There are numerous advantages to hiring professional packers to pack up your household items when you’re getting ready to move out. With the pros in your home, you will
- 1) get quality packing supplies,
- 2) have your things packed up quickly and safely, and
- 3) get a guarantee for a job well done since professional packers accept the liability for any items they pack.
Pro packers are supposed to be skillful, efficient, and experienced enough to know the best way to protect your valuable possessions for the road ahead.
So far, so good.
The only issue is that you may choose NOT to hire professional packers for a number of reasons, including the fact that you can’t afford the extra service or you have the self-confidence that you can manage the tough task without having to pay for professional assistance.
Now, packing by yourself will let you save money, but can you really tackle the house packing job on your own, possibly aided by a few friends of yours?
The thing is that you may not get professional packing services but you can definitely take advantage of the best lessons professional packers can teach you.
Lesson 1: To always start from the toughest rooms to pack
You may already know, or at least suspect, that packing a home for a move is a very time-consuming and energy-draining task. And it’s not only the sheer number of items usually found under the roof but also the diversity of their nature that makes packing such a difficult task to complete.
The very first thing you can learn from professional packers is to always initiate the packing process from the most difficult rooms to pack.
Why? The idea here is pretty simple: sort and pack the toughest rooms first while you still have plenty of energy and motivation for packing. As hours turn into days, both your packing stamina and incentive will start to diminish, and that’s when you’ll want to get to the much easier house premises to pack up.
And which rooms are the most difficult to pack, you may ask?
These are the storage areas found in a home – garage, basement, attic, closets, and spare rooms because of the usually substantial amount of miscellaneous stuff stored in them. After all, it can take forever to sort through and pack items that you yourself have forgotten about.
Read also: Packing timeline for moving
Lesson 2: To always inspect closely the moving boxes
Moving boxes are an essential part of the house packing process and they can play a major role in ensuring a smooth packing experience from start to finish.
Another important lesson you can learn from professional packers is that you have to be really careful what type of boxes you get to use. After all, those cardboard containers will hold your prized possessions so you must make sure they are fit enough to do the job they are meant to do without any issues along the way.
- Inspect carefully each box before you start filling it up – it should be completely dry, sturdy to the touch, and free of any troublesome signs of infestation.
- Check for any indications of pre-existing damage anywhere on the container – if you find something suspicious, don’t use that specific box.
- See whether all the box flaps are present as they will enable you to close each carton safely.
- Double-tape the bottom of each cardboard box in which you intend to pack either fragile items (kitchen plates, glasses, etc.) or heavy things such as books.
- Line the inside bottom of each packing box with a few sheets of packing paper or several sheets of bubble wrap depending on the level of fragility of the items to be packed inside it.
Whenever you request professional packing services, the pro packers will arrive in your home with high-quality packing supplies.
Related: Where to get free moving boxes
Lesson 3: To never skimp on padding and wrapping materials
Probably the best lesson you can learn from professional packers is that you should never skimp on packing supplies when wrapping up extra-fragile items for moving.
Once you’ve gathered the necessary amount of the main packing materials – boxes, packing paper, and bubble wrap, you may get tempted to use less padding when wrapping up your breakables with the purpose of lowering the overall packing costs.
Don’t do it. The best professional packers in the business would never compromise packing safety for the sake of saving a few dollars’ worth of wrapping paper and bubble wrap. And you shouldn’t do it either… unless you somehow wish to find some of your valuables broken or ruined forever when you unbox them in the new home.
When using soft packing paper and bubble wrap to protect your breakables, you should always create an initial layer of paper that will come into contact with the delicate surface of your fragile items. Then, over the paper layer, you should apply generous amount of bubble wrap that will keep the breakables safe from harmful external factors such as direct hits or vibrations during the haul.
Must-read: Bubble Wrap vs. Packing Paper
Lesson 4: To never pack items forbidden for transport
Experienced packers know that safety when packing and moving household items is a priority and that’s why they will not agree to pack and move anything that is hazardous in nature. It’s not a secret that transporting dangerous goods presents a high risk of damage to the moving vehicle or the rest of the items in the truck, or possible danger for the moving specialists on one hand and customers on the on the other hand.
Therefore, one important thing that you should learn from professional packers is that you should never pack and move any hazardous materials that happen to be flammable (combustible), corrosive, or explosive.
The list of items that are forbidden for transport (non-allowables) is a long one, but here are the most common items that should never make it into your packing checklist:
- Gasoline / Kerosene;
- Diesel;
- Motor oils;
- Antifreeze;
- Powder;
- Fireworks;
- Lighter fluid / matches;
- Acids / ammonia;
- Propane tanks;
- Fire extinguishers;
- Paint and paint thinners;
- Car batteries, and even
- Cleaning supplies and bleach.
The risk of packing and moving such things is just not worth it, so you must make sure you dispose of those dangerous items properly before you move out.
Learn more: What things not to pack when moving
Lesson 5: To always label boxes after packing them up
One valuable lesson that you should learn from professional packers is to always label moving boxes once they are packed up and sealed.
Why? There are number of reasons why you should label boxes properly when packing for a move:
- The boxes will be delivered straight to their destination rooms in the new home instead of being piled up in the middle of the living room. That will speed up the unpacking task significantly.
- You will have the option to unpack the most essential boxes first, thus prioritizing the unpacking job to fit your immediate needs.
- The boxes that contain fragile items should be better protected thanks to the labels FRAGILE, THIS WAY UP, and labeling instructions such as HANDLE WITH CARE.
Professional packers know all too well that 30 seconds spent in labeling a cardboard box after packing it up can save their customers plenty of time during the unpacking process. Also, the movers will know exactly where to deliver those boxes in the new home for higher efficiency.
When packing for a move, you should learn from the best. Always label your boxes on at least two sides, marking down the content, destination room, and any important handling instructions.
