Preparation

Moving home gives you a great opportunity to clear out any items that you haven’t used for a while or that you may have even forgotten that you had. The fewer items that you need to pack, the better.
Who is going to pack what? You may decide to allocate individual rooms to a specific person or perhaps one person will concentrate on glassware, crockery, pictures and ornaments and another can concentrate on books, DVDs and loft items and so on. Don’t forget the garage and/or shed.
It doesn’t matter where you get boxes from. They can be brand new or second hand as long as they are strong double-walled boxes.
Don’t forget that you will need various other packing materials in addition to boxes. These include packing paper (ideal for protecting glassware, crockery and ornaments) bubble wrap (for those extra fragile items and pictures) and plenty of packing tape.
If you have a spare room that is not in constant use such as a conservatory or spare bedroom or a spare corner of your garage, this can be an ideal space to stack boxes to keep them out of the way and cause the least disruption. Don’t forget you will need an area to put any items from the loft.
Although there are many items that will need to be left until the last minute to be packed, there is normally plenty of packing to be getting on with well in advance of the move.
Always label the boxes clearly with their destination rooms so that they can be put in the correct place by the removal team. It isn’t practical to label the entire contents of each box but it is a good idea to be specific with certain items such as the kettle, TV remote controls, smoke alarms, batteries, torch, toilet paper and any other items that you may need as soon as you get to your new home.

Before you start packing china, glassware or ornaments, place a layer of scrunched up packing paper or newspaper in the bottom of the box to act as a cushion and likewise on top of the items before you seal the box. When you are wrapping fragile items in packing paper, remember that the paper is meant to act as a cushion and is most effective if slightly crumpled and loosely wrapped. For extremely fragile items such as vases and ornaments, it is advisable to use bubble wrap in addition to packing paper. Plates are strongest when packed on their sides and glasses and cups upright. Wine glasses and flutes will require additional padding around the stems. Remember to clearly mark the boxes “FRAGILE”.

Things To Remember

It is important that they can be stacked flat with no bulges. It is equally important to avoid not filling the boxes enough as when stacked they will simply collapse under the weight (linen and clothing can be handy to pad out boxes).
Always use smaller boxes when packing heavy items such as books, magazines, records, files, and tinned foods.
Smaller pictures and mirrors can usually be wrapped in packing paper and boxed up. Larger ones should be bubble wrapped and depending on the style of frames two or three can normally be wrapped together. For extra protection, after bubble wrapping, you can slide the picture or mirror into a flat unmade box and tape up the edges.

Cutlery should be wrapped in small bundles and sharp knives should be wrapped and taped facing the same way and clearly labelled as “Sharp”.

Bedding & linen that is not going to be used before the move should be packed in large boxes. The final items of bedding and linen can either be boxed or placed in heavy duty black bin liners on the morning of the move.
There will obviously be some exceptions but as a general rule, everything that can be boxed, should be boxed. This particularly applies to items from garages and outbuildings. It will dramatically cut the time it takes to load garage and shed items if the contents are packed up into larger boxes.

If you have kept hold of the original boxes for your toaster, kettle, microwave, TV or music system in the hope that you would use them again someday – this is that day, it will save on using new boxes and they are made to measure.

All items that contain fluid should be emptied, drained and dried before being packed to avoid the fluid leaking and damaging other items.