If you’re planning a move, you want to make sure you pack everything up right.
Moving is so exciting! Yet it can feel overwhelming with all the prep that’s needed. Back in 2018, I shared these three packing and unpacking tips. The first (the decluttering!) is still super important and the #1 task you’ll need to do while packing. Now we’re going to get more specific and get the actual packing down to science so it’s as seamless as can be.
Here are some tips to help guide you:
- Make sure to have all the supplies you need before you start packing. Once you get into the mode, your energy will be in it and you don’t want to stop just because you ran out of boxes.
- Use grocery/egg size boxes. They’re not too big or too small. They’re the perfect size for most items in your house and will keep everything really neat and organized. The movers will love that they’re all more or less the same size. And you’ll be happy too that you didn’t use deep endless boxes as you are unpacking. (“Do you want boxes or bags?” “Boxes, please!”)
- Seforim and books can get heavy. Use size small sturdy boxes. You can find them at Lowe’s.
- For fragile items, use packing paper. It protects your items well! The most important thing to do is to make sure your box is packed well, cushioned and tightly, so your items can’t move around.
- Label every single box. Use a permanent marker to write where it’s going, and what’s inside of it. Ie: kitchen and under that, dairy pots, etc. Label the sides too, so it’s easy to spot. We love to use full adhesive sticky notes or moving labels.
- Anything that’s really important and you want to easily be able to locate (i.e. kesuba) put a large bold label on each side of the box. It will make the box stand out to you so you’ll be able to find it right away.
- Label where your furniture is going with sticky notes that way movers know where it goes in your new home.
- Prep boxes labeled “fridge and freezer” that way you can easily pack up the morning of your move. (And drive them over to the new house so they don’t spoil, then unpack right away.)
- Prep linen bags with labels (which room they’re going into) and roll your linen inside on the morning of your move. Use clear large garbage bags. We like to use clear bags so no one confuses them as garbage.
- Pack a suitcase with your basic clothing and toiletries as if you’re going away for a day or two. Moving can be so overwhelming and you might not be able to unpack everything you need right away. At least, you’ll be able to reference the items from your suitcase for your immediate needs.
- Bonus tip: Use sticky notes to label each room in your new house. Put the sticky note on the outside of each room that way the movers can easily navigate in your new home.
One more thing: Don’t forget to eat a good hearty breakfast on the morning of your move. Moving day can be intense and you need all your energy!!
Happy moving!
Shira Weinstein
Great tips but keep your Kesuba WITH you. Trucks can get lost, break down, whatever. Not having a kesuba in your new home that night can be a big problem.
We found colored sticky dots to be very helpful. Each room/area got a designated color. After labeling each box and sticking on its assigned color, we affixed the color on the door of the room it was going into. It worked very well for the movers who knew where to place each box. We also numbered each box and wrote into a notebook how many we had of each color and what was in each numbered box. …definitely made the chaos feel a bit contained..!
Oops forgot to add that wrapping our seforim in plastic on the roll and then packing tape much better than boxes
If you know someone who is moving, send them over something to eat. I had someone do it for me and it was amazing to have something fresh to eat on a movong day! I learned from her and did it for my friend when she moved…!