Every successful packing project begins with the question, “Where do I start packing?”
More often than not, packing an entire household for a move proves to be more than just a single pre-move task which you can scratch off as complete when it’s done. Rather, packing up a home is an entire process, a laborious sequence of well-organized actions that lead to one common goal: a highly efficient (understand fast and safe) packing experience, which in turn will contribute to a speedy and problem-free house move.
Planning your move in advance is very important as it will save you precious time and headaches in the long run. Yes, the idea of completing the packing project well ahead of schedule sounds too good to be true. Just think about how rewarding it would be if you could somehow finish packing earlier than planned, and thus have more time for other equally important move related tasks. It would be really nice to get the most time consuming pre-move job out of your way as soon as possible, wouldn’t it?
The thing is that there’s one puzzling question that most non-professional packers face in the very beginning of their moving preparations: “Just where do I start packing?” Without a doubt, the issues of what room to pack first and what items to pack first can easily become stumbling blocks along the way of a smooth relocation experience.
Just keep in mind that all you need to guarantee yourself a fast and problem-free house move is a good packing strategy.
Correction: a very good packing strategy! So, what to pack first when you move?
First things first
Before you can learn the right answer to the fundamental question of what to pack up first when moving, you need to make sure that your belongings are ready to be packed in the first place. And to do that, the very first task before you is to make a complete inventory of your house or apartment.
In fact, creating a home inventory checklist is a must-do step for 3 distinct reasons.
1) A house inventory worksheet will help you sort out your belongings and reduce the number to their absolute minimum. No matter how you look at it, it’s a rookie moving mistake to pack up all of your items without first sifting them through and setting aside the ones that are just not worth moving. After years of living under one roof, you will probably be amazed at how many worthless stuff you have managed to accumulate. So, it’s finally time to get rid of no longer wanted or needed items.
A complete house inventory can help you rediscover items you have forgotten about. Like your Star Wars action figure collection, for example.
Besides, this very task of purging your home will do you a great favour when you actually start placing your material things into cardboard boxes of different sizes. A huge favour at that! Not only will you save hours and hours of valuable time by packing up fewer items, but you will also save plenty of money from the inevitabletransportation costs simply because, you know, the heavier your final shipment is, the deeper you will dig into your pocket to cover the increased relocation costs.
2) Also, if you choose to turn your home inventory checklist into your packing list, you won’t need to create a separate packing list and thus will save crucial time – time you can use for the actual packing itself. Just use the numbered method of labelling your boxesthe write way and you will know exactly where to find each and every item once the piles of cardboard containers have been delivered to and carried inside your new home.
3) You should also use your house inventory checklist to check your freshly delivered belongings, and thus spot right away if something is missing. Of course, being alerted of any missing household goods will enable you to inform your removal company immediately.
Once you’ve created your home inventory checklist and just before you begin worrying about what things to pack first when moving, there’s a another high priority move related task that you should take care of to ensure smooth sailing throughout your house move. And that job is to actually go through your itemized checklist and decide what to do with the ones you no longer want or need.
Unfortunately, some decisions about what to take and what to leave behind will be much tougher than others, but the sorting process is still something you have to do. As mentioned above, the optimization of your items will bring you several crystal clear advantages:
Fewer items to pack = faster packing;
Fewer items to pack = lower transportation costs;
Fewer items to pack = more space in the new home;
Sale of unwanted stuff = more money towards the moving budget;
Donation of unwanted stuff = proof of your empathy and friendship.
The moment you are left with nothing but the things you are taking with you, it’s finally time to talk about where to start packing for a move.
What room to pack first when moving?
The major rule when packing up for moving is that you should start the packing process from the least frequently used rooms and premises in your home. This rule is so logical that some people just tend to overlook it and unintentionally make the entire relocation a few degrees more difficult as a result.
It looks like you have followed our advice to initiate the packing marathon the right way.
Another important packing principle states that any packing project should be initiated from the rooms which are known to be the hardest ones to box up. Clearly, this principle also makes sense because it implies that you should finish up the hardest packing jobs while your energy, concentration and motivation are still relatively high. This way, while your packing endeavour progresses with time, you will be left with the easiest rooms to pack just when you’re about to run out of fuel.
So, combining the two packing concepts above, the first rooms to pack when moving are the storage areas.
Storage rooms. Obviously, it would be a huge packing mistake to leave your storage areas for last. The problem with packing up garages, tool sheds, basements, attics, and closets is that there are usually too many items stored in them and that staggering number alone is enough to slow down your preparation, or even halt it temporarily. For example, if you underestimate the total time and step-by-step organization you need to pack up your garage, you will run the risk of falling behind schedule as far as your packing calendar is concerned. Just think about all the stuff you have in your garage! Your car, tools, gas-operated machinery, lawn and patio furniture, and countless other things whose existence you may have long forgotten. So, mark down in your calendar that your storage rooms are what to pack first when moving.
