Very few people go through life without having to move home at least once, and as it is one of the most stressful things a person can do it is probably a good idea to put some forethought and planning into it before you begin the thankless task of packing up. To help out we have complied our Five Top Tips For Safely Moving Home.
1. Get Rid of Unwanted Items
As the old saying goes we do not own stuff, our stuff owns us. Over the years we are all guilty of gathering and hoarding a lot of things we no longer need or use, from old clothes to books, CD’s and even VHS video, not to mention pots, pans, plates etc. etc. etc. All this clutter is unnecessary and in most instances we don’t even know we have a lot of it. In some cases it is difficult to let some things go, but every now and then it is good to do a good clear out, take all those unwanted clothes to charity, and the broken plates to the recycle centre. Before moving is a great time to “cull” our unwanted items, as it really doesn’t make sense to bring things with us that we no longer have a use for?
Top Tip. Loose the clutter.
2. Create Space To Work
With all the cutter gone we will already notice we have a lot more freedom and space and this is great as it gives us a nice clean environment to work in. There is nothing worse than trying to pack up stuff as you stumble over other half filled boxes, stray ironing boards and electrical cables.
Clear out one room where you can bring your things to pack them up. Only bring in one or two boxes or packing crates at a time and then only bring in the items that will go into them. Once you have the boxes filled either store them against a wall in that room or bring them to another room that you have designated as the “already packed” room. This simple system will save a ton of heartache in the long run.
3. Combine Soft Items With Fragile Ones
By their nature fragile items break easily, so taking extra special care when packing them up is a must. With large glass items such as mirrors or tv stands for example it is good practice to make an X from corner to corner with use sturdy packing tape so that should there be a break or a crack the tape can help to hold the pieces in place.
When packing smaller fragile items, wrap them well in old news paper or bubble wrap for extra protection and place them in sturdy packing crates along with other softer items such as pillows, duvets, cushions etc. This way the soft items provide extra padding to prevent the fragile items from banging against each other, thus significantly reducing breakages.
4. Use Proper Boxes and Packing Crates and Don’t Over Pack
Popping to the super market to get boxes might be fine for some of your smaller less valuable items but for bigger valuable items there really should be no compromise on safety. Only ever use industry standard sturdy boxes and packing crates (check out our top quality crates we have to hire) to avoid paying through the nose to replace expensive broken items.
Another mistake people often make is to over pack too many items into each crate, while they may fit really well, and you may be happy that all of this years of playing Tetris has finally paid off a major issue can arise when you go to lift your over full box. Excessive weight may not only damage or break your packing crate it can also do a lot of damage to backs necks and shoulders, so play it safe, when packing lift your box from time to time to ensure it isn’t getting too heavy, and know when enough is enough, then stop filling, close the crate an move on to a new empty one.
5. Use Professional Remover
So you have a car, maybe two or three if you include your partner or friends, which is great and may even be enough to get all your moving done in one trip, but at what cost? Often removals lead to damage to the soft furnishings of cars, and excessive weight can have other detrimental affects on mechanical parts. On top over filling private cars could also land you in hot water with the law, as it may lead to rear views being blocked or the car being deemed as having a dangerous load.
For these and many other reasons it really does make sense to hire a professional removal company to take your precious load to you new home.
We Are Here to Help
If you are at the beginning stages of moving home we are here to help, we can supply you the hire of moving crates as well as a professional fully ensured removal service.