Top 10 Common Packing and Moving Mistakes to Avoid
Moving to a new house can be an exciting time, but for many, moving to a new house is a process in which they would rather pass up. The thought of packing everything up that you own and moving it across suburb, state, or country is a daunting one. Streamlining the moving process is key to ensuring an enjoyable moving process.
Here at Ezi Storage, we have curated a list of the top 10 packing and moving mistakes people make, to help you avoid wasting time and hopefully enable you to have a seamless moving process.
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Not leaving enough time to pack
Packing last minute can be a recipe for disaster. Until you start packing, you have no idea how much stuff you really have to pack. For many, this is when they get stressed and start to feel overwhelmed by it all. There’s no harm in starting early, being overprepared is much better than being underprepared.
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Not having enough packing equipment and/or supplies
Failing to have enough packing supplies is often a mistake, which at face value, can have an easy solution such as substituting one item for another, such as packing tape for regular tape but doing so can cause catastrophe. While the substitutes that can be made are often “good enough” the safety of your valuables is at risk. Good packaging should minimize damage, contain appropriate cushioning and should be sealed effectively. So, to ensure that your goods remain safe, make sure you are using the correct equipment for the job. Ezi Storage provides all of the packing equipment you need, ranging from marker pens to tape dispensers, moving bags to butchers paper, making Ezi Storage your one stop shop for all things packaging.
Be over prepared. Packing equipment, if stored securely and safely can last for years so if you have any equipment that is left over, it can be used at other packing opportunities in the future. Alternatively, here at Ezi Storage we provide a buy back option on packing boxes that you don’t use.
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Packing unnecessary items
While it might be hard to let go of items that you have held for many years, the reality is that you simply don’t need these items anymore. Our homes are filled with items we don’t use or need ranging from old clothes and expired condiments to old and unused gadgets, do yourself a favor and either throw these items out or sell them. This will not only save you space in your new home but also could make you a quick buck.
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Failing to package things securely enough
If you aren’t going to securely and safely package your beloved things away, then what’s the point of packing them away when they will be broken by the time you get to your final destination. While it might seem unnecessary at the time, always take extra care when packing either high value or fragile items. Remember, there is no such thing as too much bubble wrap.
Pack your boxes carefully and strategically. Boxes that contain fragile items, otherwise known as breakables, should have a padded base. This can be made up of a number of items such as bubble wrap, packing peanuts or packing paper. Each individual item should be individually wrapped to ensure the most security, stability and safety of the product. Ensure the wrapping is taped to the item to make sure it stays secure during transportation. Always remember to fill empty spaces in the box with bubble wrap, newspaper, packing paper or packing peanuts to reduce the risk of the items moving when moving. At Ezi Storage, we provide a number of different boxes and packing equipment to ensure your things are packaged securely enough such as boxes with kitchen inserts or wine bottle inserts to ensure no glass or crockery gets broken, boxes of varying sizes and moving bags. Finally, ensure that you label the box “fragile” so those who are moving it can provide extra care when moving the boxes.
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Failing to declutter before packing
While not necessarily a packing mistake but more so a preparation mistake is failing to declutter your living space before you begin to pack. When things are decluttered and are in order, it means you will spend less time packing up, you will bring less things with you and will save you a whole bunch of time.
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Misjudging the size of the new place
An important step which many miss, is ensuring you have the measurements to your new home. Without these critical measurements, you are unable to accurately estimate how much of your belongings you are able to fit in to your new home. This can be especially important when packing furniture to ensure that it fits. To avoid this mistake, ensure you have an accurate floor plan for your destination.
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Not labelling boxes
Labeling boxes is an exercise that is often overlooked and underestimated and while you might think that you have a great memory, the unpredictability and instability of moving day will throw you off. Failing to label your boxes will save you hours of stress and headaches trying to figure out where you put all of your items which is the last thing you want to do when arriving at your final destination.
First and foremost, ensure you are using quality products. Using high quality markers when labeling boxes can mean the difference between writing remaining legible on the boxes and the writing becoming smudged and illegible when being moved.
Next, choose a labelling method and stick with it. There are many different ways to label and categorize your boxes although a popular method is using a colour coding system. This particular method involves colour coding each box dependent upon which room the box has come from. For example, labeling every box which includes contents from the kitchen in green, the master bedroom in blue and the garage in yellow.
Along with colour coding every box, an inventory list should be added to the box to outline what is included inside. Be as specific as possible with outlining what is inside although it doesn’t need to be perfect. By doing so you are able to prioritize which boxes need to be opened first, to further support this “Low”, “Medium” or “High” should be written onto the box to help assist prioritize which boxes need to be opened first. If applicable, always be sure to label boxes as “fragile”.
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Packing hazardous materials incorrectly
While you might not think that you are packing dangerous and hazardous goods, there are many household items that fall into this category. These are things such as aerosols, gas cylinders, pool chemicals, petrol and many more. When packing any item, it is tempting to just throw it in a box and forget about it. But when dangerous goods are involved, chemical reactions can occur resulting in an unexpected accident.
The overarching rule for transporting dangerous and hazardous goods safely is to separate and ventilate. Ensuring that the appropriate transportation rules are followed is paramount for your safety. Visit your local governments dangerous goods transportation regulations.
Packing, moving and storing dangerous goods can be dangerous, visit our blog to find an extensive list of items that can cause issues in storage and transportation.
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Using old boxes to pack with
While it may save you a few dollars here and there, using old wine cartons, TV boxes and Amazon boxes simply aren’t the best boxes to be packing with. While you might be thinking to yourself, “Aren’t all cardboard boxes the same? At the end of the day, they’re all made from cardboard right?”. Well yes, while they all might be made from cardboard, not all cardboard is made the same. The quality of the cardboard is which makes all the difference in protecting your items. Most cardboard boxes that you may have laying around the house weren’t designed to be carry the weight which is required when moving houses.
The only way to avoid this mistake is to invest in the appropriate packing boxes. It is a small price to pay to keep your goods safe during the transporting process. At Ezi Storage we provide an array of strong, sturdy, transport ready packing boxes to fulfil all of your packing needs. Offering a wide selection of shapes and sizes of packing boxes, Ezi Storage also offers a wide range of packing equipment making Ezi Storage a one stop shop for all things packing.
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Not leaving enough time to pack
This point cannot be expressed enough. It has been said once and it will be said again. Moving will take longer than expected, especially if you want to do it properly. Ensure you leave yourself enough time to pack.