Here are some tips to help you pack for a move.
This can be the first step in packing a room and boxing what goes, marking give away or mark yard sale before you move if you have the time. This does make the move a little lighter.
By Cheryl from Nashville, TN
This page contains the following solutions.
When packing household item to move I use paper towels, the recycled kind. When I unpack, I reuse the paper towels for cleaning jobs!
When moving into a home, throw these few things into a bag and have them ready to take into the house on the first trip. It will save you lots of frustration:
Another packing material: popcorn! You can buy 10 pound bags of popcorn for very little money. All you need to do is get out your air popper, and 10 pounds of popcorn will probably fill up a very large move.
Moving to a new home? To help your plates arrive safely when moving, simply purchase a pack of foam plates. Check your local pound shop/dollar store! Even paper plates would do the job.
Cheap paper towels are the best wrapper for glass items when packing to move. It leaves no black ink residue the way newspaper does. It's thick and reliable and best of all, it can be used again after you unpack!
DH and I finally got moved and are in process of unpacking. I encountered some minor things which were not problems, but I would change if I had it to do over.
Use towels, wash cloths, and sheets to wrap lamps, dishes, and other fragile items. Not only will it help to prevent breakage during a move, they also stay clean, so you do not have to rewash and clean everything after moving.
Having been in Houston for almost 30 years, DH and I are going to retire and go back to Knoxville, Tennessee. We can live on our retirement checks without working.
If you need packing paper to wrap your valuables, go to your local newspaper and ask for an end roll of paper. They give it away for free here and it has no print on it and has plenty of paper for getting your things packed.
When packing glass dishes, use paper towels to wrap them in. That way, you don't have to wash them and you can still use the paper towel.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
When moving, what is the best way to pack pantsuits and skirt suits? Last time I moved I left them on the hangers and laid them in the trunk but when I got to my location they were scattered all over the trunk and hangers were all tangled up. Any advice?
You can get wardrobe boxes in which you can hang all of those types of items from moving truck rental companies, etc. If you can't find those, you can get plastic covers, like the ones you get from the dry cleaners (they'll usually sell some too you for pretty cheap) and leave the suit on the hanger, place the plastic over it, roll it all up together, yes with the hanger (don't fold, roll) and put it in a box, suit case or whatever you'd like. I don't know exactly why, but the plastic stops the material from wrinkling and will arrive in perfect condition. I use this technique to pack delicate items on trips and it works perfectly.
I'm moving right now too.
Good luck!
Leave them in the dry cleaner plastic bags. Have no idea why, but keeps them from wrinkling. Works for many types of clothes. You can even put more than 1-2 things in the same bag. I wouldn't put more than 3 or so things, though.
Put a sheet or something similar on the bottom of the trunk first. Lay the clothes on the sheet. Tie the tops of the hangers together (string, rope, cable ties - whatever will work). Fold the sheet snugly over the clothes. You might need to use safety pins or clothespins the hold the ends of the sheet together. The clothes should not move much with this method.
The best luck we've had is with one of those hanger boxes that you get from the mover or at a box store. They are expensive but you can sell them when you no longer need them. We tried packing them with the dry cleaner bags around them and it worked pretty good. But the box was so much better.
What I usually do (I move a lot) is tie the hangers together, and hang one robe, dress or long shirt around a bunch of hangers. I tie the robe closed, or button the shirt around the bundle it covers. you can also lace the bundles together at the 'Y' point of the hangers. A womans size 12 shirt should be able to wrap about 12 - 15 items if they are not too bulky, but U can experiment to see what seems to work for you.
Wardrobe boxes are expensive, but great to use. Perhaps try to freecycle them (?)
I agree with using the special moving boxes for hanging clothes that are called "wardrobe" boxes. They are worth the expense I found. They have a bar to hang the hangers on, just like there usually is in a closet and tight fitting sleeve-style covers.
I agree with the dry cleaning bags -- or tissue paper folded in between them (I do this when packing for a trip).
One of the ways to pack your fragile items is by putting them in special boxes with a blanket on the bottom and a pillow on the top. Last time we moved from LA to SF we hired a local moving company and opted for packing services as well. It cost more but we saved time and the guys had all the necessary stuff for packing fragile items like boxes, blankets and plastic wraps.
I am packing to move. How do I pack my pot lids that are made of glass? I have 6 of them.
By Onesummer
Pack them in with your cushions, pillows or towels. Works every time!
PBP
If they have removable knobs, take them off and wrap the lids with newspaper, and sandwich them. Wrap whole lot in a towel or pillow case and they should be quite safe...don't lose the knobs though!
I recently moved. I used bubble wrap for some items made of glass or newspaper. Nothing was broken after the move. Wrap the bowls this way, also.
Wrap each one in newspaper, then pack them in a sturdy box filled in with styrofoam pellets. Label the box as fragile/breakable.
Pack them in bath towels or sheets.
We're moving. I am using cardboard boxes to pack and store. How do I eliminate any bug infestation that might be in the boxes? Or to protect while in storage?
Put a couple of fabric softener sheets in them.
There is no scientific evidence that dryer sheets repel all types of bugs and certainly will not kill bugs unless you smash a bug with a dryer sheet. This is a myth that continues because it is cheap and easily done by anyone.
