Without a doubt, packing is the most time-consuming aspect of moving. It’s a big feat to sort through a household’s contents, separate the cream of the crop, and move them to another location. For that reason, you may feel overwhelmed when you start packing.
One way to mitigate your moving-related stress is to team up with professional movers in Gainesville. Moving companies like UF Mover Guys offer a host of pack-up services to alleviate some of the burdens. If you wish to pack everything yourself, just keep in mind that nothing makes this process go more smoothly than having a packing plan.
As long as you create a thought-out, step-by-step plan before moving, the preparations will be as easy as a walk in Depot Park. But just in case you’re unsure about how to proceed, we’ve compiled a helpful guide that shows you how to make a perfect packing plan in five simple steps.
1. Mark The Date On A Calendar
Keep your moving date marked on a calendar to remind yourself of the deadline. On a paper calendar, circle the final date and X-out preceding days as they pass. This lets you better visualize the timeframe in which packing and cleaning need to be completed. For digital calendars and reminder apps, whether on your computer or smartphone, schedule weekly or daily reminders that count down the days until the move as well as remind you when to pack.
You’ll probably have to set aside several hours each week for packing. These can be during evenings and weekends, or whenever you’re free from work, school, and family obligations. But as your moving day draws closer, you should reevaluate how much time you’ll need to finish preparations.
2. Ask For Assistance
If people didn’t need help with moving, there wouldn’t be such a widespread need for moving companies in Gainesville. Yet, the fact that UF Mover Guys is busier than ever after many years in the business is proof that moving is absolutely a multi-person job.
A large family has plenty of helpers on standby — have the kids pack their rooms, especially their toys and games. Involving them in the moving process fosters a sense of ownership that can help them overcome anxieties they feel changing homes or switching schools. Adults in the family can pack the furniture, electronics, cutlery, and other items that need special care or require heavy lifting. In single-person households, friends and neighbors can fill in as auxiliary movers. You can also throw a good-buy cookout that doubles as a thank you and goodbye.
When family or friends are scarce, you can hire outside movers. Be leery of low-quality posts online that advertise cheap, discount, or budget moving services. Sometimes, these are from college kids trying to make a few bucks; other times, they are from scammers seeking access to your worldly possessions. To be safe, trust only a reputable moving company with a proven track record and verified reviews.
3. Donate Unnecessary Goods
Notice we said “unnecessary” — as opposed to “unneeded” — goods. This is because, if given a chance, most people will hold onto their belongings for eternity, much like the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.
While devotion to one’s possessions is understandable for perennially useful items, when it comes to worn-out sneakers or holiday pillows that haven’t seen sunlight since the last presidency, having attachments to these items is less justifiable. Unnecessary items can quickly become a burden when you consider the time it takes to pack them; the effort to load, transport and unload them; as well as the money you spend to movers to handle the items. Better alternatives are either to discard or donate such items.
As you pack each room, separate items worth keeping from those that aren’t. Once you’ve inventoried the whole house, further divide the pile of unnecessary items based on whether they are high quality enough for somebody else to use them. Next, take these donatable clothes, furnishings, utensils, and more to your favorite consignment or thrift store. Some of the stores in Gainesville suggested by our movers include:
- Outreach Thrift Store
- Goodwill Thrift Store – Gainesville South
- Sandy’s Savvy Chic Resale Boutique
- Plato’s Closet
- Uniquities Consignment Shop – Used Furniture & Home Decor
4. Organize Moving Boxes For Tomorrow, Not Today
Ask just about any mover, and they’ll tell you the most efficient way to organize your boxes is to keep items from the same rooms together. It’s much faster to unpack a bathroom when the contents are consolidated into two boxes as opposed to divided among twenty. But not all movers remember to provide the second half of that piece of advice: organize the boxes to fit the layout of the new house, not the old one.
Planning ahead by packing boxes in order to furnish the new floor plan will hasten the unpacking process tremendously. This does take some forethought but is a fairly simple process.
5. Download A Moving Planner App
Students in Gainesville love their phones. And they’re not the only ones. Lots of people rely on mobile devices every day to communicate, find directions, and order lunch. Whether you’re a tech junkie or just looking for a digital solution to staying organized, a moving planner app may be the answer to your moving woes.
Here are the latest apps recommended by our moving team:
Sortly
No more writing out lists the old-fashioned way with paper, pencils, and polaroids. Sortly lets you take snapshots or scan barcodes of your items from your phone, creating visual, manageable packing lists. After you’ve built an inventory, add categories and virtual labels for even more layers of organization. The app also provides multi-user access, so your whole household, from novices to experienced movers, can keep track of belongings with ease.
Wunderlist
To move efficiently as a couple, a family, or a group of roommates takes special cooperation. Each person has a role to play: for example, one could buy boxes and tape, another could drop off the donations at the thrift store, and still, someone else can research moving companies. In the midst of a big move, however, communication can go haywire, and organization can break down. One way to keep everyone on track with their designated responsibilities is Wunderlist. Though not an app exclusive to moving purposes, this list-creation software allows multiple people to share a to-do list, check off completed tasks, and keep everyone else updated on new developments. It’s moving-day communications for the modern age.
Magicplan
Anyone who’s ever attempted to pre-organize a room using only their memory of its layout for reference knows that sometimes the mind’s eye and reality don’t always align. Magicplan takes the guesswork out of room design. When you enter your new home or apartment, even before officially moving in, open the app and scan the floor plan for a 3-dimensional model. Now, you can refer to this true-to-spec rendering while making packing decisions.
When it comes to residential and commercial moving services, UF Mover Guys has seen and done it all. For more tips or advice, or to hire us for your next move in Gainesville, contact us today.