Furniture Moving: Valuable Packing Tips

Moving your house is generally rated as one of the most stressful events a person can encounter. After death and divorce this daunting task stands firmly in third place. It is therefore extremely important to plan your move properly.

Luckily for our generation, we have access to the World Wide Web with thousands of readily available sites offering tips on how to pack for a move. To make it even easier, we have compiled this summary of a few very handy packing tips.

1. Before you even start to pack, create a simple inventory system to keep handy as you pack. Number all your boxes and write down the content in a notebook. This way it will be easy to find items easily, even if your valuables are going into storage at first.
2. Keep all your packing supplies in one place and ensure that you have enough stock. The supplies should consist of boxes, tape, a notebook, permanent markers, bubble wrap, wrapping paper and stickers or pens for colour coding and whatever else you might need.
3. Make a list in your notebook of items or box numbers you would want to unpack first and label these boxes accordingly.
4. Boxes obtained from the grocery store are not always strong enough to hold heavy or fragile items. Most moving companies can supply proper boxes for the purpose of furniture moving.
5. Hanger or wardrobe boxes can be ordered through your removal company or packaging supplier. Use these boxes for lightweight items such as blankets, pillows, duvet’s and clothing that need to remain hanging.
6. Depending on your system, label boxes on more than one side or place a colour sticker on the sides of boxes.
7. Do not under pack your boxes as it can cause unwanted damage, but on the contrary you should not over pack boxes either.
8. Pack heavier items like books into small boxes and lighter items in larger boxes.
9. Where possible, repack electronics like TV’s, plasmas, computers and printers into its original packaging. Remember not to dispose of these boxes by putting them out with your weekly rubble to be removed by the municipality, as this might attract attention for the wrong reasons.
10. Mark boxes with delicate content as “fragile” or “this side up”.
11. Wrap fragile items in bubble wrap and pack between cushions or linens in boxes.
12. Take special care with small items like the lid of a tea pot or espresso cups, as these can easily get lost between bunched up pieces of paper.
13. All glassware and china should be wrapped with enough paper to avoid clattering inside the box.
14. Take care not to use newspaper with print, as the ink can cause permanent stains. Newspaper rolls without print are available from most furniture movers or packaging suppliers.
15. Pack plates on their side, wrapped individually in enough paper. Never lay plates flat.
16. Glasses should also be wrapped individually and packed standing up.
17. If you are making use of second hand boxes, be sure to remove all staples from the top and bottom to avoid surface scratching.
18. Close and seal each box securely with tape.
19. Use your own suitcases to pack clothing. Do not use suitcases for heavy items.
20. Place lamps and lamp shades into separate boxes. Wrap with clean paper and blankets.
21. Keep around 10 boxes aside for last minute packing on the day. This will be used for groceries, bedding, cleaning supplies, etc.

Last but certainly not least is to decide how you will label each room or office at the new premises to assist with the delivery process. You can place a label on each door or wall naming the room e.g. “Dining Room” or you can assign a specific colour to each room and then apply the matching colour sticker to each box.

Your next furniture removal can run smoothly with the assistance of online businesses. You can compare quotes from various furniture movers at no cost to you, and the good websites also provide valuable moving articles. So take a breath and relax in knowing that help is at hand.