5 Tips To Avoid Common Packing Errors During a Local or Interstate Move

5 Tips To Avoid Common Packing Errors During a Local or Interstate Move

Moving to a new location can be stressful and overwhelming. Moving house is a huge process that involves a number of moving parts that need to be undertaken. But if you fail to avoid some of the common packing mistakes, you could end up making your move a whole not harder than it needs to be. To make sure you check off every item on your list, we’ve compiled 5 of the most common packing errors during a local or interstate move, and how to avoid them.

1. Not planning ahead

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “if you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail,” and it couldn’t be truer when it comes to packing. As moving house is a huge task, it requires a lot of thought and strategy. Unfortunately, a lot of people dive straight into packing up their home without doing this. This results in wasted time, wasted energy, a whole lot of inefficiency, and a process that’s more of a headache than it needs to be.

How to avoid this: Before packing day arrives, put together a game plan for what the day will look like. This should include a list of all of the areas of the house that need to be packed up, the order in which they will be packed, and how they will be packed. Doing this simple forward thinking will ensure you can be quick and efficient on the day. Alternatively, consider hiring a professional removalist. They will be able to handle every part of the process, taking the weight off your shoulders.

2. Not allowing enough time

Another huge mistake people make is that they underestimate how much time packing will take. This can be an especially big problem if you’re renting your home. Oftentimes people will begin packing a few days before they need to hand in the keys to their property manager. But when the time comes, they need to work around the clock to get their property prepared in time.

How to avoid this: Be realistic in figuring out your timeline, and assume that every task will take longer than you originally think. As a general rule, you will need a couple of days to pack up a small studio apartment, three to four days for a two-bedroom home, and five-to-six days for a three-bedroom house. This timeline is based on the assumption that you would be packing all day. If you are unable to get time off work, make sure you allow an extra margin for packing over a number of nights or weeks, depending on the size of your home.

3. Not decluttering before you pack

Packing the whole kitchen sink is a huge waste of time. The chances are that you have collected a lot of random items over the time that you have lived in your place. These could be clothes, appliances or just general junk. By skipping the decluttering stage, you bring all of this unnecessary stuff with you, creating more clutter in your future home, and meaning more packing.

How to avoid this: Go through all of your items before you pack them in boxes. Chuck out anything that’s broken or unfixable, and take items that you no longer love to a secondhand store. This will free up space in your boxes, and you’ll feel lighter because of it!

4. Not getting enough packing supplies

I’m sure you’ve been there before – you’ve packed your boxes full of items and you realise that you’re out of tape. This is often followed by a trip to the shops to buy more supplies, which wastes precious packing time.

How to avoid this: Plan out what supplies and how much supplies you will need before you start packing. Head to your local supermarket or office supplies store to gather everything you need, at least one day in advance, and layout all of your tools so they are ready to go. If you hire a removalist, find out whether they can do the packing for you too, and if they can bring their own professional supplies too.

5. Packing your items the wrong way

It can be tempting to just chuck things into your cardboard boxes and be done with them. But what good is packing if it just results in broken items on the other end?

How to avoid this: Consider how each item needs to be wrapped before you begin the packing process. This includes items like glass and other breakables, but also electronics and non-durable items that could be damaged by water or by coming into contact with other items. Use sturdy packing paper and bubble wrap to keep items secure. You can even get creative by using clothing, tea towels, blankets and other soft items to keep things protected.

There you have it – five common packing errors during a local and interstate move and how to avoid them. If you follow our simple advice, you’ll be sure that all of your items arrive at your new location in no time, with ease!

Featured photo by HiveBoxx on Unsplash