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Packing Like a Pro

  • 2 years ago
couple-moving-house-packing-their-belongings

One of the worst things about moving house (apart from the expense and the waiting around for things to happen) is the packing. It feels like it goes on forever and your possessions seem to actually multiply as you trudge your way through them.

Packing does need to be done, however. There’s no getting away from it and so you need to approach the process in an organised way so it’s as efficient and smooth as possible. Here are six tips to help you pack like a pro.

Start decluttering as soon as you hit the market

If not sooner! Once you’ve made the decision to sell up and move, you should start making things easier for yourself. If you have less to pack up, that can only be a good thing, so start getting rid of excess baggage straight away. Pick the low-hanging fruit, like old clothes, DVDs, outdated furniture and so on first. You can donate items to charity shops, have a yard sale or give things away to friends and family, but concentrate on lightening that load.

Collect packing materials

How often do you see people on local social media pages asking for packing boxes? How often are these people in a bit of a rush? You can be so focused on decluttering that you forget to gather boxes, packing paper and bubble wrap until moving day is actually looming over you. Remember, decluttering is freeing up space for all those boxes, at least.

Pack up out-of-season items first

If you’re moving in the summer, you’re not going to need your Christmas crockery and decorations, right? You won’t need your thermal socks, heavyweight duvets and ski boots either, so they can all go in some of those boxes you’ve procured way ahead of time…

Don’t try to do it all at once

If you start your packing in good time, you can set yourself sensible targets, like two boxes each week, and still have time to spare. If you complete your two weekly boxes and you’re still in the zone, that’s great, but it’s not a disaster if you’re sick of the sight of Sellotape either.

Save the essentials until last

When moving day is only a couple of weeks away, pare down your clothes, electricals and cooking items to the bare minimum so that you can pack it all away in a couple of hours the night before you go.

Clearly label all boxes

You need to know what’s in each box so that unpacking at the other end is much easier. It also helps when you (inevitably) need to retrieve something you thought you wouldn’t need for a while, so do make the most of those Sharpies!

 

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