and try to match up what you are packing to the size of the box. Talk to a local packing supplies provider about your specific needs to get pointed in the right direction.
