Moving? Packing Can be Made Easy if You Follow These Tips
Like any new first time home buyer, thoughts of money run through my head…thoughts of paint colors, carpets…and bills…bills…bills.
However one little thing is bugging me out more than all of that financial stuff. Moving! Packing! Ahhh!
Through 25 years of my life I have acquired quite a bunch of things. Okay I will be honest, my downstairs area of our home now is filled with all sorts of things. I figured packing would be a cinch; I’d just throw everything into boxes and worry about it later. However I have a ton of valuables, and a ton of things that could easily be broken.
I am overwhelmed. This past week I have slowly been packing as we await our closing day. Boxes are not available around every corner, and at times acquiring them can be difficult, especially when you refuse to spend money on them. Me…I refuse to spend money on boxes, so here is how I managed to acquire them.
1. I asked friends and family who work in places that may be able to get some hands on some boxes before they made their way to the dumpster. My mom who manages a fast food join was able to bring me all types of different shaped boxes home. Although they read french fries, and napkins…they were free. Who cares what is on the boxes!
My cousin works in retail, and every time she comes up to see us she comes with a car filled with boxes.
2. You can also pick up boxes at local supermarkets, if you don’t know anyone who works in places where boxes are abundant. They will be more than happy to assist you…because believe it or not, you are doing them a favor. These places have to pay every time their dumpsters are emptied out, so if you take a huge load off their hands they will be grateful. Places that I know are always helpful, and have plenty of boxes are Pathmark and Waldbaums. You will want to get in early during inventory hours. So ask, when a good time would be. If you show up during other times these boxes may already be crushed, and you won’t walk out with too many.
-Box problem-solved!
Packing!
Grrr! This is the worst part.
You have your boxes, and now you stand before your entire life. How the heck are you going to pack?
Well for starters you want to make things easy for yourself.
I laid out 5 boxes to start with. 5 Large boxes mind you.
The first box I labeled Christmas decorations, the next box Halloween decorations, the next got labeled fragile glass, the next box was labeled glass dolls, and so on and so fourth.
You can label them according to what you own.
Next I simply went around my room and placed my items into their appropriate boxes. I figured taking my time and doing things orderly now, would save me a ton of time later when we moved in.
After those boxes were filled I repeated the pattern with different box labels. Labels such as kitchen items, bathroom items, electronics and so on.
Within 4 days I had nearly half of my life packed up and ready to go. I figure in 4 more days I will be done with everything else.
While packing boxes though, I also labeled 3 boxes ‘yard sale items’. These items consisted of things I found around the place that I did not need. I figure once we move in, we can have a yard sale and clean our hands of these things, while making a small profit. Pretty neat!
Tips
-Take your time while packing, do not throw things into boxes in a disorderly fashion.
– Before beginning make sure you have a bunch of old newspaper. Use this newspaper to wrap up fragile glass pieces, or pieces that can easily break
-Do not pack up things you will still need to use. Leave out your shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and other necessities until you actually move in. It would suck to have to dig through packed boxes for something you need to use.
-Pack alone! Too many people I know have asked friends and family to help them pack. Then when they unpacked noticed broken things, and in some cases missing things. As sad as that sounds… you are not safe from being stolen from even from friends and relatives! Sick, I know…but too true.
Packing alone also ensures that you know where everything is!
-Use a black colored sharpie marker to label boxes. Pencils/pens can smear, and make it harder to read. Black bold labeling makes things easy!
-Store your fragile boxes in a safe place until the actual move. Do not leave them in hallways or areas where people can trip over them.
-Before you pack and leave check every nook and cranny. You may have missed something important.
-Start packing a few weeks before you move in.
-Have a roll of duct tape on hand to seal boxes!
I know that when you first begin your packing things will look overwhelming, and you may not even want to begin. But by following these easy steps, and this advice packing will actually be a lot easier, and un-packing will be a cinch.
