Packing Tips: How to Pack For a Move

Packing can be overwhelming, especially if you’ve been in your home for a long time. Putting your belongings into boxes is both an emotionally taxing and physically difficult task. With the right tools, though, you can make it easier. At TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, we’re committed to making your moving experience as stress-free as possible—and that commitment begins before you even pack your first box.

Our team members have been gathering advice since we packed our first box several decades ago. Check out our tips, then get those boxes packed!

Get organized and start packing early

1. The best way to make sure you have gotten everything is to open up all of the doors and crack open all of the drawers. Once you have packed up all the items in that area, make sure you close it to signal that it has been completely packed. 
2. Avoid mixing items from different rooms in the same box.
3. Use wardrobe boxes to make closets easier to pack (you can leave your clothes on their hangers!). Clothes in drawers can be placed in suitcases.
4. You can never use enough packing paper to ensure items stay protected. 
5. Always stack dishes upwards when packing, and avoid breakage by using custom-designed boxes. It’s also a good idea to avoid wrapping china in newsprint; the ink can stain your dishes.
6. Save time for the kitchen. It takes the longest to pack up because you have to make sure everything is individually wrapped. 

Prep your belongings for a smooth move-in

1. 
   Try to pack all electronic equipment, like TVs and stereos, in their original boxes. Otherwise use bubble wrap to protect these items.
2. Place any items you wish to take with you off to the side and inform all crew members to not pack them. These items could include things such as cable boxes, medication, or any other personal items you may want to be readily accessible once you are in your new home. 
3. Pack important and sentimental documents separately to be easily accessible—children’s health records, passports, family records, insurance information, and photo albums.
4. Make sure you label your boxes for where you want them to go and not where they came from. For example, if something came from your basement, but you want it to go in the playroom, make sure you label "playroom" on the box so it ends up in the correct space from the get-go. 
5. Don’t pack with used boxes or boxes from the supermarket. You never know what little critter is hiding or if the box will be strong enough to support your possessions.
6. Most animal kennels break down. They’re much easier to transport if they’ve been taken apart. 
7. Always pack and unpack breakables over a padded surface.
8. Never tip stand mixers on their side when packing into boxes. The lubricating oil inside the mixer will pour out of it. 
9. Use only small boxes for books. They get very heavy, very fast.

Last minute packing

1. Ask your movers to load anything you might need right away in your new home toward the end of the truck, so that it is the first thing unloaded. 
2. Place items that you are taking with (cable boxes, medication, or any other personal items) you off to the side, and inform all crew members not to pack them. 
3. As you take apart furniture and other items, make sure to tape all parts to the main base.
4. Have a wardrobe box available the morning of the move. The last things you’ll pack will be the bed linens, comforters, and pillows you sleep with. Put these items in the wardrobe box, so they’ll be easy to find when you’re ready to collapse after a day of moving.