Packing Tips from Your Charlotte Movers

Everyone wants to be done packing and get moved-in sooner than later. We all want to cut down the time it takes to get everything done. The professional Charlotte movers at All My Sons Moving & Storage agree with that sentiment, so we've compiled this list of tips for you. Take it from our pros, and you'll be a pro yourself in no time!

Get Started Early. Maybe this one seems like a no-brainer, but the sooner you get started, the sooner you get done. But also, you may encounter some problems along the way. If you nip these problems in the bud sooner, rather than later, you won't be rushing at the last minute to get everything done. If not, this can result in extreme fatigue, overwhelming, or, worse yet, accidents. As soon as you know you're moving, you should get a start on the packing process.

Get Organized. Organize your belongings room-by-room or by category. This will speed up the packing process quite a bit. Keep in mind that, although just tossing things into boxes might be quicker, it can be wildly stressful for the unpacking process. Just as well, the lack of organization can lead to forgotten items and steps in the whole moving process, which will ultimately result in you having to take more time to fix the issues you may run into.

Another useful strategy in organization is creating a checklist. List out items you need packed, list out particular rooms and categories of items. Your Charlotte movers agree that organization is key to a quicker move.

Get Rid of What You Don't Need. Trash and unfixable broken items should be tossed—there's no reason to keep any of them. That's the obvious stuff. But say you have a hundred T-Shirts: get rid of the ones you rarely wear! The Salvation Army, Goodwill, and other organizations have drop-boxes and other methods of collection so that you may donate your clothes! Set aside some stuff to sell.Especially if you're downsizing, you may want to get rid of extraneous furniture—a chair or two, a side table, a couple lamps. Whatever you can get rid of, you should get rid of. Minimizing the amount of stuff you have will shorten the amount of time you will need to pack!

Get the Right Boxes. You shouldn't just get thirty of the largest boxes available and pack everything you own into them—that will cause quite a number of problems. To avoid accidents, injury, extra stress, tears or breakage of the boxes, or damage to items within the boxes, it would be wise to get ahold of boxes that will fit the items you need. For example, get a smaller box for all your DVDs and videos, books, and electronics. Charlotte movers suggest medium boxes for clothes. You should get larger boxes for bedding, bigger electronics, pieces of furniture that can be taken apart, and whatever other larger items you may have.

Make Sure You've Got All Your Necessary Supplies. Don't forget the tape, bubble wrap, plastic wrap, packing paper, and packing peanuts for your boxes. You can also use furniture pads, appliance dollies, and hand-trucks for easy transportation of multiple boxes. Markers, scissors, a pair of work gloves, cable ties, and other items can get the job done! This can help with the quality and efficiency of your move.

Pad Your Furniture and Fragile Items. We're pretty sure you don't want any of your items to break or become scratched or otherwise damaged, so, consider it wise to pad your furniture, bubble-wrap your fragile items, use plastic wrap, packing peanuts and paper, and whatever else you may use for padding (blankets and pillows help too!)

Set Timers and Alarms. Get yourself on a bit of a schedule. Set your timer for an hour or an hour-and-a-half, then take a 15-minute break, and repeat that process. When you take a break, you should stretch a bit, have a quick snack, relax, and breathe. This is a healthy way to go about the whole process because it is a method which will keep you energized and working efficiently.

Pump-Up the Jams! Either pick a playlist, a couple CDs, your favorite radio station, Pandora station, or throw all your digital tracks on shuffle. Music and work have gone hand-in-hand with each other since the foundation of music. Beats and rhythms of songs not only keep you alert and energized, but they also can keep you on a continuous cadence of movement—especially with a little singing-along (don't worry, we won't judge. We do it too!) In all seriousness, packing and moving with some help from your favorite tunes will keep you going until the job's done.

Use All of Your Resources. At least use as many as can be helpful. Use zip-ties and Velcro cable-ties to keep your untangled cords from crisscrossing and adding to the frustration of the tangle. Fill as much empty space as you can fill. Empty space is one of the most plentiful resources you can ever have and not even realize. You've got empty space between odd-shaped objects, in jars, dressers, nightstands, luggage, and plenty of other places. If you can fit something safely and securely into those empty spaces, why not do it? Tape your boxes all the way around. It'll keep your boxes from accidentally opening or letting-in any pests or unwanted guests. You don't need to wrap the entire box in tape, just a strip of tape along the crack where the flaps meet, and all the way around, and then a strip of tape perfectly perpendicular and in the middle of that main strip and all the way around (also known as cross-wise, or more simply, like a plus-sign.)

Make Use of Hangers. For clothes that you aren't folding up—especially your nice suits and dresses—keep them on hangers (use garment bags if possible. You don't want your clothes getting dirty) and lay them flat in the trunk of the car or back of your SUV or van—if you've got a hook in your vehicle, make use of it!

Label, Label, Label! This is another step the Charlotte movers suggest getting done early so that the unpacking and moving-in process is easier and much less stressful. Label on every side of the box, if not at least two opposite sides. Number them if you must. If you prefer, mark your #1 priority boxes with a symbol of your choice so that you know that these things should be unpacked before anything else.

Pack-Up in Sections. If you're using a big box truck for your move, get all your heavier boxes laid out in sections covering the floor so that nothing will shift during transportation. With larger furniture, it may be wise to get the couch in there early, stand flat items up sideways, if possible, and build blocks of boxes and furniture in layers from the ground up, keeping the heaviest items at the bottom.

Those are the tips we've got for you. Keep these in your back pocket for your move and you will be packing and unpacking like a pro. Although you now know some of the trade secrets, maybe you could use a couple hands on-deck to help you out. No sweat—the Charlotte movers at All My Sons Moving & Storage are eager to be of service! If you do need some help, whether that's partial- or full-service, or perhaps just a couple supplies, you can give our professionals a call today!