Most of the stress on moving day isn’t the move itself. It’s the packing… or the lack of it.
Boxes half-filled, no idea what’s where, fragile bits wrapped in a tea towel and hoped for the best. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Pack with a bit of order and moving day becomes the easy part. Here’s how to do it properly.
Start earlier than you think
Packing always takes longer than people expect. The trick is to start weeks out, not the night before.
Begin with the things you barely use… books, spare bedding, out-of-season clothes, the loft, the garage. Leave daily essentials until last.
A rough timeline that works:
- Three to four weeks out: declutter and start on rarely-used rooms.
- Two weeks out: pack most of the house, room by room.
- The final few days: kitchen, toiletries and the essentials box.
Little and often beats one frantic weekend every time.
Get the right materials
Good boxes save your back and your belongings. Skimp here and you’ll pay for it in dropped bottoms and dented corners.
You’ll want:
- Sturdy boxes in two sizes… small for heavy items, large for light and bulky ones.
- Bubble wrap for anything breakable.
- Packing paper or plain newsprint for wrapping and filling gaps.
- Strong packing tape and a couple of markers.
- Old towels and blankets for padding out awkward items.
Fill boxes to the top so they don’t crush when stacked, but keep them light enough to lift. Heavy items low, lighter ones on top.
Pack room by room
Never pack a box with bits from three different rooms. You’ll spend the first week in your new place hunting for the kettle.
Work through one room at a time and finish it before you move on. Keep each room’s boxes together, and don’t mix the kitchen with the bathroom just to fill a gap.
This one habit makes unpacking at the other end far quicker.
Protect the fragile stuff
Breakables need proper care, not a quick wrap and a prayer.
- Plates travel best on their edge, stood up like records, each one wrapped.
- Glasses and mugs should be wrapped individually and padded with paper.
- Fill every gap in the box so nothing shifts in transit.
- Mark fragile boxes clearly on the top and the sides.
Take a quick photo of the back of your TV and any wiring before you unplug it. Reconnecting everything is far easier when you can see how it looked.
Label everything
A quick label now saves an hour of searching later. Write the room and a couple of contents on the top and at least one side, so you can read it however the box is stacked.
Mark anything fragile or heavy. And flag the boxes you’ll want first… kettle, bedding, chargers… so they don’t end up buried at the back of the van.
Pack an essentials box
This is the box that gets you through the first night without living out of bin bags. Keep it with you rather than in the van.
Pack:
- A kettle, mugs, tea, coffee and a few snacks.
- Toilet roll, soap, a towel and toiletries.
- A change of clothes and any medication.
- Phone chargers, keys and important documents.
- Basic tools and a torch.
You’ll be glad of it when you’re too tired to open anything else.
Know what not to pack
Some things shouldn’t go in a box at all. Keep valuables, cash, passports and paperwork on you.
Removals firms can’t transport certain items, so use up or dispose of things like paint, aerosols, gas bottles and other flammables before the day. Sorting this early avoids a last-minute scramble.
Let the heavy lifting take care of itself
You handle the packing… the wrapping, the labelling, the room-by-room order. Leave the loading and the heavy furniture to people who do it every day.
A good man and van in Blackpool turns up with the right-sized van, loads it properly, and straps and pads everything so it arrives in one piece. No two trips, no strained backs, no scratched sideboard.
At Rhino Removals, we do the lifting from start to finish and put the heavy items exactly where you want them at the other end. Pack smart, and moving day looks after itself.
Ready to move? Get a free, no-obligation quote and we’ll take it from there.