12 Packing & Moving Tips: Pack Your Home Like a Pro
Are you planning for an upcoming move across town or across the country? If so, check out these 12 tips to get you and your family packing and moving like a pro! My family has moved five times in the last 8 years, and so today I’m sharing some of my favorite tips with you.
TIP #1: Have a yard sale or garage sale and get rid of unused or unwanted items. This is my favorite way to purge items that I no longer need. And at the end, I donate the things that don’t sell. The less items you have to move, the easier and less expensive the move will be! I have to keep telling myself this as I tend to hold onto my kids’ stuff. 🙂
Tip #2: Assign a different color duct tape to each room so the boxes are easier to identify. Throughout this last move, I really focused on being more organized – the colored duct tape can be a great timesaver during the unloading process as you can quickly identify into which room each box should be placed.
Tip #3: Pack a clear “First Day Essentials” bin filled with the things you’ll need most as soon as you arrive at your new home. As an example, I filled this bin with trash bags, box cutters, scissors, disinfectant wipes, paper towels, toilet paper, paper plates, paper cups, disposable silverware, hand soap and dish soap. I also fit my Keurig and K cups in here for coffee the first morning (coffee is an essential for me 🙂 ). I made sure to place this bin in in my car so there was no chance of it getting lost amongst the boxes.
Tip #4: Use plastic wrap or paper and tape to wrap silverware trays. This keeps all your flatware together and makes unpacking a breeze!
Tip #5: Use large Ziploc bags to keep kitchen and bathroom drawer things together. It’s so much easier to unpack when all the small drawer items are together!
Tip #6: Pack spices in a large slow cooker or pot to save space. This tip can really be applied towards any large item like baskets, trash cans, etc. Fill up their empty space with smaller items.
Tip #7: Use cardboard dish pack partitions to pack breakables. They are perfect to insert inside moving boxes and protect glass cups and dishes from breaking. Find these at your local U-Haul, Staples.com. or even sometimes on Craigslist.
Tip #8: If you already have items organized in bins like these toys, just use plastic wrap to secure them before packing. Then you don’t have to reorganize when you unpack.
Tip #9: Tape off all items that can spill like shampoo, cleaners, cooking oils, etc.
Tip #10: Use a trash bag to quickly pack hanging clothing. I used this method to pack my kid’s clothes and they were a breeze to unpack.
Tip #11: Get to know stretch wrap – it is by far one of my favorite packing tools! Stretch Wrap is a giant plastic wrap that allows you to group things together like garden tools, or a stack of smaller boxes. Of course, you can also use it to wrap blankets over your furniture.
Tip #12: Buy and re-sell boxes and packing material on Craigslist. There are many places to buy new boxes like U-Haul, and Home Depot. Before you purchase new boxes, I encourage you to try collecting as many boxes as you can by asking friends to save boxes and asking stores if they have excess boxes that they need to dispose of. Then try looking on websites like Craigslist for free or inexpensive moving boxes and material. Don’t forget to break down and resell boxes and packing materials after your move.
Do you have any favorite moving tips or ideas that have been helpful to you? Share with us in the comments!
Written by Lina for Hip2Save. Lina is a proud mom of 2 small kids who loves photography, all holidays, cooking, thrift store makeovers, bargain shopping, and DIY makeovers. Her goal is to create a beautiful life and stylish home on a dime!
Instead of boxes, I’m packing everything in reusable plastic bins. I need to buy them anyway to organize my garage and off-season stuff, I might as well use them to move!
That’s what I use too. I’m always use plastic containers because they keep everything so much more organized.
Depending on your move that may not be such a good idea. Plastic storage containers actually have a far smaller crush rating. They are more likely to just break and your stuff will get damaged or destroyed. As a military family with plenty of moves under our belts we have found this out the hard way.
Yeah. Not to mention, what is lighter? A cardboard box or a plastic bin? Multiply that by however many you are using. Sounds costly and super heavy to me!
My last move, the movers were so irresponsible. All of my plastic boxes were broken. Most of my cardboard boxes where either smashed or it looked like they were in a knife fight.
Use laundry baskets for linens. Much easier than boxes! Lay towels on top of full drawers when you remove them from dressers and chests. Easier than emptying the drawers and makes stacking drawers safer.
