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Packing Tips From a Professional Packer and
Mover
Selecting the Right Box for the contents.
First pick the right sized box for the contents you will
put in them. Moving boxes are designed to carry certain items
by what dimensions they are and how strong the cardboard is.
Also moving boxes are designed to fit together like a puzzle
in the moving truck. Getting boxes from a supermarket are
most often weaker and odd shaped making the job of the driver
who loads the truck much harder ( i.e. more time you pay for)
and less protected. Just because movers are strong does not
mean the want to lift a flimsy linen box 4.5 cubic feet filled
with books. When the books should be in 3 book cartons 1.5
cubic feet. The 4.5 is too weak for books and to bulky to
carry the weight. Most movers will carry 2 book cartons at
a time so you are not saving time or money on boxes this way.
Planning the Packing
It will take hours to pack your items. A little planning
will help in the execution. The kitchen will take a long
time to pack as there are many breakable and many small items
to wrap. Pack items by rooms they are going to. You may have
more or less rooms in your new residence. Two children in
one bedroom may now have their own room. Pack what you do
not need first. And mark the box with:
Your name
The room it is going to
Some of the contents (not everything is Misc.)
A number if desired.
Local moves will not count or label your boxes. All your
boxes will be in 1 vehicle and will be unloaded that day or
the next
Long distance moves will load your belongs into a small truck
then unload them at a warehouse. They reload into a trailer
then either unload at the destination or unload in a warehouse
and reload into a small truck. The moving Co will place a
label on each box.
NOTE: If you are moving International you will need an itemized
list of everything that is in every box.
Preparing the Box
Open the box and flip it so the bottom is face up. Then place
3 strips of tape along the seal – one across the center and
one to either side of the seam. You may also want to seal
the corners that make the “H”. And yes you need to use tape,
you cannot just interfold the flaps. The contents will fall
out when the box is lifted.
Wrapping Contents
Professional packers use newsprint. It's the paper
newspaper is printed on, minus the ink. You can buy newsprint
wherever they sell packing supplies and boxes. You can go
the inexpensive way and use old newspaper if you don’t mind
whatever you are packing to be covered in ink when you unpack
it. Your fingers will get covered in ink and what ever you
touch to pack will have your fingerprints all over it.
Set up a workspace for the room you are packing in. Layout
the stack of newsprint
on a table or counter. Place the object to be wrapped near
a corner in a caddycorner (45 degree angle to the edges of
the paper) position on the stack. Larger items shoule be placed
in the center of the stack. Fold 2 or 3 sheets from that
corner over the item then fold then roll the item to the center
of the paper. Fold over the left side, then right side then
fold over the item to the final side. Lift the item from the
final side and place in the box. You don not need to secure
the paper on the item with tape as this will add time to packing
and unpacking. And as it will be placed tightly in the box
the paper wont unravel. You want it to unravel when you unpack
it so you know how to
Placing Contents in the Box
Basically you want to have a layer of protection in all directions.
You want to protect the bottom, all four sides, and especially
the top. Grab one sheet at a time and crumple it up and put
a layer of a few wads on the bottom. Wrap each individual
item in newsprint (see Wrapping Contents) and place it in
the box leave space around all sides for more wads of
newsprint as protection. When the box is full add a layer
of wad of newsprint to the top. Make sure you OVERFLOW the
top of the box with wadded paper. The paper will compress
securing the contents. It should be somewhat difficult
to close the top of the box. This is what most self-packers
forget to do. When the box is placed in the truck other boxes
will be placed on top and the box will crush. If you don’t
have enough item to fill the box you can cut the box down
to the height of the contents.
Special requirements for certain items
When wrapping dishes
Figurines
Bubble wrap
Peanuts
Labeling the box
Identify the room the box will be going to
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