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Home Packing Series – How To Pack Living Room
Even though it’s usually the most spacious room in one’s home, not many of you consider the living room problematic to pack for a move. Contrary to packing kitchen, the living room might not contain so many fragile items to move, but don’t overrate the time and effort you will put into packing it. Does your favorite place to unwind and spend time with family and friends need to be packed into boxes? Let’s see how to pack a living room. Packing Furniture When packing sofas and chairs, before disassembling, wrapping, and protecting the pieces, remove the cushions from them. Bookshelves, cabinets, and other shelves go by a similar principle – before you disassemble them and wrap them, remove all the items from there. TV and Electronics Before removing all the cords and cables from your appliances, especially those complicated to assemble, take pictures of assembled pieces to know how to do it in a new home. Then, remove all the cables and keep them safe in waterproof bags that can be sealed. Protect the screens with either cardboard or styrofoam. If you have original boxes of your appliances, those will be their best guards. If not, wrap them individually with moving blankets or other material, and secure them with tape. Protect all the fragile pieces with bubble wrap or...
What Are The Best Materials To Pack With?
Relocating has many organizational aspects to think about, and packing is arguably the most tedious one. It can take the longest and drive you away from other things you need to plan. Also, you have to do it right to protect your belongings. Fortunately, if you equip yourself with the right packing materials, you will pack smoothly and easily. Here are some options and alternatives. Bubble Wrap – Alternative: Corrugated Bubble Wrap The advantage of bubble wrap – aside from being very satisfying to pop it after you’re done moving – is its reliability in safeguarding fragile items. The downside is that you would usually need quite a bit of it. For nature lovers and those who don’t want to mess with plastic, corrugated bubble wrap is an eco-friendly option. Packing Paper – Alternative: Old Newspapers Packing helps pack so many different items, whether it’s wrapping a mug or a painting. However, as some of you don’t want to spend approximately 20 dollars or more for a bulk of packing paper, old newspapers can do the trick, and it’s a more sustainable option, too. Styrofoam Fillers – Alternatives: Biodegradable Air Peanuts, Reusable Air Pillows Styrofoam is the one that aids in filling the space when your items sit loosely in boxes or packaging. You can use bigger chunks of styrofoam or peanut-sized ones to fill up the packaging. However, for those who are not fans of this non-sustainable material, options like air pillows you can re-use, or air peanuts made of biodegradable material, would be a better choice. Cardboard Boxes – Alternative: Plastic, Re-Usable Crates Cardboard boxes are a...
Packing Toys For Relocation – How To Nail It
Moving with small kids falls into a special category of stress. We always think about disassembling furniture, packing books, or kitchen items, yet not many talk about the massive playrooms that children’s bedrooms are, especially if your kids are younger than school age. Toys are challenging to organize, not to mention some of them can be pretty fragile. So, how to pack your kids’ toys and not lose your mind? Here are some useful tips. Make Inventory – To Donate, Keep, Etc. Yes, you might have toys you know your kids don’t need anymore but you still want to save for sentimental reasons. However, some toys are unnecessary, and other kids might enjoy them. That’s why you should check all the toys before purging. What needs to go in the “donation” pile? What will and won’t be used? Make a quick inventory. Clean & Disinfect Some of those toys might get dusty and dirty, especially with smaller children who are not as neat as adults. Relocation is the perfect time to clean and disinfect the toys. That way, when you open those boxes and unpack, you’ll get fresh toys ready for use. Disassemble Big Toys If your kids have some of those dollhouses or train setups, remember to disassemble those. The sooner you do it, the less you will have to hurry to do it, and you won’t lose any pieces. Those things are not cheap! Pack Into Boxes If you are using cardboard boxes, make sure to “strengthen” them if possible because the weight might cause them to lose shape. Sturdier, plastic moving boxes will do a better...
Packing Food – What to Know
Some of us have a genuine love affair with our refrigerator and freezer. Oh, and let’s not forget the pantry – the lovely pantry can hide some deliciousness in it, too. However, when we need to pack all that up and relocate, it gets less exciting. Packing kitchen supplies can be hard, but what about food? Here are some tips on how to do it systematically and get ready for the movers. Cook & Eat As Much As Possible One of the great ways to minimize the amount of food you’ll pack is to use it up before moving. Prioritize the foods and ingredients with a quick expiration date. This is another great way of saving money you’d usually spend on takeout or delivery. When Packing, Think Weight and Size of Boxes The boxes you’d use for food shouldn’t be too big, and they should be sturdy. Plastic relocation boxes and crates can be a good choice for relocating food. With food, as with anything else, think about the weight – the heaviest packaging should be at the bottom; lighter goes on top. Check What Can Get Spilled You might think you can just place a bag of flour to the bottom of the box and hope for the best. Well, it won’t, because flour and sugar, for example, can go everywhere. That’s why you should place the ingredients that can spill into either sealable plastic bags or some other containers. You Are Responsible For Your Booze Most moving companies won’t transport alcohol, so if you have a collection you’re proud of, make sure you pack it into your...
