Embarking on a new journey by relocating your home or office can be exciting and challenging. While moving services can ease the stress associated with the process, knowing what to bring and leave behind is important.
This piece provides a clear guide on excluding items from your packing list during a move. We’ve meticulously compiled this article for you, considering the common pitfalls and the spectrum of experiences people usually encounter during the relocation process. Read on, and let’s make your transition smoother and hassle-free.
Packing List Will Keep You Organized
It can be a lot of fun to buy a home! What’s not so fun? Packing everything up and moving into your new home. It’s great to eliminate things that don’t bring you joy. However, looking at everything you have accumulated can be overwhelming. Follow this moving packing checklist to make the process easier.
Step 1: Gather Your Packing Materials
You can avoid last-minute trips by gathering all the materials you need in advance. You’ll need:
- Boxes
- Tape
- Labeling boxes with markers and stickers
- Garment boxes
- Boxes are divided into subsections for wine glasses, breakables, and other items.
- Bubble wrap, newspapers, and tissue papers
- Plastic bags for screws and furniture hardware
- Mattress bags
Use room fabrics like tablecloths or sheets to cushion breakable items such as dishes or lamps. Consider extra towels or sheets, which can be washed afterward.
Lorenzo Murray, a New York agent specializing in military family relocations, shares their efficient approach to moving. These families often use a color-coding system for boxes to quickly identify the designated room. Regardless of the organization’s method, they always highlight the importance of having enough labels.
Step 2: Decide Which Rooms to Pack in What Order and What You Are Taking
Start packing weeks ahead of your move, focusing on rooms and items not used daily. Store packed items in guest rooms or storage areas. Consider packing winter clothing and other out-of-season belongings first. Clear out unused rooms and donate unnecessary items instead of moving them.
Based on his experience, Murray highlights the importance of removing accumulated junk. Start with challenging rooms, like the kitchen, and pack less frequently used items first.
Before the move, inventory each room and be decisive in discarding broken or seldom-used items. Consider revisiting your new home for measurements to ensure your belongings fit.
Remember, local moves cost around $1,250 while long-distance ones average around $4,890 – factors such as the time and weight it takes for movers to load the items usually determine the cost.
Step 3: Remove All Items That You Do Not Want to Pack
Pack essentials such as a week’s worth of clothes and toiletries for each family member, pet necessities, and regular medicines in a separate bag to be transported in your car. Whether you’re moving across town or the country, these items are needed immediately.
Before the movers arrive, secure items you don’t want them to move. Think about immediate necessities at your new home, like kitchen and cleaning supplies. If space is limited, consider having large retailers deliver cleaning supplies to your new address.
Remember to pack a small toolkit to assemble furniture at your new place; this can conveniently be stored in your vehicle’s trunk.
Step 4: Remove Your “Pack Carefully” Items
Packing tools, cleaning chemicals, and other items such as auto batteries, ammonia, paints, fire extinguishers, and fire extinguishers will be necessary. Consider disposing of hazardous cleaning products instead of packing them. Look at your garage and basement, then pack them to bring to your city’s hazardous waste disposal facility.
For those invaluable items like wedding dresses, fragile pieces, artwork, and other items that are difficult to pack, it might be worth considering specialized shipping services. Companies like FedEx offer solutions tailored for the secure transport of precious and fragile items, ensuring they reach their destination undamaged. Grab extra bubble wrap to protect your great-grandmother’s tea set. If you’ve asked friends to pack boxes, consider taking charge of items with sentimental value yourself to ensure their safety.
Step 5: Pack Your Electronics
Before packing electronics, take photos to facilitate reassembly. If you have original packaging, use it. If not, wrap items well in antistatic bubble wrap, mark boxes with “FRAGILE,” and purchase packing supplies from Amazon, local retailers, or moving companies—tape screws or hardware to the relevant box to ensure easy reassembly.
Step 6: Check Your Room-by-Room List for Any
Jeff Walker is Chief Operating Officer at Corporate Relocation. This company provides relocation services to corporations that are moving their employees.
He suggests packing one room at a time so you can keep all the items in that room in the same box. Unpacking becomes a hassle when you mix items for the kitchen with those for the bedroom.
Linen Closets
The first thing to do is to remember the hallway closets. It’s easy to forget about them, as they are stuffed with extra towels, linens, and toiletries. If you last opened the door months ago, this is one of the places you should start cleaning out.
Why do you want to begin with closets? Use extra blankets and sheets to wrap items in the dining and kitchen areas. This is your opportunity to decide what packing material you will use.
Dining Room and Kitchen
Dispose of perishable and potentially dangerous items from your refrigerator and kitchen. Once cleared, start packing in small boxes – canned goods, box food, and paper products. Check expiry dates.
Pack breakable items like china and glasses carefully in pre‐sectioned cardboard boxes with a protective layer at the bottom. Wrap each item individually.
Prepare oddly-shaped, vulnerable items in separate boxes. Pots and pans can go together but should be protected from scratches.
For cutlery, create bundles, and seal a large bag for your caddy items. Carefully pack small appliances, string cords together, and protect against sharp blades.
Divide your cookbook collection to avoid heavy boxes. Place them with light items or at the bottom amongst lighter content.
Disassemble table legs, wrap them and store them safely. Ensure every packed box is easy to lift.