I am moving soon and appreciate all advice after living in same place for 35 years.
Good advice. I have found if you are moving with small children to pack one toy for each child in each box. This not only helps to pack up toys but gives your little one(s) something to do as you unpack.
Love that idea!
Brilliant!
I usually ask large stores for boxes near closing time when they are re-stocking. Walmart, WholeFoods and Target always give me what I need and more for free. =)
5 times in 8 years? Wow, that would be NICE! I’ve moved 19 times in the past 20 years and I’m going on move #20. This will be the first time I’ll be a home owner, and the first time we are using a moving company. Last move, was my first time with a uhaul truck. Craziness. Around my 5th move or so, I picked up Rubbermaid totes every time they were on sale and managed to amass a large amount of them. These helped a great deal, and my moving friends appreciated it greatly. Last move, we purchased uhaul’s excellent boxes, yet my fiance made me throw them out (trust me, I told him so…he would regret that) Lately, every time I go to IKEA, I buy at least two DIMPA storage bags, two square blue IKEA bags, and a couple of the black zippered ones. The Dimpa bags are humongous.. I could fit inside them easily, and these will make my moving process a lot easier. Long gone are the days of throwing items into garbage bags. These are easily confused with actual trash, and I lived with a mistaken moving bag, filled with garbage (just paper etc) for a week once, in my living room while unpacking.. God forbid one of your bags with clothing gets tossed also!
THIS time, I’m making sure to pick up one of those large plastic rolls, proper boxes for glasses, brown packing paper (no more newspaper for dishes) and some felt yardage is a new must for plates and breakables. Luckily I already have numerous colors of duck tape.. That idea is so much faster than marking every box. Thank you.
Wow – your are an expert, Mae! What are rubbermaid totes? I am moving for the first time in 30 years! I NEED HELP!
Like Mae, I have moved a lot. I used banker boxes, usually good price at Staples. When unpacked they unfold & can be saved under bed & or lent to others. Most important thing is I got rid of everything I possibly could before I moved. if someone had commented that they liked say a picture I had, if I no longer wanted it, I called them up gave them a week to come get it , if not it got donated . the other thing is I think that you only need two sets of sheets, one on the bed and one in the wash. same thing for blankets one have you one for say winter and a medium one and maybe a light one or a throw . Every move I made I have gave away or donated as much as possible. Every 3 months I go through every cupboard, every drawer, every box and I see if there’s more things I can get rid of. that makes the house so much easier to clean because there’s hardly anything to clean it keeps clutter down to a minimum
I code each box, such as the first box I pack in the Livingroom would be L1, the Masterbedroom would be MB1, etc. I keep a notebook of all the boxes I have and list generally what’s in them. That way when I get to the house and need a specific item I can look up exactly which box it’s in.
I do that too! Like an index! 🙂
Hi, I’ve moved several times myself,and the way I stay organized is to assign a number to each box and tote. I keep a journal and dash down what’s inside,so I know what box to go to when I need to unpack something quickly. I may sound time consuming,but it pays off,plus the movers have no idea what room which box came from so, if the guys seem a little shady,they’re not going to go through your bedroom things,music room things,ect.
Handy!
The liquor store and Gamestop always get boxes with inserts that get thrown away. Also we use bj’s wholesale saran wrap instead of the other stuff because it is less expensive and you get twoce as much. I hace used this to wrap paintings and pictute frames.
Good idea to number your boxes too as you pack. Especially if using a moving co. Then a quick count after delivery lets you know you’ve got them all. I also use my linen to pack fragile items, means you just unpack and put away without heaps of paper to recycle. 😀
Talk about LAUNDRY!!!!
The linens don’t get dirty…They just wrap items you don’t want chipped or scratched. Basically, I just layer my pottery bowls, or heavy platters, and fill around small items. It’s all refoldable. Unless I packed something dusty in them. It really does save on gathering paper and bubble wrap for dish or ornament packing. I would use those on precious keep sake items. The stuff I’d want to cry over if it was smashed. That stuff would also be riding with me in my car, Not the truck…Unless I’d played the “stacking game” myself.
numbering or putting some labels on your boxes if you’re moving out is one of the great tips you can do to make moving out easier.
Instead of purchasing dividers for your glasses, cups etc just get boxes for free from the liquor store…they come with the dividers that kept the bottles separated.
