Tips & Tricks for Packing During Your Storage Unit Stay
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How to pack boxes for moving
Moving, downsizing, or just clearing out space can be overwhelming, but have no fear! We have gathered our best tips and tricks to get you through and make this moving experience the easiest you’ve ever had!
The quick and short of it:
- Start with accurately assessing your needs and gather the correct quantity and quality of boxes, packing materials, and equipment.
- Pack heavy first and light on top - ensure you stack boxes correctly to avoid an avalanche
- Label by contents and destination like room or space
- Use this as an opportunity to declutter
That’s the quick answer, but there’s more to it than that, so read on for more tips and tricks! Using specifically collected boxes and other ideal equipment to make moving easier can also help greatly. So, before you carelessly dump your belongings into random bins, consider the following tips on effectively packing moving boxes before shifting.
Collect all your packing supplies
Along with gathering your packing boxes, several other packing supplies are available around most homes to make packing your stuff much more manageable while keeping them in ideal condition.
Below are some recommended packing supplies:
- Bubble Wrap
- Packing Peanuts
- Cushion Foam
- Packing Paper
- Packing Tape
- Permanent Markers
- Packing Boxes
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Assembling the packing boxes
If you have bought new boxes, they’ll need to be organized and assembled. Begin by unfolding your collapsed packing box into its final cubed shape. Fold the small flaps into the center from the bottom. After that, fold the more oversized flaps on top of those. Then place two to three strips of packing tape where the flaps join in the center to close the box. In boxes that are larger or where heavier items are going to be placed, it makes sense to add more tape to strengthen those areas before using the box - even strapping around the circumference of the box to support the sides. Make sure all the packing tape is firmly sealed. Pack boxes to cube out your moving truck
Take special care while you load your moving truck. There are a number of essential things to keep in mind when it comes to packing a moving truck. This includes properly stacking your packing boxes. Using professional packing boxes makes shifting simple yet efficient due to their specific design which cube out a moving truck perfectly, leaving no empty space. This enables you to save time, money, and space while moving.
How stacking works
Some trucks come with a box storage area over the cab, this is often where your sofa might fit, but if not - or you’re doing a self-move, then try to stand your sofa on its side inside your chosen moving truck and remove its cushions, an empty space about three feet wide, two feet deep by about four feet high is easily created. You can easily fit a pile of packing boxes in that space, enabling you to effectively pack a stack of six or more boxes. Second, only to heavy lifting, packing your moving boxes is the most difficult part of moving. It’s extremely important to pack your boxes properly in order to minimize strain and reduce the likelihood of damage to your items during transit. Not packing your moving boxes in a correct manner also means more effort at the other end dealing with a messy box of contents!
Packing the boxes for moving
- Classify the items into separate groups depending upon their size and weight. Try keeping belongings from different rooms of your home distinct.
- Set up a layer of packing peanuts onto the bottom of the box.
- Wrap the non-delicate, heavy items first using some packing paper or bubble wrap and put them at the bottom of the packing box.
- Wrap the lighter items using packing paper or bubble wrap and separate them from the heavier items at the bottom of the box using cushion foam.
- Place lighter ones on the top of the cushion foam and up to the top of the packing box, ensuring there isn’t too much volume of lighter items.
- Before you finally close your box, remember to cushion the entire package. Stuff crumpled packing paper or packing peanuts in the unfilled, empty spaces in order to prevent your goods from getting damaged.
- The filled packing box must not weigh more than 30 pounds or more than what you can lift with ease. Under-packed boxes are likely to collapse during the shifting process, whereas over-packed boxes can tear apart and damage your belongings.
- Firmly close the box and then seal it with durable packing tape.
- Label each packing box with its contents and its destined room or space in the new home.
Packing box mistakes to avoid
Keeping that in mind, one should make sure to avoid some of the most common mistakes that people usually make while packing up boxes for a move. Some of these are listed below.
Not making an accurate assessment of your needs
This includes underestimating your needs which is a trap many of us fall into when packing to move. So, before you begin packing that very first item, you need to make sure that you have the right types of packing boxes; both in quantity as well as size. Many people fail to carry out an accurate assessment before packing and end up either having to stuff too much into each box or having to place items inside boxes that are not the right size for them. While it’s one of the most common packing mistakes that packers make, it’s also quite easy to avoid. To make an accurate estimate about how many boxes you need for packing, you need to take inventory of how huge your space is and how many items you have. You also need to consider your packing style.
The wrong materials
We’ve all bought that roll of tape that just doesn’t stick at all. And we’ve all put heavy items in boxes that were just too thin for it. And maybe we’ve also collected way too many of the small boxes that never get used, or too many large ones that are just too big to carry when loaded. Assess your quality and ratios of materials carefully. For example, if you have a lot of workshop tools that don’t have their own boxes, you may want to consider buying toolboxes, or strong perspex containers to pack these in.
Not getting rid of extra stuff
No matter how long you’ve lived in your current house, there are always things that you can get rid of. Organizing the items that you no longer need or want is one of the most effective ways to make packing a much easier task. It will even save you time and money; avoiding getting rid of unnecessary items means that you are wasting both. Before you begin packing, inspect all the rooms in your house and pull out all the items you don’t wish to take along with you to your next house. This includes everything from paperwork and clothes to furniture and decoration pieces. Then classify these items into three piles: Recycle, Donate, and Throwaway. Try to donate as much as you possibly can, the remaining you can recycle or throw away accordingly. This is a tried and tested technique used by many and for most it works and will make both packing and unpacking your belongings much easier for you.
To finish
We hope this guide has been useful in providing some tips on how to best use a packing box, and how to pack boxes for moving. We hope that with our help you have a safe, enjoyable, and stress-free moving experience.
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