Have you been putting off moving because you don’t want to pack up your home? Have you been avoiding making a move because you simply don’t know where to begin the packing process? If you answered yes to either of these questions, the good news is there is a simple way to navigate your way through the moving process and make packing for a move a lot easier.

First, establish a list of all the rooms in your home. This will give you a starting point of reference so that you can create a moving timeline of when you need to pack up certain areas of your home. A good tip is to begin packing up rooms that you rarely use, or rooms that contain a lot of items that you do not use. This will enable you to still have a sense of normalcy in your routine as you pack up your home. Rooms such as kitchens and bedrooms, which are used more often, can still be packed up at a gradual pace, but it is helpful to pack up items that you use the most, last.

Many have heard the question asked, “Do you want the good news first, or the bad news first?” For some, the answer is the good, for others, the bad. The same thinking can be applied to where you start your packing for a move. “Do you want to tackle the hardest items first, or the easiest?” If you think you can handle packing up all of the easier items first, go with that because it will help you to get more done, a little more quickly. If you prefer to complete the hardest packing first, you will have easier packing to look forward to. There’s no bad news here, nor is there a right or wrong answer on where to begin packing for a move. Overthinking can lead to a delay in your overall moving process, and that is definitely a step you want to avoid.

A good suggestion is to begin packing where you know items are not being used, and end packing with items that are included in the majority of your daily routine. For example, if you are moving this winter, and all your summer sporting goods are not being used, that is a good place to start because of the current lack of usage. Another example is the kitchen. Kitchens are often one of the hardest rooms to pack in a home, due to all of the detailed dishes and fragile, breakable glasses. Choose to use one set of dishes and pack up the rest to help make the packing process easier. Leave perishable food type items to the very end of your packing process if you are moving locally. If your move is long distance, try donating your perishable items.

If you are packing up your bedroom towards the end of your packing process, set aside linens that you will use up until moving day and pack up the rest. This will help to streamline the moving process for you a little more, and keep your packing on track for your move.

A key point to remember is that moving is not an everyday process, but rather a temporary one. Any item you pack up, will only be packed for as long as it takes you to move. You will regain access relatively quickly to your packed items, but the main goal is to start packing, so that you can move.

Once you decide on where you want to start packing, set a pace. This will help you to avoid having to complete all of your packing all at once, and it will also allow you to save more energy down the road for the larger and more difficult items that need to be packed. If you find that you need additional help packing for your move, enlist the help of friends, family or a professional moving company. By doing so, you can tackle packing for a move a little easier.

As you pack up each room, create a staging process for your move to help make it a little easier for items to be carried out of your home and placed on a moving transport vehicle.

We hope your move will be a success, and if you would like additional moving tips and resources, visit our Moving page and Blog.