A couple of years ago, I decided that it was time for me to move out of my family home and into my own apartment. The packing wasn’t as daunting as I initially thought it would be, however, as soon as I started unpacking my boxes, I quickly realized that it’ll be an overwhelming and stressful process, mostly because I made some mistakes along the way that cost me both time and money. So it is better to study in advance how to pack shoes for moving in order to transport all the shoes correctly so that they are not damaged.
If you want to avoid finding yourself in the same situation as I found myself in, you should know that there are some common mistakes that you must avoid making throughout the process. Hence, if you’re moving in a hurry, here is our list of the top eight mistakes that you must avoid making:
Source: pinterest.com
Contents
- 1. Packing Everything – Including The Things That You Don’t Need
- 2. Not Having All The Essentials
- 3. Not Protecting Fragile Items
- 4. Not Labelling Your Boxes
- 5. Failing to Research Moving Firms
- 6. Not Forwarding Your Mail + Neglecting to Inform Your Utility Providers
- 7. Not Packing a Bag of Essential Items
- 8. Not Establishing a Budget
1. Packing Everything – Including The Things That You Don’t Need
The first mistake that you could easily make is packing literally everything, even the items that you don’t need. Besides making unpacking a nightmare, taking the things that you don’t need with you could also increase the cost of transportation, thus, you should declutter as you’re packing. The easiest way to do this is to pack room by room, and if there is something that you no longer need or want, you should either throw it away, donate it, or sell it.
2. Not Having All The Essentials
A lot of people make the mistake of not gathering all the essential packing items that they need. Because of this, they end up placing their belongings into black trash bags, which can cause damage to the items they packed. To avoid damaging your items, ensure that you have cardboard boxes, plastic containers, tape, a marker, as well as bubble wrap and newspaper so that you can protect the items that are fragile. This leads us to the next point of our article…
3. Not Protecting Fragile Items
There might be some fragile items that you’ll have to protect before packing, and if so, don’t neglect to do this, even if you’re in a hurry. Some things cannot be replaced, thus, if you, for example, have a set of plates that have been in your family for generations, ensure that you use bubble wrap or newspapers for protecting those items. Also, once you place them in a box, ensure that you stuff all the empty spaces between the items with newspaper so that they don’t move while being transported.
Besides protecting fragile things, you must also ensure that you protect all your valuable documents during your move. Because of this, you should opt for placing your passports, social security cards, stamps, and other documents inside a specific box or folder so that you always know where they are. The same can be said for any jewellery, watches, and other small valuable items. Also, if you take medicine, ensure that you don’t pack it with the boxes, instead, take it with you.
Source: familymoving.com
4. Not Labelling Your Boxes
I mentioned at the beginning of the article that unpacking all of my belongings was a nightmare and this mostly happened because I made the mistake of not labelling the boxes when I was done packing them. So, once you’re done packing one room, you should label the box with, for example, “cleaning supplies” or “kitchen utensils”. By doing this, you’ll know exactly where you need to place each box once you arrive at your new residence, thus, unloading the boxes and unpacking them will be quite simple.
5. Failing to Research Moving Firms
This might be a bit obvious, however, it’s still worth mentioning, mostly because a lot of people neglect to do it. Failing to research the moving firm you’re thinking about hiring is one of the biggest mistakes that you can make, especially since you might end up overpaying for the services or you could end up having a bad experience with them, particularly if they’re completely negligent towards your belongings.
Hence, when you’re browsing through the options that you have, ensure that you compare several companies, look at the prices and services they offer, and ensure that they’re actually available for the date you need them for. Keep in mind, that some companies such as Easy Peasy Removals will offer packing and unpacking services, so, if you don’t have time to pack your things by yourself, such services might be quite beneficial for you.
6. Not Forwarding Your Mail + Neglecting to Inform Your Utility Providers
Moving isn’t always about packing your things and transporting them to your new house. Moving is also about forwarding your mail to your new address, as well as letting your utility providers know that you won’t need their services any longer. If you make this mistake, it could cause a lot of problems for you in the future, hence, when you’re done packing or before you even start, let them know about your new address.
Another thing that you must do is to let the landlord (if you were renting the house/apartment) or the buyers of your old home know that you still might receive some mail there, and ask them whether or not they could forward it to you. By doing so, you can make sure that you don’t miss out on anything important. Additionally, don’t forget to forward all of your newspaper and magazine subscriptions to your new address.
Source: thespruce.com
7. Not Packing a Bag of Essential Items
The first night in your new house will be exciting, but it’ll also be incredibly hard if you have no idea where all your essential things are. Hence, you should pack up a bag of essential things which can include your PJs, toothbrush, hairbrush, clean underwear, medicine, a towel, and so on. By doing so, you won’t have to open up boxes so that you can find what you need, meaning that you can make everything less stressful.
8. Not Establishing a Budget
Last on the list of mistakes that you could make is not establishing a budget. Moving can be extremely expensive, which is why you must set a budget and by doing so, you can ensure that you keep all the expenses you have within that range. For instance, some moving companies will quote you on how heavy your belongings are, thus, you should ask them how much you can expect to pay for transporting your items to your new home.
Source: pods.com
Conclusion
If you’ll be moving in a hurry, the mistakes we’ve mentioned above are some of the most common ones you should avoid making. By doing so, you’ll make the entire process less time-consuming and daunting, and more importantly, you can ensure that it’s less stressful for everyone involved!