I have also used socks for packing glasses
Brilliant! Why had I never thought of that?
I recently moved cross country after living in the same place for 5 years. The garbage bag/hanger trick was a life saver!!!! My “First day essentials” bin was actually an entire suitcase that stayed with me in the car and didn’t go in the truck. Pack clothing in the suitcases you already own. And a GREAT TIP, go to you local liquor store and ask for used wine/liquor boxes; they are already have dividers for glassware and carrying holes! Wrap/separate plates and other larger glassware with kitchen hand towels that you will unpack in the kitchen as well.
Loaded, moved, and unloaded in under 48 hours! Unpacking took another week… but I had the luxury of being able to take my time.
Our movers lost or destroyed several thousand dollars in claim…and we still find things that are missing. Don’t count on the box counts, they are impossible when the men unload the truck. Do your own count . Number boxes yourself with your own system, and have a reference file on your computer. It is very hard to ‘see’ a missing box, especially if it is non-seasonal. The large moving companies usually allow several months for you to make a claim. Check non-season items, like put up the Cmas tree in the basement, or set up your inflatable pool….these items broke for us, and we never knew and never claimed them.
LOVE TIP #10, Its so simple but I never thought of it 😀
Military always use the numbering system. You just sit there with a pad and pen and let the movers do the work. I’ll never forget the move from NC to SC. My grandson was 3 years old and Mr. Bunny went everywhere he went and I mean EVERYWHERE!! Yep, we weren’t paying attention to the movers and Mr. Bunny got packed!!! Well, when you have over 100 boxes—-which box is Mr Bunny in!!!! So I told my grandson that Mr. Bunny went ahead of us to check out the new house to make sure it was ready for us. He bought it, hook line and sinker!!!! Thankfully Mr. Bunny was in the 6th box we opened and we snuck him into grandson’s bedroom like he was just sitting there waiting. He actually thanked Mr Bunny or making sure the house was ready!!
I like that! 🙂
#7 can also use beer and liquor store boxes. The liquor store, even in this small town of 1800 people is a great source for boxes like this. Less expense, smaller yes, but thick boxes.
Use towels and sheets to help packing with fragile items. Packs two things at one time and you don’t throw the packing away.
Thin, super cheap paper plates (you’d want to use several for extra chipping protection) are good to use between dinner plates. Also, a clean, 5 gallon bucket is a safe “box” for those dinner plates. If you’re doing the moving yourself, make it a 1st priority to get the beds put together and all the bedding put on. That night when you’re exhausted, you’ll be so grateful to crash w/o needing to get the bed ready. Putting jammies under the pillow for readiness is helpful, too.
Always remember to put things organize so that you will know what to prioritize when it’s time to unpack and put things in its proper places.
Setting up a yard sale before a move is a smart way to get rid of unwanted items and make some money in the process. To successfully pull it off, you need to get the timing right (tip: consider holding your yard sale on the first weekend of the month since most people get paid during this time).
You also need to be more creative (tip:put like items together and create a theme for these items, create a bargain bin for inexpensive items, and play music in the background to set the mood), price your items right (profit is not your main goal) and make sure people know about it.
Great Yard Sale Ideas Tammy… I love seeing like Items grouped… I’m uncomfortable to admit I find myself unconsciously doing it in thrift, discount, charity stores unconsciously! It makes me a little crazy when a single matching piece of glassware is 5 ft. from the 7 other identical items at the other end of the shelf. Somebody’s gonna want them all. Dish color, Plastic or glass, adult or children’s clothing – Who wants to look all over for what they need? Make it obvious, as attractive and easy to get to as possible… and price it reasonably. Let them know they’re getting a whopping deal. They’ll buy more!!
Perfect tips! When I moved last year I did a lot of the packing ideas. I like your suggestion about packing the hanged clothes! Greetings
I like your idea to use zip lock bags for kitchen and bathroom items. Not only is that a great way to store them, but that would make organizing everything easier too. When I move out in a few months, I will remember to try that.
Great tips! I use colored duct tape as well but I only use two colors to differentiate between essential and non-essential items. That way I can place essential boxes inside the house and non-essential in the garage to save for last. Also, Nextdoor is a great way to get free boxes and packing supplies. Neighbors love helping neighbors! 🙂
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We used the trash bag over the hanging clothes last time we moved. It is much easier!
