6 Things to Do before You Start Packing for Relocation

Posted on 15/03/2016

Moving homes is without a doubt one of the toughest situations to find yourself in. Regardless of the reasons behind the move, i.e. job relocation, better property, local amenities, family needs and many more, it is not going to be easy to pack all of your belongings and start a new life somewhere else. It could be the same town or somewhere you never thought you’d end up in, but it’s important to keep a cool head and organise the process properly.

Home moving is a process that consists of a number of important phases you must go through. One of them is packing your belongings. It may take you a lot of time to not just put your items in a number of boxes, but do so in a way that will not damage them. What is even more important is that you keep in mind certain tasks are best addressed before you start packing. Here they are:

-    Keep valuables on the side - if there is one thing certain about moving preparation, it is that at some point in time it’s going to feel chaotic. The last thing you want is having to dig through piles of boxes as you find out that important documentation is missing or that you have placed your money in some of the bags. Take your time before you begin arranging the boxes to put your valuables on the side. This will enable access to them and also allow personal supervision of those items at all times. You will rest easy knowing they are safe during the removal.

-    Make a moving plan - it’s not wise to work without first having an outlined plan of the move. If you don’t know what follows and how you will be packing, just don’t start it. Else you will end up placing items in the wrong boxes, or placing the items in an inappropriate manner, which may result in damage to said items. It is also essential to know what tasks you need to address for the remaining of the move, as that will allow you to be more effective at packing and not leave everything for the last minute.

-    Organise and label your boxes - once the removal van drops all of the boxes in your new home, you will have to arrange them. You will find this task far more difficult if you haven’t labelled the boxes with their contents or used some method that makes sense to you to know what’s inside them. Labelling doesn’t take much time and is going to help you big time in unpacking later, as you will know exactly where to take each box.

-    Discard items you won’t bring with you - packing items you don’t plan on using in your new home is a big waste of time. They will just take precious space and effort to pack. So, before your home relocation takes off, go through everything and see if there is anything you won’t be using any more. Sell or donate the items you no longer want around, to save the need for packing and transporting them later on.

-    Consider your needs for storage - before you begin packing, it is important to consider the space of your new home and whether there will be enough to take everything there. Maybe renovations are not yet done and you cannot afford to bring the furniture of a single room for you cannot yet arrange it there. To avoid potential trouble, consider the free space of your new home and arrange for a storage facility if need be.

-    Prepare your items for the move - apart from being careful with packing vulnerable and fragile items, it is wise to prepare certain items for removal. One such category is furniture. Avoid refinishing wooden furniture just before the move as that might lead to potential damage during transportation. Another good thing you can do is have your carpets and rugs cleaned, for you will hardly have time to do that immediately after you move.

With these tips in mind, you are going to have an easier time during your home removal and that is what you should be after.