When Should You Begin to Pack?
Every move is different; however, we generally recommend that you start packing to move house early, allowing for at least a month before your move date.
In general, this will give you enough time to pack your house at a more leisurely pace and results in a less stressful move. However, if you’re very busy or have a lot of belongings, maybe consider a month the minimum amount of time you need.
Of course, packing to move house won’t be the only thing you’ll need to do. If you are keen to learn more about what the process of undertaking a house removal involves, we have checklists dedicated to both domestic and international moves.
Did you know? 💡 If you feel packing when moving house is too overwhelming, some removal companies will do the hard work for you as part of their services. If this sounds tempting to you, consider this when comparing removal quotes.
Where to Start When Packing to Move House?
It goes without saying that the best way to start packing when moving house is to get organised to ensure efficiency. We are sure you have enough on your plate, so save yourself the trouble and get cracking!
✔️ Taking Stock
How many items do you own? It’s likely more than you’ve realised. A great start to your move is understanding what you have and what you’ll need to move. So, the first two steps on this packing to move house guide that we recommend are:
- Creating an inventory – Go room to room and make notes or a detailed list of all the items you own. Taking stock will allow you to understand the volume of your move (which you can run through our volume calculator to be sure) and will allow you to prepare the correct number of moving boxes and even create a packing plan, both of which we’ll discuss a little further down. So, keep reading!
- Declutter – Naturally, the more items you move, the more you’ll pay. Thus, think twice before you drag along dusty books and broken furniture. The inventory of your items will be useful in deciding which items to part with.
Sirelo tip: Anything you decide not to bring with you, consider either selling it or donating it to a charity shop, rather than tossing it in the bin. It is important to keep your carbon footprint in mind, even when packing to move house.
✔️ Finding Packing Materials
We don’t need to tell you that trying to move your home without the necessary and the right number of moving boxes and other equipment is a fruitless task. This is where the inventory you created will be handy as you can then easily, and fairly accurately, estimate the number of boxes needed. Naturally, you’ll want to secure the materials before you move!
For your move, you’ll need to source:
- Moving boxes
- Packing tape and a dispenser
- Packing paper or bubble wrap
- House removal blankets
- Markers and labels
Granted, there are more sustainable options for moving, such as:
- Second-hand boxes
- Newspapers
- Old clothes, linens, and bedsheets
Related article
Find moving boxes easily with our guide, so you can focus on packing!
✔️ Make a Packing Plan
As we said, organisation will reduce the stress of your move, and what better way to do that than with a packing plan. Knowing in advance as to which will be the order in which to pack for moving house will help keep the stress away since you won’t be muddled as to what has and has not been packed.
Of course, as we love packing and everything moving, and we’ve got tips for that:
- Least used rooms first – If you’ve an attic, a spare room, or another corner of your house that you don’t frequent, it should be one of the places you pack first if you haven’t already completely cleared it out. The last to be packed are the items you were using up until moving day.
- A room a day keeps the stress away – If you can avoid it, try not to plan too much packing in one day. Like above, there are certainly rooms and items that can be packed early, and your back will thank you for not doing all the heavy lifting in one go.
- Consider storage options – If you don’t have much room, it might be an idea to place items in storage. It allows you to make more space in your home to see what you truly have left to pack, it’s more accessible to a moving van, and you can leave items in a storage facility until your new home is ready for them, rather convenient, if you ask us.
- Separate the essential – Moving day is long and tiring. The last thing you want is to arrive at your front door to realise you have misplaced your keys. Our advice is to think about the essential items you will need during your move, change of clothes, gadgets for the kids, chargers, a kettle for a nice cuppa. You don’t want to open boxes after you pack and undo your hard work. We really don’t want you tearing your hair out!
Sirelo tip: Packing to move house is a marathon, not a sprint! Remember to take it at your own pace. 🧘♀️
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Packing Tips for Moving House
Now you know a little more about how to pack for moving house and are well prepared for moving day, it is time to learn a little more about the tricks of the trade, 😉 Soon you will be real packing masters with our top 10 packing tips!
