4 Packing Mistakes You May Not Know You’re Making

“Moving Day”…There are dozens of things involved in just the packing that can cause stress, if you let it. Here are four common mistakes to avoid when moving:

Mistake 1: Taking everything.

Packing for a move forces you to deal with each item by hand, something that usually only happens every few years if ever. Now is a perfect time to clean out everything you don’t want and even some things that you do.

Get a bag for items to throw out or donate, and don’t be afraid to fill it. If you’re not sure if you’ll use an item again, err on the side of ‘no’ and let it go. If you’re that uncertain, it’s quite likely the item wouldn’t end up finding any use.

Mistake 2: Starting too early… or too late.

Avoid packing too far in advance, and make sure that the first things you pack are things that aren’t necessary in everyday life. Things like decorative items and off-season clothes can be packed as early as you please. However, unless you want to spend upwards of a week on a fast-food diet, dishes and cookware cannot. Pack some of your clothes early on, but be sure to leave enough for you to wear in the meantime without doing a load of laundry each night.

On the other hand, leaving packing off until a later date can often be an even worse mistake. You may not know what you will and will not need over the next couple of weeks, but it’s better to pack them and need them than try to pack everything in the few short days before the move.

Mistake 3: Buying too few supplies… or too many.

Moving day requires certain supplies: Boxes, tape, and some form of packing material. Don’t underestimate the supplies that you’ll need, because if you do, you’ll find yourself in a last-day scramble that ends in unpadded items and a half-dozen nearly-empty rolls of various sorts of tape.

However too many moving supplies is a problem all in itself. Many items can be padded by softer items like clothing, so you may not need as much packing material as you think. Boxes, too, can be gathered in excess at many free locations… But don’t end up with much excess, since it’s likely you’ll never use any of it again.

Mistake 4: Doing it alone.

No matter how organized you are and how hard you work don’t be afraid to ask your friends or relatives for help. You could run out of time, or the boxes could be too heavy, or any number of other stresses that a partner could help resolve.

Avoid these four mistakes and have a simpler, more stress-free move. Download our printable Moving Checklist to make sure you haven’t missed items like forwarding your mail, cancelling gym memberships and more.

Image by Nomadic Lass and licensed through Creative Commons.