Packing Your Boxes And Truck On Moving Day

Whether you hire a moving company or do it yourself, moving is still a big project. There are a few things you can do to make it easier, though. A lot of these things involve how you pack your boxes and how you load the moving truck or van.

Packing is a big part of moving, and how you do it will affect a lot about how well the move goes. You may be tempted to overfill boxes in an attempt to keep your use of materials or space down, but this can be a bad idea. If your boxes are too full, they're likely to be too heavy to move easily. You need to carefully balance good use of space with the ease with which you can move the boxes.

Putting a lot of heavy things in one box can make it hard or dangerous to move, so pack heavier items in small boxes. Bulky sweaters take up a lot of space, but don't weigh a lot, so they should be put in large boxes, while books should be packed in smaller boxes. You should try to keep boxes under 30 pounds if you can, and under 50 pounds for sure.

Boxes that aren't full, or that have oddly shaped empty spaces in them, should be filled with some sort of cushioning, like packing peanuts or newspaper. You should always use this technique with fragile things, like glassware or curios. If the box will contain fragile items, add a layer of bubble wrap or packing peanuts to the bottom of the box before adding your carefully wrapped items.

Packing well can also save you time (and hassle) when it comes time to unpack. When you pack, do it room by room and only put items from that room into those boxes. As you fill the box, keep track of what's in it on a piece of paper. Put that list into the box when it's full. Label the outside of the box with the room and some more general information, like general contents or where in the room it goes. The boxes can then be moved into the right location before being opened and unpacked.

How you pack the truck or moving van also matters. Use furniture pads as cushions between your furniture and the sides of the truck, including underneath your furniture, and between your furniture and anything else in the truck. Pack boxes horizontally to prevent them from sliding around or toppling over when the truck moves. Try to put everything into boxes to protect your things from damage and to make packing easier. To prevent your heavy boxes from crushing the lighter ones, always pack boxes into the truck with the heavier boxes in the bottom rows and the lighter boxes on top.