Packing Your Home: How to Make the Process Easier and Efficient
Whether we pack you or you decide to pack yourself, it should still get done in a way that makes life easier at your destination.
With over 15 years of moving experience in the San Francisco Bay Area, Eagle Moving & Storage has learned that strategic planning is the key to packing efficiently. In this guide, we’ll show you how to approach packing with a plan that minimizes stress and makes life easier when you reach your destination.
Create a Packing Timeline
The key to stress-free packing is time management. For larger homes, we recommend starting the packing process at least 1 month before the move, packing a few boxes a day. For smaller homes or apartments, give yourself a minimum of 2 weeks.
Step-by-Step Packing Strategy
- Master Plan: Start by creating a master plan that outlines deadlines for each room. Make a list of how many boxes you will need for each area and note any challenges, such as fragile or oversized items.
- Declutter: Moving is the perfect time to lighten your load. Sort through your belongings and decide what to keep, donate, or sell. Decluttering will save you time and space on moving day.
- Leave Out Essentials: Ensure that you pack a separate box of essentials that you will need on moving day, such as toiletries, clothes, and important documents.
- Label and Organize: Clearly label each box with the room it belongs to and list the contents. Don’t forget to mark fragile items so they’re handled with care during transportation.
- Don’t Overfill: Avoid overpacking boxes to reduce the chance of items being damaged during the move.
- Valuables and Documents: Keep valuable items and important paperwork separate and in a secure place throughout the move.
- Custom Crates for Fragile Items: If you have large or fragile pieces, consider custom crating. Arrange for these to be packed well in advance of moving day.
- Food Prep: Stop buying groceries about a week before your move to avoid having to pack up perishable items.
Packing Supplies You’ll Need
Before you start, make sure you have the right supplies on hand. You’ll need:
- Boxes of different sizes
- Packing tape
- Bubble wrap or packing paper
- Markers and sticky labels to organize your boxes
At Eagle Moving & Storage, we offer moving box bundles designed to fit your home’s size and packing needs. Our bundles come with all the necessary packing materials, including labeled boxes with “this side up” arrows to avoid any confusion during transportation.
Go room by room (Click for a dropdown)
- Write down the inventory for each room, to help you identify what will be grouped together.
- Where possible, bring together similar items from different rooms that would be better packed together. Centralize and group items together.
- Take photographs of the back of electrical items like the TV to reconnect devices with ease
- Go from least vital to most used items. Start packing rooms like the dining room and study ahead of the kitchen and bedroom. Decorative items that won’t impact the practical workings of the home like wall art are a great starting point. Tasks like defrosting the fridge and throwing out remaining food can wait until the final days before the move.
- Tape boxes first at the base and then when closing them, in a cross shape both along the seal and across the middle of the seal
- Kitchens can be the most challenging room due to the volume of glassware and fragile items. Be generous with packing paper here to prevent items knocking against each other. Always pack heavier items at the bottom of the box, wrap each glass individually even if using a custom stemware box and don’t stack fragile items. When packing dishes, place them vertically in the box, not on top of each other to minimize cracking during transportation. Use towels to buffer glass lids for pots and pans and use cling wrap to help keep any stacked items in place. Finally give yourself a few days just for packing the kitchen, it is usually the most time consuming room to pack in any home.
- Put plastic bags, snaplock bags, and cling wrap over spillable items.
- Add additional padding to the top of boxes that haven’t been filled to ensure it’s sealed tight and can be stacked without collapsing
- Label, label, label. You want to fly through the boxes quickly but this is so important at the other end it’s worth the effort. Detail is always useful like:
“Study: children’s school books + certificates” or “Kitchen: Appetiser plates & saucers – FRAGILE”. You can go one step further and number your boxes, to keep track of all essential items and ensure every box is accounted for on your inventory list.
Safely stacking and organizing your boxes ready for moving day (Click for a dropdown)
- Start by packing the least used rooms first like the dining room or guest room which can create space for storing packed boxes from other rooms as you go
- Once you have some space identified, stack boxes with heavy items on the floor and lighter boxes on top of them for example books on the base, toys on top of that and pillow boxes up high.
- Instead of stacking boxes like wooden blocks, consider stacking them like bricks, with each one overlapping each other to create more stability and reduce the risks of anything falling when bumped or knocked
- Create aisles between your boxes so you can walk between them if you need access to reopen a box or unpack an item
- If space is at a premium consider using the easiest and safest boxes to stack which are our plastic eco friendly boxes
- Keep high traffic areas of your home as clear of boxes as possible to minimise the risk of tripping and accidents. Especially if they’re not easy to see at eye level
Unpacking in your new house (Click for a dropdown)
- Your main items of furniture will be put into place by your movers. Have an idea or sketch the placement of these ideas on paper ahead of time to plan out your configuration.
- As they are unloaded boxes will largely be grouped together by room or in one main area as you direct. Take a look at which boxes should be placed in their respective rooms and which non essential items like toys and books in a centralized corner like the office, basement, garage so the main traffic areas are as uncluttered as possible during unpacking.
- Start by unpacking the essentials first from your moving day suitcase and then focus on the kitchen, plugging in appliances, cleaning surfaces to enable basic food prep and clean the inside of the fridge and the stove before putting food away or cooking. Before putting plates and utensils away line the insides of cupboards and drawers
- Next, make the beds so everyone can get a good night’s sleep. Boxes with other items from each person’s bedroom should be assigned to them to unpack and sort while you get on with the main necessities
- Towels and toiletries for the bathroom should be unpacked next to help minimize hiccups the next morning when everyone’s in a hurry to get to work and school. Clean the inside of the bathtub any members of the family need a bath before bedtime
- Opinion on when to set up your TV varies but we recommend the TV or a laptop with a movie be set up and basic living room furniture is unwrapped so everyone can share a meal and relax after a long day. You can assemble other furniture together as needed in the coming days.
- Clean and line closets so clothes and linen can be unpacked. This is also the perfect time to instal shelving and make any changes, so consider installation now and unpack clothing after it’s done
- If you don’t have decorating plans like painting hang a few of the pictures and family photos to help make the space feel like home for everyone
- Work through other boxes and non essential items as it works for your lifestyle. There are some boxes that won’t be unpacked at all, like Christmas decorations.
- Deal with utilities rooms like the laundry and basement last, however if you’re putting on washing it’s a great idea to run a cleaning cycle with disinfectant through the machine first
- Break down boxes in real time, removing tape and flattening them to clear space as you go
- As long as there is no plastic padding in them, save a few of the largest boxes to make a fort to keep children occupied while you get on with unpacking. A pack of crayons are also a good idea for decorating their temporary fort
Why Packing with Eagle Moving & Storage Makes a Difference?
We believe in meticulous planning, using top-notch materials, and providing professional help to make your move as smooth and worry-free as possible. Our expert team at Eagle Moving & Storage is here to simplify the packing process. Whether you need help with fragile items, custom crating, or just want advice on how to pack efficiently, we’ve got you covered. We’ll ensure your move is smooth, safe, and organized from start to finish. Check out the glowing reviews from over 450 happy customers on Yelp.
Final Tips for a Smooth Move
Packing can be a large task, but by following these steps, you can make it manageable and organized. If you need professional packing assistance or advice, Eagle Moving & Storage is here to help. Let us take the stress out of packing so you can focus on settling into your new home.
Click here for a quick no-nonsense moving estimate and no hidden fees.