- Get family and friends to help – There’s nothing like a bit of company to help make packing to move house a more enjoyable process. Even if you cannot find someone to help you with the heavy lifting, a cuppa tea and a chinwag can go a long way!
- Create a packing station – By this, we mean an open space where you can both place any boxes that you have finished packing, while also providing enough room for your movers to get in and out when moving day does come around.
- Label everything – Want your kettle in the bathroom and your towels in the kitchen? Thought not. Take extra caution to label each box clearly. This is a real golden rule for packing to move house.
- Packing heavy items – For heavier items, consider using smaller boxes. A big box of books will break your back! A good rule of thumb is t never exceed a weight of 30lbs per box. If you couldn’t get your hands on a more manageable size, only cover the bottom with heavier items and then lighter items on top. Try lifting a box as you fill it to see if you can carry it.
- Packing fragile items – Glass, crockery, and any delicate ornaments always present a challenge. However, just remember to wrap each item in packing paper or newspaper, ensure that the box is padded using a lining of bubble wrap or old linens, and items are snug with no spaces left in the box by filling any remaining space with packing materials. It can be tempting to overpack with extra materials, but this could cause your items to crack from too much pressure. So, just pack until they no longer wobble.
- Packing clothes – The thought of having to pack all your clothes is a truly daunting task but take a page out of a frequent traveller’s book and roll your clothes instead, it’ll save you time and money since it’s fast and takes less space. Furthermore, you can buy special wardrobe boxes so your clothes can remain on the hanger! Alternatively, a black bin bag can also be used. Just cut a hole at the bottom of the bag for the hanger
- Packing liquids – It’s inevitable that you’ll have some leftover shampoo or lotions prior to your move. The most important thing to do is protect your belongings from exploding, more realistically leaky, bottles is to place them in a plastic bag and even wrap them in a towel.
- Don’t separate the screws from the item – When disassembling furniture or other household items, put all the appropriate screws into a small bag, and stick them to the side of the relevant item.
- Take pictures – Unless you are blessed with a photographic memory, save yourself the headache and take pictures of any furniture you have to take apart to make setting up easier. This applies also to cables and other electronic items.
- Valuables – Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. While you might not have diamonds, the misplacement of any valuable items may cause a certain level of distress. Thus, be sure to carry your most valuable items with you, such as jewellery or documents.
Sirelo Tip: Why not thread cables through old toilet roll tubes, which can be labelled. That way you will be able to identify your phone charger from all your other electronics quickly and easily.
What About Unpacking?
Knowing how to pack when moving house is all good and well, but it is also important to understand the best ways to get yourself settled in your new home. The following expert tips are here to help!
- Do a little bit at a time – Give yourself the credit you deserve and relax a little. Once you have your essentials unpacked, set realistic goals. Remember, the tortoise, not the hare, wins the race!
- Start with the kitchen – While we recommend working top to bottom when packing to move house, unpacking is a slightly different story. Usually, the kitchen is the most fiddly and intricate room to unpack, so do this when you are fresh-faced to avoid unnecessary frustration and it means a fridge to store a nice bottle of white wine as a reward. 😉
- Get rid of boxes once they are emptied – Since you did all that good work decluttering when packing to move house, it would be a real shame to undo that all with mountains of cardboard and sticky tape! Get rid of your packing materials once they have served their purpose, but don’t forget to recycle.
Finally… Need More Tips?
Congratulations! You now know everything about how to pack for moving house, and you are well on your way to ensuring an efficient move. However, packing to move house is just one task amidst a multitude of things to do when undertaking a house removal.
However, luckily Sirelo has prepared for all the moving house queries you might have. Continue to explore the website for other tips and tricks. In particular, the pages we have linked below might be of interest to you. In the meantime, all of us wish you every success with your move, we know you are going to nail it! 🙂
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