My husband is a band director and lacrosse coach. We recently moved, and used the band trailer to move our stuff, and had students help load and unload. Talk about free/cheap labor. Just a few pizzas and they were happy!
We moved this time last year-whew! Don’t recommend moving at Christmas. Anyway, a huge timesaver for me was don’t unpack dresser and chest drawers. Secure any loose items inside, and tape drawers closed. No packing and unpacking at the new place.
Omg, we did tape the dresser drawers one move. What a huge mistake! Still to this day 9 years later my dressers have the markings from the tape/glue outlines. Such a beautiful bedroom ($2500), dresser drawer set ruined. 😢 Still drives me nuts. They are a bevy sturdy cherry wood. Hubby tried getting glue residue off, but he only damaged the wood by leaving little indentions. Still didn’t remove/disguise the signs of the tape that had been used for securing the drawers. Anyhow, it made it much more difficult to lift & move the dresser w/the drawers packed. My dresser drawers do not come out, they have a wooden notch on the underside to keep them from falling when pulled out all the way. Bummer. We have to empty them next time. (I hope not soon!) Hard lesson learned. Maybe one day I’ll get a new bedroom set… Probably in the next 25 years. Wishful thinking! Oh well immature lessons learned. In 25 more years, I’ll know better. Lol
I’ve moved quite a few times; the last two were DIY. I’ve found that the newspaper office has end rolls of paper sometimes free or very cheap-depending on how many they have on a particular day. This is the paper the news is printed on but no print. It’s wonderful to wrap dishes/glasses/breakables. Also, as a bonus, my kids always loved using it to paint/draw on. When I didn’t get it free, it was usually about $1/roll. There’s lots of paper left on these end rolls, so cheap entertainment as well!
We have moved 4 times sice we got married 11 years ago and are preparing for move number 5 now (from PA to Rhode Island). In all those moves I never thought of #10…. genius!
I used the duct tape idea on my last move and it was a huge time saver. Every room had a different color and I put a strip of the appropriate color tape on the doors or entry ways to each room. I informed the movers of this and they were able put everything where it belonged without having to keep asking me where something went. I even marked the furniture! I was able to start unpacking while they were unloading which was a huge time saver. I also left clothes in the drawers and used the huge roll of Saran Wrap to keep them closed. This works better for keeping them closed when the drawers are full. #10 is also a huge time saver and worked very well especially to keep clothing from getting wrinkled like my husband’s dress shirts, suits and slacks. Good luck to all those who are moving. I hope I never have to move again! 😉
Thanks so much! We are now in our new home and I used tip similar to Tip #2 by having an essentials bin. it was a nice time saver to see the that 1 bin stand out.
If you have friends that work in factories that deal with boxes that hold 20-30lbs ask friends to bring you boxes. I work in a factory where all I have to do is tape up however many boxes I want and take them home.
Ask your local paper for the end of the roll of newsprint paper. There is usually a good bit still on there and it’s free. It makes excellent packing material. Or art paper for the kiddos !
I always use my blankets and towels for packing in between pictures and wrap for breakable decor. It saves $ on bubble wrap and then you’re taking care of packing 2 things at once.
We use the cling wrap to keep cabinet doors and drawers closed. Just wrap around the item until secured good. Works really great for mirrors and pictures as well. Stack pictures with something between them and wrap with cling wrap. Books can be packed the same way too! Cling wrap is great to secure so many loose items for transport!
I’m onto my 54th shift😕But I am a pro.Can pack and clean a three bedroom house in three days single handed. The key is room by room. Clean as you pack so when last box is taped ,whole house is finished .This gives you time for Windows,outside and yard.😊Happy packing.
Regards Wendy NZ
Clean every item you pack. Never move your dust with you. When you unpack your items in your new home they will be clean and you won’t have to do it. Use windex wipes or a damp cloth.
Thank you! I will begin with that intention 😉
Instead of buying boxes, go to local grocery stores and alcohol stores. They just throw the boxes away and you can usually get them for free.
Lots of great suggestions. Another thing I found helpful is to put a neon sticker on each box with the room the box needs to go to. I’ve had people help carry boxes in the new house only to take them to wrong rooms, and then I spend a lot of time look for boxes all over the house. Saves a TON of time and energy. I also stand at the door where they are walking in to remind them where things go. I felt guilty at first, but it’s the best help I can provide when it comes to unpacking.
