When it comes to moving, it often feels like an ongoing negotiation to make the most of the time and space you have. The old saying “time is money” is very true when you’re moving, but we’d even add that “space is money” to the modern version. By maximizing the space in your boxes and using them efficiently, you’ll save on your move by shifting fewer boxes.
We’ve put together some tips on how to save time and space before moving, so you can be prepared for the big day.
Declutter Before Packing
Our favorite tip, decluttering your things saves you both time and space. For many, this isn’t the most thrilling part of moving, but hear us out.
Decluttering early means, for starters, that you are purging things that you don’t want, need, or use. Why pack (and unpack) things that will just gather dust in a new place? Do yourself a favor and find a new home for the things that shouldn’t come to your new home.
While there is a small-time investment in sorting through your items, you’ll save time in packing, moving, and unpacking down the line. Devote some time early on to go through each room and make piles: keep, donate, sell, trash. You’ll likely find things you didn’t know you still had and chances are, you may even find some useful ones.
Once you’ve narrowed down what you’re taking, you’ll find you need fewer boxes, less space in the house and truck, and less time prepping and packing things. A great start!
Utilize Your Drawers
As you start preparing your items for packing, you may be tempted to start emptying out your dresser drawers. That makes sense, of course – many of us have been convinced that it’s best to pack everything into boxes and stack them up for the move.
Consider an alternative: when it comes to lightweight and non-fragile items that are in drawers, leave them there. This doesn’t mean the rock collection you have stored in the bottom drawer, of course. But if you have clothes, linens, and other light items, they won’t add much weight or burden to moving your dressers.
This will save you the need for more boxes, and save you time otherwise spent unloading, packing, unpacking, and reloading along the way. Make sure you secure the drawers with tape to help your movers.
Pack Your Suitcases
Hunting for boxes can send you running around town or stocking up at your local packing supply store. No matter where you get your moving boxes, it takes time to track them down. And what happens if you don’t have enough? Back to the drawing board!
Save yourself the effort and use your suitcases. Don’t load them empty into the truck when they could be filled with your personal items. And as a bonus, they’re on wheels! That means you can stuff plenty in there but don’t forget – you’ll still need to lift them on and off the truck.
Since they’re easier to move, you can put books and photo albums into your suitcases. Make sure you don’t fill them too full, especially if you’ll encounter staircases. When it’s time to unpack, you won’t have empty boxes lying around and won’t need to search for a way to dispose of them. Win-win!
Improvise On Packing Materials
Instead of making runs to the store to pick up bubble wrap and packing paper, have a look around the house. You can use things like towels, rags, clothes, and linens for cushioning more delicate items. You can also use these items as fillers in boxes to prevent items from bumping around while on the move.
Use socks to cover glassware, shirts, and smaller clothing to fill gaps in boxes, and blankets to wrap larger precious items. When you reach the other side, you’ll be unpacking twice as much at one time! When unwrapping your delicate items and putting them away, you can also put your linens where they belong.
Start Early
The best way to save time and space before moving is to start early. When you’re in a rush, you’re less methodical. That means things get shoved wherever they fit rather than being well-placed. Packing may be quicker in the race-against-time approach, but unpacking will be a nightmare.
Start early so you can take your time to pack deliberately, filing things away in an orderly fashion. This will help you arrive in an organized way and unpack smoothly on the other side. Trust us, you’ll be grateful you did.