Moving Tips to Help Prepare For Your Move
Start planning early, and you'll be happy to see how smoothly things can go. The following checklist is designed to help you plan.
Print our packing labels for use on your boxes and belongings
Do-It-Yourself Packing Tips from the Professionals
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- Beginning well before your load date, pack one room at a time.
- Mark all boxes with room and box number and make a list showing the number of boxes packed per room, as well as the total number packed.
- Do not seal boxes in which you have packed items of high value, since the contents must be verified by your driver at time of loading.
- Keep the weight of each box under 50 pounds. This will help you in packing and unpacking if boxes need to be moved around. It will also facilitate quicker loading and unloading of your moving van.
Packing can be a tedious, time-consuming chore that takes skill and the right materials to prepare household articles for your move.
Abba and Sons Moving recommends that you have our professionals pack for you. We’re trained in proper procedures, have the right materials, and can do it in about a quarter of the time.
We strongly recommend that we crate or pack and prepare these items for shipment: Marble and glass table tops, heavy wall ornaments and mirrors 40″ x 60″ or longer, pool table slates, bulky fragile items like large trophies, statuary, chandeliers, antiques and other items that require crating.
Some things should stay with you as you move, such as: Cash, securities, jewelry and furs, firearms (consult local laws), personal papers and documents (like birth certificates, insurance policies and deeds), prescriptions, coin and stamp collections, special family photographs and videos, moving-related documents.
Moving Tips
If you decide to do the packing yourself, we want to help. Here are some trade secrets we'd like to share with you:
| Tip #1 | Purchase the cartons and packing materials (unprinted newspaper, wrap and tape) you’ll need from your sales agent. We can help you choose the right sizes for your move. You’ll save valuable time, compared to trying to track down suitable cartons at supermarkets. More importantly, our cartons are specifically designed for packing household goods. |
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| Tip #2 | Wrap fragile articles the way professionals do. Use two layers of unprinted newspaper per glass, dish, figurine, etc. Wrap firmly, but leave a little bit of space, to provide a cushioning effect. |
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| Tip #3 | Don’t overcrowd boxes; the top of the box should close with slight pressure. |
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| Tip #4 | Don’t leave empty spaces on the top of the boxes. Pack boxes fully, and fill any empty space with wadded packing paper or other padding. |
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| Tip #5 | Pack glasses standing on end, upside down, and not on their sides. Stack dishes on edge, and fill empty spaces with wadded unprinted newspaper. Before packing the dish pack box, layer the bottom of the carton with crumpled unprinted newspaper. |
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| Tip #6 | Pack lampshades, mirrors, pictures, etc., in special cartons designed for them. |
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| Tip #7 | Tape boxes across tops and edges. Seal every opening tightly. (See Types of Boxes, Tools & Materials You’ll Need below.) |
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| Tip #8 | Pack your belongings room by room to make unpacking easier. Label each box with your name, the room the box goes to, and a brief description of the contents. Mark items you’ll need right away once you move with “Unpack First,” and mark only truly fragile items with “Fragile.” |
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| Tip #9 | Professionals pack boxes so that articles cushion each other. Don’t combine incompatible items (like books with glasses). Pack clothing in special wardrobe containers, so that your clothes will hang straight and stay clean and virtually wrinkle-free. |
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| Tip #10 | Don’t pack paints, turpentine, pressurized cans, corrosive items like bleach or any flammable liquid. The law forbids movers to carry flammables. Properly dispose of or give away anything that could cause a fire or damage. |
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| Tip #11 | When packing a personal computer, we strongly recommend that you use the computer’s original carton and packing materials. If they’re not available, use a box that is both strong and big enough to hold the computer, and pack it with unprinted newspaper. Your local computer dealer can answer any other questions specific to your computer. |
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| Tip #12 | Indicate your full name on boxes. |