In my last post on downsizing – preparation - I wrote about preparing to move to a smaller home and the special planning required. When the preparation is complete you will want to pack strategically. 
After all, you are going to have limited space in your smaller home and you want to be unpacked and ready to start living in your new home as soon as possible. I know I do!
Following are some tips to help you pack in such a way as to make unpacking as strees-free as possible.
- Obtain packing materials
- Containers
- Copy paper boxes are great but be careful of the weight – when full of books, these are too heavy
- Boxes from stores are useful, many stores save them until a certain time or day until they break them down for disposal – call your local stores for the 411.
- Moving boxes can be purchased where you rent trucks or other moving equipment and at office supply sores. You will find specially-designed wardrobe and picture/mirror boxes at these retailers. You might also find listings for free used boxes on websites like Craig’s List.
- Strapping tape or packaging tape
- Protective fill – Recycled egg cartons, plastic bags and newspaper work well. You might also want bubble wrap and/or foam peanuts for your delicate items.
- Shrink wrap
- Bold magic marker
- Labels
- Containers
- Create a master list and label boxes.
- As you start each box assign a number and label it on multiple sides with a magic marker.
- List the contents of each box on your master list.
- Label the box with the room or zone where you want the box to placed by the movers. You might want to use colored dots to designate a room or zone.
- Referencing the list created in your preparation steps, pack separately for each of the zones you defined in preparation.
- This way you can complete the placement or storage of the contents of each box before going on to the next.
- The same is true for the kitchen – each box should be designated for a limited number of drawers and/or cabinets
- Pack your decorative items separately – depending on the volume you might want to do this separately for each room – this will be your last unpacking step.
- Where appropriate, wrap drawers and bins / organizers with shrink wrap-
- this eliminates the need for re-sorting as you unpack.
- Iif you will be eliminating storage, like dressers, pack the contents in their new location (a different dresser, storage bins, baskets. etc.)
When you are finished packing, you will be prepped for a successful unpacking experience!
I am in still in the preparation and planning stages – if you’d like to see examples of my lists as they are drafted, please add a comment. I will be happy to publish them.
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The tips are very useful to the industry…