The moment you realize that you’ll be moving out once more, you’ll know exactly what that means for you: PACKING.
Everybody knows that packing for a move is the major task in anyone’s personal PACKING CHECKLIST – it’s the toughest, the most energy-draining, and the most time-consuming job you’ll have to do before you move out of your current place.
Packing can also be too daunting and too stressful at times, especially when things are not going according to your packing schedule. In fact, so many things can go wrong during the packing process that you may be genuinely scared to begin to pack up your possessions.
Luckily, there is one packing concept that can really help you have a smooth and problem-free packing job from start to finish: START PACKING EARLY.
That’s correct – start packing your things early. Even though this fundamental idea is simple enough, you’ll be surprised by the powerful effect it will have on your house move – boosting up the overall packing efficiency and giving you more time to finish the packing task on your own terms.
Don’t hesitate – packing up your stuff as soon as possible is the right call.
Here are the top 5 reasons why you should start packing early. Very early.
1. You will give yourself a greater chance to finish packing on time
The first reason to start packing early is very obvious and highly logical – the sooner you begin to put your things into moving boxes, the sooner you’re expected to finish the entire packing task.
Packing for a move can be quite tricky in the sense that you just don’t know how much time you’ll need to complete the job.
Professional packers can usually judge fairly accurately the time they will need to protect all household items for a move, but their judgment comes as a result of many years of experience. And of course, they have been trained to pack all types of things quickly and safely.
But you’re not a professional packer so you’ll find it impossible to know for sure how much time you’re going to need to pack up your things. Therefore, your best bet for a successful outcome is to start the packing process as early as possible, thus giving yourself the maximum amount of time possible for a job well done.
After all, the worst possible scenario is to have tons of things left to pack up when Moving day comes around.
Read also: What to pack first when moving house
2. You will give yourself more time to make the right decisions
An early start will give you more time, and more time means that you won’t be rushed when making important decisions. Bear in mind that it’s crucial to have ample time to analyze the situation correctly in order to make the best decisions under your specific set of circumstances.
One such decision is to declutter your things prior to packing – a major step that you should never skip due to lack of time. Taking only the items that you do like and do intend to use in the near future has a number of indisputable benefits such as reducing the moving cost, cutting the overall packing time, and providing more storage space in the new place.
In reality, one of the most efficient cost-saving techniques is just that – to reduce the number of items you’re moving to their absolute minimum. As a rule of thumb, if you haven’t used an item in more than a year, then you don’t really need to need it, so it’s pointless to move it with you.
Thus said, having more time to make the right choices is not only linked to the task of decluttering – more time to think will also help you minimize the possibility of making serious packing mistakes too.
See also: How to declutter your home before moving
3. You may have time to organize a profitable moving sale
Another good reason to start packing early is to get enough time to organize a successful garage sale before you move away.
Now, having a moving sale before you go will let you get rid of all the items you have decided NOT to take with you to the new home. And here’s the best part – not only will you discard those unwanted and unneeded possessions of yours, but you’ll pocket some money from their sale too.
Organizing a successful yard sale requires time – time that you won’t normally have unless you start the packing task very early. The purging task also takes time – after all, sometimes it can be really tough to decide which items you’ll move with you and which ones you’ll leave behind.
Be mindful that a moving sale will enable you to achieve two distinct purposes at the same time: 1) lower the moving cost by hauling fewer items with you, and 2) earn some money from the garage sale that will go toward your tight moving budget.
There are many details you should take care of when you’ve made up your mind to host a moving sale but the key to success often lies in how reasonably you price your sale items.
Useful info: How to have a garage sale before moving out
4. You will have enough time to pack your things in the safest way possible
The main problem when you have too little time to pack up your things is that you may be forced to sacrifice safety for speed. And if you do, then your most fragile items such as anything made of china, porcelain, or glass will be at risk of not surviving the move in one piece. To make things even worse, your delicate electronics devices may also get damaged on the road due to improper packing.
By starting the packing process early enough, you should have ample time to pack all your fragile possessions in the best possible way. And the best possible way to pack breakables is a packing method that includes plenty of padding materials such as wrapping paper and bubble wrap in order to create soft protective layers around the delicate possessions.
Rushing the packing task, especially when you get to your highly fragile belongings, is always a bad idea. And this is exactly why you should not waste any precious days by NOT packing a bit, be it even a few boxes a day if you’ve calculated that there are enough days until the move-out day.
Good to know: How to pack fragile items for moving
5. You will save money by not having to hire pro packers
When you start packing as soon as you possibly can, you increase your chances of finishing the difficult task entirely on your own. And if manage to do just that, then you won’t have to pay professional packers to help you out.
Professional packing services are not cheap.
The average cost to hire packers on an hourly rate (when moving locally) is $60 per hour per packer. And of course, each extra packer will cost you more money, so the final amount can become too high too quickly.
When moving long distance, your cross-country mover will quote you a fixed rate for the extra service of packing. Depending on the approximate size of your home and the number of items in it, you should expect to pay for packing labor alone anywhere from $300-$450 when moving out of a 1-bedroom apartment up to $750-$1,200 when moving out of a 4-bedroom home.
An early start to the packing job is not a guarantee that you’ll manage to complete it all on your own (you can always ask your friends to give you a hand with packing), but it does give you a fighting chance to avoid having to pay professional packers, ultimately saving quite a lot of money in the process.
Read also: How much does it cost to hire packers?
Bonus reason: You will reduce the overall stress of moving
It’s important to note that your decision to start packing early will help you feel less stressed out during the packing process. And here’s why:
- You will pack up your things at your own pace, without having to rush the packing process in any way. By knowing that you have enough time until Moving day, you should be able to keep the stress level under control.
- You will be aware that an early start will give you more time, and that extra time guarantees that you will pack up your fragile things well enough to survive the move. As a result, you should feel less worried about the fate of your valuable possessions.
- You will feel much less anxious knowing that you won’t have to pay hundreds of dollars to a crew of professional packers.
An early start to the packing process is highly advantageous. However, you may still fall behind your packing schedule for a number of reasons. To make things worse, you may only have a few days to leave the place, meaning that you can’t possibly complete the packing task on your own.
If you find yourself out of good options, get free quotes from professional packers and movers to see how much the pros will charge you for the add-on service of packing.
