We all know that moving house can be incredibly stressful, but we can help reduce the stress with some top packing tips. The team at K1 Removals in London have got together to come up with their best tips for packing your house. Everyone agrees that the two most important ways to reduce the stress associated with moving house are to first, plan, plan, and plan, and secondly, choose a professional removal company. Planning means that you don’t leave everything to the last minute and that you feel more in control. A professional removal company will remove some of the burdens of moving for you. If you want to do your own packing, read on for our top tips, or if you would rather leave it to us, simply take a look at our packers & movers page, and let us do it for you!
Getting Prepared for the Packing Process
The first of our top tips and first job before you start packing is to sort. You should start sorting your possessions as soon as possible, giving yourself plenty of time before the big day. Decide what you want to keep, and anything else donates if possible, or take to a local recycling centre. There is no point in packing and moving items that you don’t need or want. Once you have started to sort your belongings, you can start to pack. Make sure that you have plenty of packing materials. We have environmentally-friendly packing materials, simply talk to us, and we will make sure that you have the packing materials that you need. Now that you have everything to hand, you can start to pack!
Packing Hacks
Here are a few of our packing tips and tricks to help you save space, money, and time! One of the most important packing tips to remember is don’t leave it till the last minute. You can begin packing up items that aren’t used frequently a long time before your move.
• Label your boxes. Either use a colour code or put the room name and brief item description on the box.
• Use small boxes for heavy items, and large boxes for light items. Remember the boxes have to be moveable. Removal men are strong, but they are not Superman!
• Don’t overfill your boxes so that their sides bulge, and don’t under fill them as they could collapse when other boxes are placed on top.
• Securely tape the bottoms up, with proper wide tape. Don’t interlock the boxes, lay the seams together and secure them with multiple pieces of tape.
• Don’t empty your dresser drawers. As long as they are not too heavy, the items can simply stay inside. Just wrap the drawer in plastic wrap.
• Clothes on hangers can be transferred to hanging wardrobe boxes, saving time and effort. If you don’t have access to these, you can use black bin liners over 5 items, just make a hole to feed the hangers through.
• You can use soft fabric items, such as linen or socks to wrap small fragile things like perfume bottles.
• In the kitchen use larger items to hold smaller items such as spices inside.
Packing Supplies Needed
When you use K1, we like to help our customers every step of the way. Speak to us about packing supplies, we can make sure that you have good packing materials to make the job easier for you, and we can provide environmentally-friendly supplies. If you decide you want us to pack for you, just get in touch, we will use the same excellent materials if we do it ourselves! Here are our packing materials tips:
• Boxes of different sizes
• Many rolls of tapes
• Good marker pens for labelling boxes
• Coloured stickers if you are using a colour-coded system
• Specialist wardrobe boxes if required
• Bubble wrap for fragile items
• Packing paper (you can use newspaper but the print can transfer to your belonging, so bear this in mind)
• Scissors
Helpful Packing FAQs
Whether you are a seasoned mover or a first-timer everyone benefits from helping packing tips from an expert. Here at K1, we have lots of experts in moving and packing, so read on to have all your questions answered.
1. When to Start Packing?
This is one of the big top tips. The sooner you start packing the better. Don’t leave it all till the final few days, you will regret it! Making a good head start will reduce your stress, and make the whole moving process much less stressful. There will be many items in your home that you don’t use every day and you can make a start on these items before working your way through the house as the big day approaches.
2. Where to Start Packing When Moving?
Start in rooms that are not used as often. If you have a spare room, this can be a useful place to start, as well as providing an out-of-the-way area to keep packed boxes. Books can also be packed up ahead of time, just remember to leave yourself something to read!
3. How to Pack Kitchen Items?
Remember to keep out an on-the-day emergency box with a kettle, mugs, tea and coffee, and biscuits! Otherwise, you will have some very unhappy removal men! The rest of the kitchen can be packed up a few days before. Plates need to be wrapped individually in paper, and stacked together. Make sure you place them end on, not flat in the bottom of the box. Bowls can be wrapped in paper and slotted together also. Fill any spaces with scrunched-up paper to support the box.
Glasses are fragile and need to be well wrapped. Consider using bubble wrap for your special glassware. Kitchen utensils can be bundled together and wrapped. Sharp kitchen knives can be safely wrapped in tea towels. Please check the weight of your boxes while packing. China and kitchenware can be very heavy.