Spare rooms. If you happen to have a spare room (or rooms) in your home, then it should be packed up right after you’ve handled the storage areas. For instance, a guest room won’t be used much until moving day, so it’s only logical that you note it down as packed and move on.
Living room. Out of the rooms you actually use on a regular basis, your living room should be next one to be packed up prior to your moving day. Your major concerns in that room should be the bulky furniture pieces (sofas, couches, chairs, shelves, bookcases, etc.) and your fragile electronics (TV, computer, stereo system, home theater system, receiver, speakers, gaming console, printer, scanner, etc.).
Kitchen. Well, sooner or later your packing marathon will transfer into the kitchen. Now, the most deceptive part when packing up a kitchen for a move is that the mind-boggling number of items will not be visible at first as they will be in various cupboards, drawers, cabinets, and even hiding places. Another equally tricky part when preparing your kitchen possessions to be moved is the fact that many of them will be highly fragile and therefore easy to break – glasses, china or glass plates, china bowls, and so on. Of course, the super heavy kitchen appliances (refrigerator, washing machine, dishwasher, cooking stove) can give you a really hard time if you’re not prepared for the challenge ahead.
Children’s room. It’s time to turn your attention to your child’s room, if applicable. The most important thing here is to encourage your son or daughter to help out by packing their own things, provided that your child is old enough, that is.
Clothes are best packed in special wardrobe boxes.
Bathroom. You may not realize it straight away, but your bathroom is not as easy to pack as it seems. Since you use it every single day, you will need to leave that room for the last few days prior to your move out date, which could prove to be trickier than you think. Additionally, most of your bathroom items will be fragile and will contain liquids, so special packing techniques should be used.
Bedroom. Your room-by-room strategy about what room to pack first when moving house should lead you, preferably later than sooner, to your bedroom as well. The major challenges you will face here are preparing and packing your large furniture pieces (bed and mattress, wardrobe, etc.), and naturally – how to best pack your clothes.
What items to pack first when moving?
Now that you know which rooms to pack first, you won’t really need to look around your home with a feeling of despair and ask yourself, “Just where do I start?”
But what about the things to pack first when moving? The thought alone of having to first sort out your belongings into various piles can seem rather intimidating and overwhelming, so that normal reaction will be to procrastinate. “I’ll start packing tomorrow.”
Yes, the temptation to leave the hard work for later can be strong, but you should also realize that if you start today, you will make things easier for yourself tomorrow. Besides, the timely initiation of the packing process will prevent the notorious relocation stress from building up and possibly reaching unhealthy levels just prior to or on Moving day.
Here is the major principle you should follow when in two minds about what the first things to pack are when moving house: pre-packing. Now, this should be your guiding principle when packing up your entire house for a move – to pre-pack all the non-essential things you won’t need until moving day. In fact, you will be surprised how simple yet efficient this packing strategy is. The chances are that you will find an exceptional number of items you don’t use on a regular basis, plus a score of other possessions that you have intended to use but never have.
The good news is that the laborious process of packing up your home for a move can be made so much easier by doing it the right way. In addition to the one room at a time model described above, here are some examples of what things to pack first when moving house:
Books and magazines. It makes a lot of sense to first pack up your books as you’re probably not going to have plenty of time for reading until after the move is over. Remember to use small moving boxes for your book collection as books are heavier than you might suspect. On the other hand, magazines take a lot of space, so just keep the articles or photos you like in a special folder and prepare the rest for recycling.
Photo albums. Photo albums with developed photos can be irreplaceable, especially if they are old. So, take good care of them by packing them inside your essentials boxes and taking them with you.
Trust us – you won’t have much time to read just prior to your move-out date, so pre-packing your books actually makes a lot of sense.
Clothes. You are strongly advised to pack all of your out-of-season clothes way before moving day. For example, if you’re moving out in the summer, you won’t need your winter clothes, so pack them already. The same is true for shoes and other accessories that you are certainly not going to use until your Big day.
Jewellery. Making sure your expensive jewellery pieces survive the move is not an easy task. Use our special guide on how to pack jewellery for a move and then just prepare them for safe transportation as early as you can. Also, keep them with you at all times as there’s always a chance of them getting lost or being damaged inside the moving vehicle.
Decorations and artwork. Your home will not look the same without all the strategically placed decorations and artwork, but the main idea is to keep your decorative objects safe until they shine again in your new home. Use extreme care when packing fragile and delicate items such as framed pictures, vases, souvenirs, etc.
Kitchenware and small kitchen appliances. Pack well in advance all the special-purpose kitchenware you have and won’t need until the moving company arrives. As far as small kitchen appliances go, don’t pack the coffee maker just yet. However, consider pre-packing your food processor and toaster, for example, to save valuable time later on.
Non-essential furniture pieces. Leave your bed for last, but pack all the non-essential furniture you own. Lawn furniture pieces, for instance, should be ready for transportation in advance, as well as spare chairs, tables and practically anything you won’t miss dearly until moving day.
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