Packing tips to make your next move a breeze

The packing tips in this article will make your move easier
Photo by CC user 50523792@N03 on Flickr

When you sign the lease on a new house or purchase one, you never think about how hard moving will be until you actually go through the process of packing up all your stuff.

Even if you have done it before, it can be a cumbersome process. In this article, we will share some packing tips that will make your next move as easy as possible.

1) Recruit moving companies online

Prior to the advent of the internet, recruiting moving companies was something of a crapshoot, as you relied on word-of-mouth that was often hit-or-miss.

However, the information age has made it easier to evaluate moving companies by the prices they offer and the service they provide.

Sites like http://www.shiply.com make the process stunningly easy, as they list all the available moving companies in your area, as well as the prices they charge to move the belongings that you wish to transport to a new address.

This forces them to compete against each other for your business, granting you value that was not possible just a few years ago.

2) Pack absolute essentials into a day bag

Let’s be real here: most people wait until the last few days before the big day to pack the majority of their valuables.

No matter how much you might swear that you will be more organized than ‘those people’, you never know what might happen to your schedule the week of the move.

No matter what ends up happening, be sure to pack all the essentials that you will need in a day bag first.

This means a couple changes of clothes, your most important toiletries, your smartphone, a laptop, etc. This way, you won’t be digging through boxes trying to find essential items after the move.

3) Label all boxes

You might think you have a razor sharp memory, but to be honest, most boxes look very similar to each other.

Once they’re sealed up, it’s difficult to tell what is in each one. As a result, it is vital that you label all of your boxes clearly so that you know where each of them will go in your new home.

Make this job even easier by assigning a color code to each label: pink could mean kitchen, blue could mean bathroom, and so on.

Also, guard yourself against workers with sticky fingers by declining to list what is in each box directly.

Instead, number them and keep a master list on you that tells you what each of them mean. This way, you’ll know what is in each without tipping off a closet kleptomaniac to its contents.