How to Pack for a Move

[PQleft]The helpful tips and advice we share will save you time, money, and heartache in the weeks and months leading up to your moving day.[/PQleft]

Packing for a move is one of the most vital steps to ensure a smooth transition into your new home or apartment. A poor pack can lead to damage to your items and no one wants to see that. The pros at Manassas Transfer have over 55 years of packing experience and we would like to share what we have learned with you. The helpful tips and advice we share will save you time, money, and heartache in the weeks and months leading up to your moving day.

Take Advantage of Your Online Resources

Everyone wants to save time and money. Online, you can find so much content being shared that you can quickly find cost saving ideas for packing for your move. Pinterest is a great asset for finding helpful tips that you can easily browse through. On Pinterest, users post insightful and intuitive pictures and graphics that make it easy to comb through a large amount of content quickly.

Facebook is another great place to view content users share. A quick search for packing tips and you will see all kinds of content like videos, pictures and posts. You can also read people’s comments to posts and find even more helpful tips.

Packing for Cheap

In the months leading up to your moving day, you can start saving newspapers and sale papers in order to use as packing supplies. Used newspapers can be repurposed into padding material for your antiques, collectibles, and dishware. Your place of employment may have papers delivered and you could just ask if you can have them at the end of each day. Over time, you can amass a large amount of old newspapers and this will come in handy when it comes time to pack.

There are many places you can find free boxes if you have time to collect them in advance. Here are some great places to help you save on the costs of packing supplies.

• Craigslist.org
• Local bookstores
• U-Haul Box Exchange® message board
• Grocery store
• Office supply store

Moving Tips and Checklist

Here is a checklist that will cover much of what has not already been discussed. The tips we share are a good place to start from, but by all means, add more as you think of them during your packing process.

• Pack your items by organizing similar items with each other. Also pack items of the same room together. This will make it easier when you unpack your boxes in your new place.
• Use all the space in your boxes so you don’t leave any room for items to shift around. The extra space may look nice, but in transit, this extra space means your items have the potential to crash into each other.
• Make sure you tape the seams and corners of your boxes very well. If you have a box with heavy items like books, put two rows of tape around the middle of the box to prevent any flexing of the cardboard from occurring.
• Use a color coding system to label your room’s items. For example, use blue tape or labels for all kitchen boxes, and use green for your bathroom. This is easier for your moving company, but also for you if you are moving yourself when you are unloading.
• Make a checklist of all your items before you load them. As you load them put a check next to it, and as it makes its way to your new home, cross it off your list. This will help ensure you don’t forget anything.
• Snap a photo of the back of your entertainment center and computer to help you figure out how the cords plug back in later. This can save a headache for when you are moved into your new place.
• Sell, donate and give away items you don’t want to pack and move with you. Giving to those in need is a humanitarian thing to do.
• Share your work load with some friends and family. Enlist the help of a professional moving company if you want the job to be done by professionals in a timely and efficient manner.