Photographer: Louise Roche
There’s no doubt that packing is one of the most stressful parts of moving house. Packing your entire life into a collection of cardboard boxes can be overwhelming and exhausting, and it usually leads to a serious re-evaluation of all of your purchasing decisions.
As someone who has moved five times in the last five years—including two separate interstate moves—I have acquired my fair share of packing hacks (none of which involve colour coding moving boxes). While there are plenty of packing tips online, too many of them are overly complicated and time-consuming. In my opinion, the best packing hacks that don’t require much extra effort—because if you’re moving house, you already have enough to do.
The best packing hacks for moving house
1. Don’t get stuck in the declutter phase
Many people will recommend you declutter your home before you start packing. While it can be helpful to get rid of items that you don’t need, decluttering (in an ethical and environmentally-friendly way) can also be incredibly time-consuming and really slow down your packing progress. Instead of wasting your precious moving hours driving to and from the op-shop, simply pack the items you don’t want need into boxes labelled ‘sell’ and ‘donate’. That way, you will know not to unpack the box at your new place but you can also get on with the more important moving to-dos.
2. Create a moving basket
Is there anything more frustrating than running around the house looking for more tape while you’re in the middle of packing boxes? Before you start packing, it can be helpful to create a basket or caddy of supplies that you need, such as rolls of tape, scissors and markers. Make sure that you pop multiples of each item in the basket to ensure everyone helping has their own supplies and to prevent you from running out mid-taping up a box.
3. Start by packing your least used items
When you’re staring at a house that you need to pack, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. The best place to begin is with the items that you’re not going to be needing in the lead up to the move, such as your ornaments, books, photo albums and other decor. You can continue to pack each room in order of least to most used. For example, in your bedroom, start by packing the out-of-season clothing that you know you won’t have to unpack a box for. When it comes to unpacking, simply reverse the order, and start by unpacking your most used items first—this tends to be the kitchen and bathroom supplies.
4. Write down the name of the room on the box
While a colour coded system is simply too much effort for most people, writing down the name of the room that each box belongs to will help you in the long run. To do this effectively, you need to pack each room’s items into the same box. Your movers will then be able to pop the right boxes into the right room, making your life easier when you arrive at your new home.
5. Use the right sized box for the right items
Knowing what sized box to use for each household item can make your moving process much for efficient. Generally, smaller boxes are best used for heavier items such as books, while bigger boxes are better for lighter but bigger or awkwardly sized items, such as lamps. Filling up a large box with your heaviest items will only slow your movers down and even lead to boxes splitting due to too much weight. Suitcases can be helpful for very heavy pieces as the wheels will help you move them without straining your back.
6. Use your towels and linens to wrap fragile items
Instead of wasting money on bubble wrap, start by using your own items to cushion your more fragile pieces. Towels, blankets and pillows are perfect for this job and it also means that you don’t have to pack a seperate box for these items. Another good trick is use your socks to protect wine glasses—simply pull them over the glass to protect them from breaking.
7. Use bags to keep items together
Empty the contents of drawers into individual tote bags or plastic bags to keep them together before putting them in the box. This way, you don’t have to reorganise these items at your new place. In a similar way, you can put a bin bag around your clothes while they’re still on their hangers and bag up the cutlery while they’re still in their tray.
8. Pack a box of your first night essentials
Make sure that one of your boxes is filled with everything that you might need on your first night in your new home. This might include things like bedding, pyjamas, phone chargers, toilet paper, medications, and any kitchen essentials you might need, such as your kettle and tea bags.
9. Travel with your most valuable items
Make sure that you don’t pack any of your important documents, such as passports, birth and marriage certificates, or valuables (sentimental or monetary) such as jewellery or precious photos, in the moving truck. While it’s unlikely anything will happen, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
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