5 signs you packed your boxes WRONG

Packing for a move is a time-consuming and complicated task as it is, so the last thing you’d want is to make things even more difficult for yourself by committing any major packing mistakes.

Below we have highlighted 5 mistakes to avoid when packing for a move. More importantly, we focus on how to recognize those big packing mistakes early enough so that you can fix your errors before the actual move has taken place.

Don’t be a mediocre packer. Be a great packer!

Here are the top 5 signs you’ve packed your boxes the WRONG way.

1. WRONG WAY: Your boxes are not double-taped anywhere

CORRECT WAY: The bottoms and side edges of your cardboard boxes are double-taped for added protection.

When packing for a move, your cardboard boxes will not only serve as mere containers for your prized possessions while the latter are being transported from Point A to Point B. No, the goal of your moving boxes should also to protect your valuable items so that they don’t get damaged along the way.

One way your fragile things can get broken or badly damaged during a move is when the bottom of a cardboard box breaks under the weight and whatever’s inside it just drops straight onto the ground.

And if whatever’s inside it happens to be heavy, then those heavy things can fall on your feet or toes, resulting in personal injuries of various types and severity.

How to do it PROPERLY: Get quality packing tape and tape twice the bottom of each box and its side edges before you start filling it. This safety measure is especially important when you’re boxing fragile or heavy items for transport.

Good to know: Packing tips every mover should know

2. WRONG WAY: Your boxes are not labeled in any way

CORRECT WAY: Each packed box is clearly labeled with its content, destination room and handling instructions on the top and at least one of its sides.

Some mistakes when packing boxes have more serious consequences than others. For example, having a box break due to low-quality boxes or poor packing can lead to direct damage to the fragile items inside or to possible personal injury.

Failure to label your moving boxes is not a critical mistake but the end result will usually be loss of valuable time and frustration after the move – two things you definitely want to avoid during the already highly stressful home moving process.

Even if you do have a good memory, don’t skip the step of labeling your cardboard boxes after you fill them up with various items. It’ll take anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds to label a box but those seconds will save you hours of having to dig through a mountain of freshly-delivered boxes and then opening random ones to find the boxes you need.

How to do it PROPERLY: Take a black marker and write on each packed box what it contains, where it needs to go and how it needs to be handled for maximum safety. You can use color markers as well.

See also: What’s the best way to label moving boxes?

3. WRONG WAY: Your boxes are too heavy to lift and carry safely

CORRECT WAY: Each packed cardboard box does not exceed the safety weight limit of around 50 pounds. When using second-hand moving boxes instead of brand-new ones, that limit should be even lower.

One of the most common packing mistakes is to assume that large cardboard boxes are meant to hold heavy items while small boxes are designed for transporting or keeping light things.

In reality, it’s the other way round – heavy items (books, kitchenware, small appliances, etc.) should go into small to medium boxes while lightweight items (clothes, bedding, etc.) should be packed into large cardboard containers.

In your attempt to fit more items in a single box, you can easily make the container much heavier than necessary. As a result, you could get to experience the dire consequences of overfilling – one of the worst packing mistakes.

Lifting and carrying boxes that are too heavy may lead to back injuries, especially if you fail to follow the proper lifting techniques. Also, when overloaded, a box is more likely to break even if you’ve double-taped its bottom like mentioned above.

How to do it PROPERLY: Follow the rule of packing heavy things in smaller boxes and light items in large containers. Do not exceed the safety weight limit of roughly 50 pounds per box.

Useful to know: What to pack in small moving boxes

Also: What to pack in large moving boxes

4. WRONG WAY: Your boxes are bulging with too much stuff

CORRECT WAY: Your boxes do not seem to be bursting at the seams with too many things packed inside them. The original shape of your cardboard boxes is preserved without any visible deformations.

Obviously, making boxes too heavy to lift and carry safely is one of the big mistakes to avoid when packing for a move. But that’s not all. If you overstuff and overfill your cardboard containers so that they are bursting at the seams, that may change their original form and make them much harder to handle properly. Ultimately, deforming cardboard boxes due to overstuffing can lead to various Moving day accidents.

It can be really tempting to fit as many items inside a single container but doing so will pose a risk later on when such boxes are being transported. As a general rule, you should be able to close the lids of a box without applying too much pressure on the top. If you do use excessive force to close a moving box, then you are likely to break whatever’s been packed on the top row.

Also, boxes that have lost their original shape because of overpacking will be much more difficult to stack securely one over the other inside the moving vehicle. And when not properly packed and secured, then packing boxes can tip over during transport and create quite a mess

How to do it PROPERLY: Avoid overstuffing your moving boxes. Transfer some of the items onto another cardboard container if you can’t seem to close the flaps without having to press down hard. Don’t leave boxes half-empty either. If you just don’t have enough items to fill up a box, use plenty of padding to eliminate any empty spaces inside it.

How-to-advice: How to pack boxes for moving

5. WRONG WAY: Your boxes make clanking noises

CORRECT WAY: Nothing inside a cardboard box moves or makes any kind of sound when the container is lifted, carried around or even shaken gently. All items seem packed tightly with no empty space between them.

One of the top packing mistakes to avoid is the failure to pad a moving box properly so that there is too much empty space inside the container. For safety reasons, the items that you have packed individually in a box should not get into direct contact with each other.

That is achieved in a couple of ways: 1) each items is sufficiently protected with the help of packing paper and/or bubble wrap, and 2) the space between the various items inside a container is filled up with padding materials such as newsprint, packing paper, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, or pieces of clothing.

The mere fact that you can hear clanking noises of any sort when you lift and carry some of your packing boxes means that they must be touching and rubbing against one another. And if that’s the case, then your extra-fragile items will be in big trouble.

How to do it PROPERLY: Make sure each fragile item is wrapped up individually in packing paper, then in bubble wrap. When packing up a box with breakables, fill up any remaining space with adequate packing materials (newspapers, packing paper, bubble wrap, pieces of clothing) that will immobilize the content of the boxes. Lift and shake gently every box with breakables that you’ve packed – nothing inside it should be moving or making any strange noises.

Read also: 11 packing mistakes to avoid at all costs