How To Pack For Moving | Fast, Stress-Free Packing Tips

General News|

February, 28, 2024

When packing for a move, it’s all too tempting to throw everything into a box and be done with it. But while that might save time, it won’t do your belongings any favours, and future you won’t thank you when it comes time to unpack on the other end!

To take the stress out of the process, we’ve put together a list of some expert tips on how to pack for moving.

General advice

Declutter your space

Before you even start packing, it’s a good idea to go through your belongings and get rid of anything you don’t need or is no longer fit for purpose.

Throw out anything broken and consider selling or donating anything that’s still got some life in it.

Decluttering will make packing that much easier, leaving you with less to work with. It may also help from a financial perspective, as you’ll use less packing materials, won’t need the movers for as long, and won’t require as large a space if items are going into storage.

If you need a little more guidance, check out our guide to decluttering the house in just one day right here!

Sort and label

Divide items by room, item type, and individual owner, and label moving boxing accordingly. This will ensure that everything ends up in its proper home when the move is done.

Heavier items first

When boxing up items, try and keep the heavier pieces at the bottom. This protects more delicate items from being crushed, and will also help balance out the box, making lifting and moving it much safer.

How to pack furniture for moving

Preparation is key

Start by cleaning your furniture. Dust and debris can cause scratches as the items move around during transit – plus no one wants to bring dead bugs along to their nice new home!

Take apart the furniture if you can. This will save space while travelling and also means you don’t have navigate bulky items through your new doors. Smaller items like bedside tables are fine to travel intact, but you should remove things like drawer handles, knobs, or removable shelves before packing them away.

Keep loose screws in labelled bags, and tape them to the items they belong to, to make putting them back together much easier.

Wrap it up

Bubble wrap is great for wooden pieces, while you can get specially designed plastic covers for upholstered items such as sofas. Old blankets are also great if you can’t get plastic sheeting.

How to pack clothes for moving

Clothing will likely take up a lot of your packing – especially if you’ve got a family to move!

Fold, roll, or hang?

When dividing your clothing, take a good look at the material and the purpose of each item. Items like t-shirts or baby clothes can be rolled to save space, while jeans might be better folded. Suits, dresses, and sentimental items can be placed in garment bags and hung in a wardrobe box.

Packing materials

It’s a good idea to have a few different storage options for your clothes.

Cardboard boxes are perfect for folded or rolled clothes, while you might want to invest in some wardrobe boxes for anything you want to hang during the move. Vacuum bags are great for space saving but aren’t ideal for delicate fabrics or for long term storage.

If you’re on a budget, consider using items you already have – suitcases, duffel bags, and backpacks are great for packing away the basics!

How to pack books for moving

Before you get started, reinforce your boxes with extra tape – the weight of books can add up quickly! You might also want to line your boxes with packing paper or bubble wrap for a little extra protection.

Hardbacks

Place hardbacks spine first, ideally with a protective piece of cardboard between each book. Try to avoid layering them, as if the books aren’t tightly packed enough, the book might open slightly and the pages will bend under the weight of the books above.

If the hardbacks are all the same size, you can stack them with the covers facing forward, but the weight of hardbacks will add up quickly, so don’t overload the box!

Paperbacks

Paperbacks can be stacked with the covers facing forward. Piles should be made up of similar size books.

Valuable or sentimental books

Consider packing any valuable or sentimental books separately from the rest of your home library. You might want to wrap them in bubble wrap or some other type of protective packaging and keep them in their own box.

How to pack glasses for moving

As with your books, it’s a good idea start by reinforcing and lining your packing boxes, especially if you’re using every day cardboard boxes, rather than ones specifically designed for glasses.

Wrap items individually

We know it can be time consuming, but individually wrapping glasses and glassware will help avoid any cracks or chips from items knocking together during the move.

Tissue paper, bubble wrap, and packing paper are great, though newspaper is also a common choice. Just watch out for ink transference. We’ve got a great guide to the best packing materials for glass right here.

Add buffers

Add protective buffers between your glasses to minimise movement and stop them knocking into each other. You could use bubble wrap or packing peanuts, but for a budget friendly version, you could use towels – plus it will save you packing the towels away later!

It’s also possible to buy boxes or racks with built in dividers.

You can also use plastic glasses to protect smaller glasses. Simply place the wrapped glasses inside a slightly bigger plastic glass for an extra barrier.

Don’t overfill the box

A box of glassware can get quite heavy quickly, so it’s important to keep an eye on how much you’re packing into a box. It’s also a good idea to leave a little of space at the top to add more cushioning to protect your glasses.

How to pack plates for moving

The good news is that if you know how to pack glasses and glassware, you’ve already got a head start on packing up your plates and crockery!

Wrap them individually if possible, surround them with protective buffers, and make sure to keep the heavy items at the bottom.

If you’ve got valuable or sentimental objects, be extra careful with these, and consider keeping them separate from the rest of your belongings. You might want to bring them along with you in the car, rather than leaving them with the movers!

How to pack TVs and other electronics

As a society, we’re pretty reliant on our electronics so it’s important we pack them safely!

Generally speaking, you’ll want to unplug and detach any cables you can safely remove. Bind them with elastic bands and put them in labelled ziplock bags – eg. computer, TV, phone chargers. The elastic bands will stop them tangling in transit, and the labelling makes it easy to match the cables to their electronic counterpart.

Packing up your TV

Your TV is likely one of the most valuable and most used items in your house, so let’s take a closer look at how to pack a TV for moving.

Protect your TV screen with a piece of cardboard cut to size and then add a few layers of bubble wrap. With any screen product, including TVs and computer monitors, avoid getting tape on the product itself – especially the screen! You don’t want to end up with unsightly residue marks.

You can get boxes specifically created for moving TVs, or if you’ve still got the original box, you can reuse that one. Avoid putting the TV in the moving truck without a box for extra protection – items will shift and your layers of bubble wrap will only do so much!

Let’s start packing!

Hopefully, we’ve provided you with a few useful tips on how to pack for moving! Remember to take the time to prepare and gather all the materials you’ll need, and don’t be afraid to reach out to your moving company for advice.

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