House moving is a process that takes lots of preparation and requires many purchases. One of them is shopping for packing material, supplies and tools. If the movers aren’t going to pack for you, then you need to ensure that the packing is immaculately done, so your belongings can survive the transportation and/or storage. Many people who move house try to cut down on the costs of the packing material, but you first need to know what you need for the packing and then decide what you can replace or not use at all. Don’t try any tricks you are not sure of, as this may end up badly for your belongings. After all, the house move should secure the safety of your entire household – don’t put it at risk. Measure your items, take the inventory and go shopping for packing material. There are different options – you can buy packing materials in bulk on the Internet according to the size of your house, you can buy them from a local moving retail shop, or you can ask around in department stores and malls. If you decide to use already used moving boxes for your move, make sure they are clean and sturdy. It can be hard to determine how much packing material you need, so it’s best to get a bit more than to fall short on it and then rush to the shop every time. When it comes to packing material there are so many options for moving boxes and packing material that one can totally get lost when choosing. Here are the top necessary packing supplies you need for a successful house move, in case that you have a 5-6 room house (three bedrooms, one kitchen, one living room, hallway and bathroom):
• Small cardboard moving boxes – 20 (perfect for fragile items, books, photo frames, cutlery, bags, shoes, etc.)
• Medium cardboard moving boxes – 10-12 (for clothes, linen, utensils, etc.)
• Large cardboard moving boxes – 10 (for blankets, winter jackets and lighter items)
• Extra-large moving boxes – 4-5 (depending on your house)
• Heavy-duty boxes – 5 (for sports equipment, tools, etc.)
• Wardrobe boxes -5-6 (these are not completely necessary, but they make transporting clothes quite easy as you don’t need to take them out or fold them.
• Electronics boxes – depending on the amount of electronics; if you no longer have the original boxes from your computer, TV, DVD player and others, these are perfect for this purpose.
• Plain newspaper – plenty of it (for cushioning fragile items)
• 150 ft. roll of bubble wrap (for wrapping fragile items and valuables)
• Permanent marker for labeling the boxes
• Packing tape
• Stretch wrap (a perfect packing material for wrapping literally any piece of furniture)
• Moving blankets, dolly and mattress covers
For most of you this list is quite enough, but keep in mind that there are many specialty items which can assist your move a lot. These include boxes for specific items such as pictures, lamps, plants, printers, computers, dishes, etc. The specialty boxes are available for purchasing from many places but the Internet often offers really good deals for whole packing kits. For big and weirdly-shaped items you may need to think of special packing and leaving them to the movers to handle – musical instruments, sculptures, pianos. Some accessories for the move are really nice to have, but not necessary: tape dispenser, box cutter, packing peanuts, shredded paper, inflatable bags, etc.
Consider this list of the top packing material you need for your house move and start planning the move.