Assign everyone a box to put their everyday stuff that they will use everyday so that they will not be looking around all the boxes and mess up your organizing .
I love the idea of color coding boxes!! I did this 2 weeks ago at our move, and WOW! It really helped the 12+ people helping us unload. I just posted a sign telling them which color went where, and voila! Everything went really quickly. Very helpful post! I just wrote an article called “Moving Tips to Minimize Stress” and linked to your article. Read and share if you enjoy: https://simplynatureplusnurture.com/2016/01/18/moving-tips/
Thanks!
Hi everyone I’ve moved 14x in seven years and I’m about to start my 15th. I like to use my towels and extra linens as packing material for my breakable stuff I purge what I can but some things like grandma’s damask napkins I want to keep so I put them to work. I have also found it helpful to check out the cardboard recycling dumpsters for clean boxes of all sizes.
I pack sheets, 1 blanket, bath towels, soap, shampoo, cheap shower liner and rings, dish soap and cloths, pyjamas, and something to wear the next day. I keep this in my car.
This way you have all the essentials for your first night with out all the hassle. 🙂
Essential boxes do work great. The shower liner and rings I wish I remembered my last move. Putting beds together first is a must. and remember the TOOL BOX is an essential box also. On the beds, dont forget to put little screws and such in a zip lock bag and tape it good to the bed itself so its there and your not looking for it. 5 gallon bucks are a must for dishes that are round and you dont want busted…they never do in that stiff, shaped perfect for dishes bucket. use styroe foam plates between for shifting, not paper. If you cant find colored tape, that you also place on the top corner on both sides for easy view, you can use kids construction paper…more taping to keep the colored paper on, but it works. Placing the color on the walls with arrow for directing is great. Dont forget the asprin for EB. I always number my boxes. I never write on them for sticky fingers to walk of with. Trash bags for clothes. the ABC boxes are sturdy and sectioned and I still have them in my garage with xmas stuff in them as they last forever. Tuesday Morning has great larger boxes and there always good quality. Dollar Trees have great smaller boxes also for individual items you want to keep safe and they love to give them away because they have to break each box down for recycling and its less work. Any book store has great sturdy boxes, fantastic boxes actually. Have a cooler with ice water and sodas for helpers always available and a cooler for nice, fresh cold sandwiches to cool you off when eating. Ive made moving a science and never payed anyone. Yard sales are great also before a move. Invest in those white plastic furniture sliders if you dont have them, they work great and last along time. I still use mine all the time to rearrange my furniture, get them so the movers can lay the furniture down and save there strength on the carpet and then slide it where you want it. Tapeing the silverware in there containers is great, zip locks for the small drawers is great. I recommend the plastic bins with the tops already attached that fall into each other are the best and made to stack more then the thin ones with the lids you always loose or they collaps in on each other. Get the thick hard plastic not the soft flimsy. Use those for off season as it deters animals too. If you use the normal plastic bins, make sure you tape them shut well so people dont casually open and take. I actually have a list of what to do when moving, I wish I new where it was I would put it up here. I havent moved, thank god in 3 years. Dont forget the nice, comfy clothes for the next days unpacking, nothing clingy or tight.
I have moved a lot and in many cases I have used moving companies to do my packing and trust me they have always done a great job. However if you don’t have so many things, I think doing the packing alone can still be fun and would save you from so many expenses. But get someone to help you with the whole process. I will definitely try it sometime.
I ❤️ all these ideas! I’m in the process of packing, so I will be using all of these absolutely wonderful ideas!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
i am in the throes of packing up a 2000sf house and we have stuff going every which where…i was bowled OVER by the ‘different color duct tape’ tip. Brilliant! I ran right out and bought some today…what a clever idea!!!
I keep my single socks to pack glasses and breakables like vases and such
This is a great list! I have moved MANY times (i think 13 on the past 15 years) from renting, but am finally buyong a home. Plus, we have a baby along this time!
Reading this list of tips instantly reduced any anxiety i was feeling. Thank you!
Always make sure you have your medications and a simple first aid kit in your car. I keep a binder with insurance info, important documents and anything else I might need.