Packing Like a Pro: Why Packing Efficiently is the Best Thing You Can Do When Moving
Moving is not an overnight process. There’s months of planning, coordination, cleaning, and budgeting to do. But one task always seems to rise to the top when we think of stressful moving tasks: packing.
Packing makes us confront just how much stuff we own. How did we end up with two vacuums? Where did this dresser even come from? Why do the kids have more stuffed animals than a toy store? These are all questions that run through your mind when you realize you have to pack it all.
The good news is, packing for a move can actually be a fantastic opportunity to assess what you own, get rid of stuff you don’t need, and kickstart that fresh start you’re looking forward to in your new home.
So then, how do you pack without eating up weeks up precious time? Honestly, the reason packing takes so much time for people is because they don’t have a plan. They just start stuffing items in boxes and hope for the best. When you create a plan, packing can become a breeze. Use these tips from the pros here at Pedro’s Moving Company to pack efficiently and reduce some stress.
Create a Packing and Preparation Schedule One of the biggest mistakes we see our clients make is setting aside a single weekend to pack their house. While that’s ambitious, it’s pretty unrealistic. We recommend spreading out the work over the course of a couple of weeks, so you can take breaks and designate certain tasks to certain days. Choose a schedule that works for you. If you work from home and can tackle some cleaning and decluttering on your lunch break, do that! If weekends are your only free time, designate a few hours each day to do the work, instead of forcing yourself to power through a 12-hour day on your day off.
Clean Up Before you even think about packing, clean your house. It doesn’t need to be a deep clean, just pick up the house enough so you don’t get distracted by items that are out of place. When you look at a messy room and think about packing, this causes stress. So start with a clean space.
After the quick pick up, grab a trash bag and a timer. Spend 10-20 minutes in each room just throwing stuff away. It’s amazing what you throw away when you have a timer and you only have on goal: to toss stuff you don’t need.
DeclutterNow that you have cleaned up the house and thrown away stuff that definitely needed to go, you can now do some of the more time-intensive decluttering. Take your time to review each room and remove items you no longer need. We recommend starting in an area that you know will have stuff to remove, like a junk drawer or your closet. Once you gain some momentum, you can start decluttering the big stuff, like furniture or electronics.
Decluttering a single room can take anywhere between an hour and a few days, so be realistic when you choose to tackle a room. It’s OK if you don’t declutter more than one room in a day, so long as you planned for it in your original packing and preparation plan.
Take Inventory Now that you have decluttered your house, take an inventory of what you do have. Inventories are excellent tools for keeping track of your stuff, so you don’t run out and buy another vacuum when you arrive to your new home just because you can’t find yours. Inventories save you time and money.
Inventories are also great if you feel like you’re missing something. You can check your inventory with the list your movers have to see if something may have been lost or stolen. Looking at an inventory is also a lot less stressful than rummaging through boxes when you want to know whether you have a certain item. Inventories are also great for keeping track of the condition of certain items.
Take Photos of Your Living Space Before you start packing, take photos of the way your living spaces are assembled. Maybe you have the sofa and recliner facing the fireplace, for example. Having these photos can give you an idea of how you want to set up your furniture in your new home. Even if your home layout is different, simply having these photos will give you some inspiration and also help you create some familiarity in your new home.
Taking photos before you move is also an additional way you can keep track of your belongings. This is why we recommend taking photos after you declutter and create your inventory list.
Pack the Non-Essentials First You probably won’t need you collection of DVDs or books during the last few weeks in your old house, so pack those first. When you pack the non-essentials ahead of time, you can get a head start on packing without feeling too inconvenienced by the move.
Give Yourself Time Frames Tasks really do take up the time you give them. This is why we recommend setting a timeframe for getting your packing done. Even if you hate them, deadlines work. When you tell yourself you only have a few hours to pack a room, you will amaze yourself at how efficiently you work. Block out distractions and have your kids lend a helping hand.
Label Everything Grab your color markers and packing tape, it’s time to label! Labeling your boxes is a huge time save for when it comes time to unpack. We recommend labeling by color-coding rooms and writing both the room and the area of the room on the box. This will help your movers place the boxes where you want.
If possible, it also helps to have a map of the inside of your new house and transferring the color coding system to the map. That way, you can make this map visible in your new home while San Francisco movers haul your boxes into the house.
And just like that, you’re packed! You see, packing is a lot easier when you take things step by step, respect your time, and clean up as you go. Congratulations on your move, and we hope you look to us when it comes time to search for FREE quotes.
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