If you’re moving soon, you’ll have to do a lot of packing. It’s a fact of life. It’s not something you do every day, so it’s easy to make mistakes. Here are the top six mistakes to avoid when packing your boxes.
Mistake #1: Packing Large Boxes with Heavy Items
Let’s say you have a lot of books to pack. Your first instinct may be to just start stacking as many books as you can in one box. Wrong. This is a common mistake that can spell bad news for your back and neck. Each book isn’t very heavy on its own, but when you add all of them in one box at one time, it can get very heavy very fast. Use smaller boxes for heavy items like books.
Mistake #2: Allowing the Flaps of the Box to Get in Your Way
It’s tempting to break the top flaps open before you start, but this means they will get in the way and start to get annoying as you place each item inside. Fold the flaps over before you pack the box for unencumbered packing. Then, when finished, you can fold them back over and seal.
Mistake #3: Failing to Double Tape the Bottoms of Heavy Boxes
If you don’t double tape the bottoms of your heaviest boxes, you can end up with an accident when everything falls through the bottom. You’ll either waste a lot of time cleaning up broken items or you’ll have to repack the box the right way. Save yourself the hassle and always double tape, or even triple tape, the bottoms of your boxes.
Mistake #4: Only Labeling the Tops
Of course, you want to label each box properly. Labeling on the top is a good idea because when the boxes are on the floor, you can easily glance down and see the label. However, only labeling the tops is not good for other situations where you may not be in a position to readily see the tops. If you will be stacking your boxes, which you probably will, you need to label all four sides of the box.
Pack on a table or counter so that you can easily access the sides. You could also color code your items with stickers, tape or markers, such as green for kitchen, blue for living room, and red for kids’ playroom.
Mistake #5: Leaving Too Much “Wiggle” Room
Don’t leave too much space in your boxes. Fill up each box as much as you can so that those items won’t move around and possibly break. Pack the gaps with packing paper, towels, sheets or clothing.
Mistake #6: Not Hiring Professional Packers
If you don’t have the time, patience or supplies to pack your stuff on your own, hire your movers to do it. They will bring the supplies and equipment to get it done quickly and efficiently.
Contact Around the Clock Moving and Storage
To get a free moving and packing quote, contact us in Dallas at 469-853-0045.