5 Must Know DIY Packing Tips For Moving House

Person sealing a cardboard box with packing tape

If you’re looking into selling your house and moving, or you’re downsizing, you might be overwhelmed at the thought of having to move your entire life into a new home.
Whether you’re moving out for the first time or you’ve been moving all your life, knowing how to save space when packing will make your life a thousand times easier.

Packing box
By careful organising your items into boxes or containers, you’ll be able to take fewer trips back and forth. With all the costs involved with moving out of home, finding any way to save money is crucial. With fewer things to move, you could potentially save on the amount of time your removalist needs. Plus, having things packed strategically helps save time during the unpacking process.

 

1. Sort By Size 

It definitely makes sense to sort your items by room or category so that unpacking is easier. However, within these sections, sorting by size will allow you to take advantage of the space in your boxes. For instance, if you organise items such as books by size, you’ll be able to minimise the amount of gaps left in boxes.

 

2. Stack By Weight 

Stacking by weight works on two levels. When filling up boxes, putting the heaviest items at the bottom will help to keep the boxes stable. However, be careful when stacking boxes on top of each other. You can also keep all the heavy items together and then stack boxes with lighter items on top of them. Just be careful when lifting the heavier boxes!

 

3. Roll Your Clothes 

If you’ve packed for a holiday before, you might have already heard that rolling your clothes rather than folding them is one of the best ways to save space. As an added benefit, you’ll help to prevent your clothes from wrinkling. You may also consider the Marie Kondo method for folding your clothes as this will make unpacking easier. Another tip for packing clothes is to stuff your shoes with socks!

 

4. Leave Items As They Are 

Basically, you don’t have to take everything out of drawers and cupboards to pack into boxes. If you have clothes in a dresser, you might be able to just take the dresser over. If your clothes are packed in tightly, they won’t move too much in the moving process. For moving clothes that are on hangers, you can invest in specific clothes moving boxes.

 

5. Do A Purge  

Of course, you can only try to play Tetris with your items to a certain extent. Take the opportunity of moving to sort through all your things and purge everything you don’t need. Don’t be afraid to be ruthless or employ the help of another person to give you an objective opinion. For most people, this step will be the one that saves the most space.

 

Ultimately, the more strategically you think about packing, the more space you can save and the more efficient your moving process will be. Ideally, it will also make your unpacking process easier, especially if you’ve managed to get rid of items. This way, you can get settled into your new home faster!

 

Guest author: James Pointon is a Commercial Manager at OpenAgent.com.au, an online agent comparison website helping Australians to sell, buy and own property.