Packed Into a Corner? Disastrous Packing Mistakes to Avoid When Moving
If you are preparing yourself and your possessions for an upcoming move, pack with care. Just one or two packing mistakes can cost time and money. So, before you begin to pack for your move, do some research. Find out when, how and what to pack, as well as how not to pack! For instance, ask friends and relatives who have moved before how they packed their things.
On average, Australians lose 208 days of their life on the moving process and all it entails. Packing is no doubt to blame for some of that loss of time. But when you pack right first time, you can save time and money and, most importantly, avoid disastrous mistakes.
If you have a move on the horizon, ensure you don't commit the following packing mistakes.
Packing without sorting and recording
Packing can be a dull and tiring endeavour. But you don't have to get it all done in one day! With a good plan in hand, you can start to pack months away from your move. Then, as time progresses, you can pack your possessions piece by piece, slowly but surely.
But if you don't sort and record from the start, things could get messy. Record everything that goes into your boxes. And if this helps, record when the item was stored and who it was put there by. This will help you keep track of items and their locations over the weeks and months.
Using a mishmash of boxes
You could spend days and weeks gathering an assortment of boxes from various shops, friends and relatives. But this is not a good way to gather packing supplies. For starters, the boxes will be a multitude of sizes. This means your movers will often feel like they need to solve a complicated brainteaser as they try to pack your items on the truck safely.
A good way to ensure your boxes are uniform in size is to purchase them from a moving company.
Purchasing inadequate packing supplies
One of the first and most important steps early on is to purchase packing supplies. To pack and track everything, you'll need:
- A binder or clipboard for recording
- Labels
- Bubble wrap
- Wrapping paper
- Stripe bags
- Markers (lots of them)
- Boxes
You can hunt these items down yourself, separately. But you can save time by ordering them from a removalist as you plan and prepare to move.
Overfilling your boxes
If you overfill your boxes, this will come back to haunt you on moving day. Not only could you injure yourself, but you could also damage your possessions when you drop a box on the way to the truck. Decide on a suitable weight. You can ask your removalists to advise you on this. As you pack your boxes, weigh them to ensure that you can lift them easily and comfortably.
Storing essentials among non-essentials
Make a list of all the essentials you and your family members will need from day one. Have each household member make a list, then leave those items until last. The last thing you need is to have to go through full boxes to find an item that you can't do without on moving day.
Failing to be ready for unexpected surprises
Prepare your toolset and extra packing supplies in advance. Something usually goes wrong during a move. And if you aren't prepared, that's more time and possibly money down the drain. For instance, if your movers can't get an awkward item of furniture down the stairs, you might need to remove one or more parts. Without tools, that will be a time-consuming and stressful endeavour!
If you have an upcoming move to prepare for, packing supplies are one essential you can't do without. And who better to contact for packing supplies than a moving company with over 50 years of experience? Contact Zippy Removals & Storage today, and we'll explain how our purpose-built boxes and materials can assist you as you prepare for your move.