Home Packing Series – How to Pack Kitchen
Most of us love the kitchen, as we eat delicious food and bond with people we care about over it. Americans typically love a spacious kitchen, too. But what happens when we need to pack all of that in a bunch of boxes? Stress, that’s what happens. However, if systematically approached, packing up your kitchen can be easier than you think. Let’s see how to make it easier. Packing Fragile Dishes, Pots & Pans Even though dishes seem scary to pack, if approached with a bit of extra care, you’ll be able to do it easily. Use the heaviest-to-lightest trick when packing dishes, making sure each dish is separately cushioned and protected. If you get sturdy packing boxes, you’ll ensure extra protection, but in each case, label the dish boxes with “fragile.” Pots and pans are easier to pack as they might not be as fragile, but they can get scratched, so make sure to wrap them, as well. Packing Knives & Sharp Items Use additional precaution with all the sharp blades. If your knives have a block, by all means, use them, but even then, make sure to tape them and wrap them. After wrapping all the blades in packing paper (newspapers will also do the trick) and taping them together, wrap everything in a towel or other cushioning material, and tape it. Packing Kitchen Appliances The best boxes you can use for appliances like toasters, blenders, etc., are their original boxes. If some of the original boxes are missing, try to pack those appliances into boxes of similar shape and size and pad them properly. Packing Food...
Packing & Saving Space – It is Possible
When you’re preparing for packing, you can do a lot to save yourself space and unnecessary luggage. Let’s see how to do it.
How to Pack Books for a Move
I admit it, I am a big book worm! I love books so much, but I also have to admit – they take up a lot of space in my house, and sometimes you just don’t have enough room in your house. So how do you pack up your entire library for your new home, without damaging your books? Some books are extra special – either a first edition, a signed copy, a special gift with a dedication from a deceased relative. These will need extra care to make sure they are safe. What you don’t want happening to your books Dog – ears – If I give someone a new, crisp book, and they return it to me dog – eared, they will never get another book load from me again.Water damage – if you use cardboard boxes, they will likely tear and get water damage.Sun damage – if books are left out in the sun, they will fade, the pages will deform and the pages will get fragile.Damaged spines – bent, broken, peeled spines are bad for your book’s value. Step 1: declutter Go through your books and see if there are any you can give away to family and friends, donate to charities or the local libraries, or recycle. Some books I will never let go of, but some I will happily give away, as they have no significance to me and I will not re-read them. Step 2: pack Get strong bins and boxes – do not get a big cardboard box. Professional movers and packers will have the supplies you need.Stuff the box and...
Best Moving Boxes & Items for Your Relocation
Here are some boxes and packing items to help you relocate smoothly while taking good care of your belongings.
Pre-Relocation Purging – What to Get Rid Of
Cleaning is a great way to re-check all the items you might or might not need. It’s particularly important to do it when relocating as the number of items can affect the relocating price. But, we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t make such drama over getting rid of certain items. Yes, some of you are low-key hoarders, but you will feel much better when you say goodbye to unnecessary junk before moving to a new location. Let’s see how to do it. Purging Closets Many of us hold on for dear life to some ridiculous clothing items. Before packing your wardrobe into plastic boxes (or cardboard boxes, but be practical and safe, please), go through your clothes and check them through asking questions like Has it been over two years you’ve last worn some pieces? Do certain pieces not fit you anymore? What pieces do you think you’ll never wear again? The garments that don’t pass those filtering questions need to go. Garage Purge Your garage is like a black hole as it contains things you didn’t know existed anymore and the things you didn’t know you ever got. But all jokes aside, garage reveals the not-so-tidy side of us, and we need to take care of it. Any appliances that don’t work, hazardous materials and suspicious aluminum cans, lighting that stopped working a long time ago, stained and old garden cushions you know you won’t use – it’s time to get rid of those. Online Sale & Donation If after purging you came across some great garments, appliances, pieces of furniture, etc. that you know you won’t...