4. How to Pack Bedroom Items?
Clothes currently on hangers can be easily transferred to wardrobe boxes. Items can be left in the drawers if not too heavy. If you want to dismantle your furniture, make sure you keep the hardware safe, as it can be difficult to replace. Bear in mind that some flat-pack furniture may not cope with being disassembled and reassembled too many times. On the morning of your move, strip your bedding into large plastic bags to keep it safe and dry for the day. Speak to your removals teams about dismantling your beds, we are always happy to help, but you may wish to do it yourself.
5. How to Pack Living Room Items?
Remember to take pictures of the back of your electronic equipment. This will help you with reassembling them. Pack your electronics with plenty of padding. DVDs and CDs can be packed like books in small boxes. Pictures can be packed together if not too large. Large pieces of art need to be carefully packed. Tape across the glass in an “x”, as this will help reinforce the glass, as well as holding it together should it shatter. Mark all artwork as fragile. Some sofas can be dismantled. Remove all the cushions, these can be wrapped in plastic if necessary, leaving just the sofa carcass to be moved.
6. How to Pack Garage & Garden Items?
Make sure you have disposed of any chemicals or hazardous waste, as movers will not be able to take that. Ensure that your garden equipment is clean, as it will be packed in with your household furniture. Remove handles off lawn mowers where possible to save space. Stack empty flower pots inside one another. Bear in mind that potted flowers take up a lot of space when moving, so consider how many you are bringing with you. Swings and slides need to be dismantled to save space. Use plenty of WD40 on the screws in the days before dismantling.
7. How to Pack Fragile Items?
Always label them as fragile, so your movers know to take extra care. Lampshades can be wrapped and slotted inside each other and placed in large boxes. Large pictures need to be well wrapped and labelled. Please discuss the moving of any high-value items with us, as we need to ensure that our insurance covers this. China and glassware need to be very well wrapped and have plenty of bubble wrap and paper wadding in-between each item.
8. How to Pack Large Items?
If you are unsure of how to pack an item, please ask us! We are always happy to help and if you find packing too daunting, we provide a full packing service. Large items need to be securely wrapped with appropriate material and labelled fragile if necessary.
9. How to Pack Boxes for Moving?
The better you pack your boxes the easier it will be to move them! Remember books are the heaviest item on earth, do not pack books into large boxes. Pack heavy items in small boxes and light items in large boxes. Don’t overstuff your boxes so the sides bulge, and don’t underfill them so that they collapse when other boxes are placed on top. Make sure they feel well-balanced and secure. Tape them well, and remember to label them!
Choosing a Reliable Moving Company
It is important to choose a reliable moving company that you can depend on. Moving is quite stressful enough without worrying about your movers as well. It is always sensible to obtain three quotes, though be wary of a very cheap price, and remember you get what you pay for!
Things to Do On Moving Day
By the time moving day arrives your house should be packed up. Remember to keep out emergency drinks and snacks boxes to keep everyone fed and watered throughout the day. Make sure you label anything that is to be left behind. If any of your items are going into storage, make sure they are clearly labelled as such.
Children and pets, much as we love them, can be an added complication on moving day. Consider leaving them with a pet/child sitter for the day, to reduce your stress.
Pack up the last-minute essentials, such as your bedding from the last night in your old house. Do a final walk-through, checking inside all cupboards that nothing has been left behind. Once the movers have packed the lorry, do another walk-through to double-check that you have everything. Remember to check inside sheds and garages as well.
Unpacking
• On a moving day all you need to unpack is your bedding, and your overnight bag, the rest can wait!
• Don’t rush the unpacking process. It is worth spending the time working out exactly where you want things, to save you having to move the items around once they are unpacked.
• Start with the kitchen, the hub of the house. This can be one of the harder rooms to unpack, so it is a good one to tick off.
• As you unpack, collect up the packing materials. Check with your removals company as many companies reuse and recycle the boxes to be environmentally friendly. Recycle as much as you can.
• Reassemble your electronics using the handy photos that you took of the back of them.
• Give yourself a deadline so that it does get finished. We all know someone who moved two years ago and still has a spare room full of unpacked boxes.
Conclusion
While moving is never going to be exactly fun, or restful, it doesn’t have to be ridiculously stressful. Make sure you plan ahead of time, use a professional, reliable moving company, read our top tips and get packing! If you think you are going to struggle with the packing, why not use our packing service? Professionally trained movers and packers can do the whole process for you. If you are happy doing it yourself, get organised. Make sure you have plenty of packing materials, sort your items, before you pack them, and get cracking! The sooner you start, the less stressful it will be. Doing a few boxes at a time isn’t too much of a hardship. Trying to pack an entire house in a day is exhausting and stressful! Plan ahead, and let K1 Removals London help you.