Good packing is not about strength — it is about sequence and material. The order you pack, the boxes you choose and the ways you wrap things determine whether everything arrives intact and how fast the new home comes together.
Pack in four waves
- Out of season. Clothes, linens and decorations you will not need before moving day.
- Rarely used. Books, seasonal tools, guest room contents.
- Everyday. Daily kitchen items and the contents of dressers you can live without for a week.
- The last-night bag. Everything you need for the final night and first morning at the new place — keep it out of the boxes entirely.
Match the box to the job
- Small boxes for books and heavy items. Full large boxes become dangerous weights.
- Dish pack (double-wall) for china, glassware and anything fragile.
- Wardrobe boxes for hanging clothes — they travel on the hanger.
- Mattress bags and furniture blankets for the biggest items, never bare plastic alone.
The fragile-item rules
Wrap each plate and glass individually in paper, stand them on edge rather than flat, and fill every gap with crumpled paper. Nothing in a moving box should move when you shake the box. A stable load is a protected load.
Label twice
Every box gets a room label and a contents label, and heavy boxes get a "heavy" mark so the crew loads them at the bottom. A few extra minutes of labelling saves hours of unpacking confusion.
Packing well is the cheapest insurance a move can buy. If the scale of it gets overwhelming, that is exactly what a professional packing service is for.