Living Room
Pack stereo equipment carefully, securing moving parts. For large items, use padding or cushioned dish packs. Use original boxes for TVs and secure cords of small electronics.
Engage professionals to disassemble and move your satellite dish. Remove items from TV stands and handle glass components carefully.
Use boxes for CDs, board games, and records, stored on their sides and labeled as ‘FRAGILE.’ Pack books with spines down to protect the binding.
Wrap glass photo frames carefully, and pack slides and negatives separately. Ensure stored items are in temperature-controlled units if they contain sensitive film.
Disassemble lamps, excluding bulbs. Avoid wrapping shades with newspaper to prevent ink stains.
Consider a professional rug clean before the move; alternatively, secure it with packing tape and roll it up.
Bedrooms
Use wardrobe boxes from stores like Home Depot to transfer your hung clothes easily and suitcases for folded items. Take valuable jewelry personally and pack costume jewelry in small boxes with tissue paper.
Protect mattresses with plastic bags. Pillows can be placed in dresser drawers. Drapes and curtains can either be folded or hung on padded bars.
Wash all blankets and sheets before packing them in large plastic bags in paper-lined boxes. Safeguard fragile items like clocks, photos, and mirrors with bubble wrap before packing them snugly among sheets and blankets.
Bathroom
You can only bring some of your toiletries, whether you store them in the bathroom or bedroom. Aerosols can combust while transported, so throwing them away is best.
Wrap each bottle in a sealed plastic bag before placing it in a box. You can also wrap towels around the bottles to absorb spills or breakage. Buy plastic tubs for storing toiletries to prevent spills.
Walker advises that homeowners pack their bathroom and personal goods separately, and do not move them, as “anything liquid, such as perfume, could cause serious problems if they break.”
Laundry Room
You can use laundry baskets or hampers to carry more than just clothes. Add large pillows, balls, or backyard toys you can’t fit elsewhere.
Before packing your iron in a box, wrap it with plastic wrap and secure it. Also, tie the cord of your iron. Sewing kits should be taped closed to prevent pins from spilling out.
Consider the spill costs when packing laundry detergent, stain removal, and dryer sheets. You should either transport these products in your car or pack them. Since bleach is a dangerous chemical and can be easily replaced, it’s best to dispose of it before moving.
Work or Hobby Rooms
You may be surprised at how many electronics you can find in a home office or hobby area. These include everything from fax to sewing machines. You’ll be glad you labeled the cords and plugs when installing your printer in your new home. Remove all cables and ink cartridges to prevent leaks.
Back up your computer, either to the cloud or old-fashioned DVDs. Take your laptop with you if you are working at home and need it immediately.
Be careful when you pack up needles and pins, whether quilting, sewing, or knitting. Rubber bands can be used to close small pin boxes. Be sure to tuck them inside the boxes so no one will get poked if they spill!
Garage
Packing up a garage presents unique challenges. Bind together shovels and rakes with twine. Separate cushions from outdoor furniture and remove them.
Remove any loose parts and drain any oil or gas. Then, pack the tools in their storage boxes. Wrap any sharp blades and edges with old towels.
You can get rid of charcoal from your grill or a propane tank. (Movers won’t accept them). You must leave behind municipal trash cans if your city provides them. If you already own cans, consider buying new ones. It needs more effort (and smelly!) to clean them. You can take them with you.
Your mover must know about large-yard equipment such as snowblowers and leaf blowers.
You can be confident that you have packed your belongings well. We’ll let you do the unpacking!
Conclusion
Relocating houses or offices can be daunting, with tons to remember and coordinate. However, with the right approach, it can be a relatively stress-free experience. Knowing what to pack and what to leave behind can make a significant difference to your move. It’s more than just about carefully packing your essentials, but also being selective and leaving behind those items that are potentially hazardous, cumbersome to transport, or that can be easily replaced.
At Mint Movers North Miami, we understand clients’ unique and diverse needs regarding moving. As North Miami’s leading moving services provider, we go above and beyond to ensure a hassle-free moving experience tailored to your needs. We provide packing services, supply packing materials, and offer unpacking and storage facilities to facilitate a smooth transition. Contact Mint Movers North Miami today, and let us make your move as pleasant as possible.
FAQs For Moving Services
Which items should I exclude from my packing list?
Exclude hazardous items such as cleaning chemicals and non-perishables. Dispose of propane tanks, charcoal for your grill, and municipal trash cans. Also, avoid packing toiletries that may spill or combust during transit.
How should I pack fragile items?
Wrap fragile items individually. Use protective materials like bubble wrap, newspaper, and tissue paper. You can also use room fabrics like tablecloths or sheets to cushion breakable items.
How should I pack my essential items?
Pack essential items such as a week’s worth of clothes, toiletries, pet necessities, and regular medicines in a separate bag to be transported in your car. Whether you’re moving across town or the country, these items are needed immediately.
What should I do with items that don’t bring me joy?
It’s crucial to declutter before you move. Donate, sell, or dispose of items that don’t bring you joy or aren’t frequently used. This will save you space and reduce the cost of your move.
How can I ensure my electronics are safely packed?
When packing electronics, use antistatic bubble wrap and mark the boxes as “FRAGILE.” Also, take photos before disassembling the electronics for easier reassembly at your new place.
