How to Pack Moving Boxes Efficiently

A careful item packing makes 50% of your moving. Before moving your belongings to the truck, you have to make sure everything is packed safely ‒ especially heavy and fragile items.

So, what are the essentials of careful packing for your big move?

Pro tips for packing your boxes

The first and the most obvious tip is ‒ to invest in boxes. Like, new sturdy moving boxes that won’t fall apart in pieces during the move. Also, make sure you have other supplies to pack successfully: labels, tape, bubble wrap, or another kind of wrapping for furniture and fragile items. This basic set will help you pack everything in a more sophisticated and safer way.

Another tip is to sort your items. It’s much easier to navigate thorugh the categorized boxes after you move rather than searching through every box for one particular item. You can sort by room, size, and weight, or by item category. Don’t forget to label your boxes with tape and marker.

Also, you might want to optimize your space in the truck to freely fit all of the boxes. This is why we highly advise you to fill your moving boxes to the brim, but without making them extra heavy. The logic is simple: half-empty boxes have a high chance of falling out from the stack during transportation.

For extra caution, add more wrapping to your furniture and fragile items ‒ up to 2-inch width all around them. Don’t put these boxes at the bottom of the stack ‒ no wrapping is strong enough to withstand more than 30 pounds of pressure from above.

But still, wrapping is very important ‒ especially when it comes to fragile items. Dishes, vases, everything made out of glass and plastic ‒ it’s really better to overpack them rather than see them not making it to the final destination. Having padded dividers is also a good solution, especially if all of your breakables are in the same box. This kind of protection should be good enough to protect your fragile belongings from breaking during the move.

A few “don’t”s you should know about

There are also some common mistakes people make during the packing process. Let’s see what you definitely shouldn’t do in this case.

1. Don’t start unprepared. You need boxes that fit your needs in their size at least. Make a list of all the items you will pack, sort them on paper, and then think of the boxes you have to buy and their sizes. You don’t want to deal with a problem like that on your moving day.
2. Don’t get too sentimental. Sure, the old home is a place with memories, but decluttering is still a must. Don’t throw everything you see straight away in your boxes ‒ rather than that, think if you really need this item, or not. This will also save you some space in boxes. Don’t bring things you won’t need at the new place ‒ donate or sell them instead before or after you move.
3. Don’t be chaotic. Properly filled boxes can withstand a weight up to 30-40 punds above them, but only if you’re staking them right, in a thought-through way. Throwing everything in different boxes will create an imbalance during transportation, and some boxes might fall or even break. For extra protection, you can put another layer of tape around them to make sure they won’t move much during the ride.
4. Don’t leave your things unwrapped. This rule is one of the essentials for moving and packing ‒ the more time you take for wrapping everything carefully, the safer your belongings will remain during transportation. Even not fragile items require at least some kind of wrapping ‒ plastic and wood can get damaged, too. And if you’re transporting liquids, make sure their bottles are closed for good. For an extra layer of protection, you can also wrap them in bubble wrap.
5. Don’t overstuff your boxes. Cardboard is not the sturdiest material, so you might want to know your limits when it comes to filling boxes. The main rule is to fill them in volume, but not to overfill in weight. Overpacking can lead to weight imbalance during transportation ‒ this is considered to be a high chance of breakage.
6. Don’t leave your moving boxes unlabeled. This one is more for your convenience rather than for items’ safety. You can get easily confused during your unpacking at the new place if your boxes have no labels whatsoever. Label at least the essentials ‒ cleaning supplies, appliances, and cutlery.
7. Don’t forget about the essentials. Pack a standalone box that will contain things you will need foremost after arriving at the new place. Place this box as closer to the truck’s end as possible, so you’ll be able to take it out in the first place. This box is very important ‒ put chargers, medication, and pet items in it.

Moving with safe and efficient packing goes without any hassle. This way, you’ll save yourself both time and effort ‒ definitely worth thinking these moments through.