For some people, moving home is emotional and for others it is exciting!  Whatever your emotions and whatever the size of your home or the contents of your home,  the hard work remains.  You want to be prepared for this task and make it the most pleasant experience possible.  With a little bit of planning, this task can turn into an easy-peasy one!  Here are your moving essentials.

Not everyone is as lucky to have a whole team packing for you, so herewith a few top tips to get you started if you are DIY’ing your home move. 

Moving Etiquette

It is always super when you move into a clean new home.  Plan for this and hopefully, this will also be the case when you move into your new home.

Identify the Crucial

Start by identifying a couple of crucial items you will need in the first 24 hours of moving to your new home.  You want to avoid opening box after box looking for night linen, cups and your toothbrush!  So keep these items separate in an overnight bag and pack them into your car and not the moving truck.  The list will include bedding, towels, cloth and your vanity bag, basic crockery and basic foods like coffee, milk and rusks.  Dishing washing soap and sponges are also important.

The Right Moving equipment 

The best investment is a 2-wheel trolley to move your boxes and do the heavy lifting for you.  You won’t be sorry and will see how often you can make use of this little wheeler even when you are not moving. 

A tape dispenser gadget and some good quality marker pens will also assist in making the taping and labelling an easy task. 

Plan

Identify a space where all your packed boxes can go from the start.  Avoid moving boxes from one room to another. Prepare this room by removing all items from the walls and cupboards first, clean this room as if ready for the new owners to move in.  As you finish packing a box, you wheel it directly to this room, starting from the furthest corner and packing towards the door.  On moving day, you simply want to give this room a quick sweep and mop. 

Wall Care

Start your packing project by removing all items from the walls to make sure they have not damaged the paint or walling.  This will give you enough time to get this fixed.  

When you need to match a small bit of paint to fix an area, peel a small piece of the paint off the wall.  Go to your closest paint supplier and ask them to match this colour.  This is a quick fix if you are not preparing the repaint corner to corner or even the whole room. 

Pack Like a Pro

It is important to pack your boxes real snug.  If you leave air pockets inside your boxes, the items will move around during the actual move and you might find something squashed or broken at the end.  It is important to pack the box and fill it so it can keep its shape.  Be careful not to overpack, which will also result in items breaking.  

Pack some of your non-essential tablecloths, linens, drying cloths in the corners and at the top.  You don’t want that box to cave when a heavier box lands on top of it or the bottom box giving in underneath.

A wise tip is to pack light and heavy items together.  Picking up a heavy box is no easy task even with the help of your 2-wheeler trolley. Start with heavier items at the bottom of your box and pack lighter items at the top. 

Save in the Process

There are many packing materials such as bubble wrap, however, you can save by using non-essential linen and towelling as padding inside your boxes.   

Start Early and with the Most Difficult

Cleaning out your home and getting rid of things you haven’t used in years is probably one of the best methods of therapy.  Start early and start with your headache cupboard. 

When you tackle your most difficult task first you will feel hopeful and ready to conquer the rest of the packing quest. 

Labelling

Number each box from the get-go.  Check these boxes out on moving day and check them back in at your new home. A great idea is to label your boxes with colourful stickers.  Red would be the kitchen, yellow the main bedroom etc.  

Fridge and Food Supplies

Start emptying the grocery cupboards and frozen food in advance to avoid moving loads of bulk food supplies.  

Furniture Care

Don’t think you can pack a chest of drawers with items inside!  Do not even try… Make sure to empty all drawers and tape them shut in order for them not to fall out during the move. 

Use sheets to wrap your furniture and protect it for the occasional bump.