Packing Tips

1. You may be thinking about doing all the packing yourself; however professional packing will save time during the move and reduce your stress level. You will also know that your valued possessions will arrive safely at your new destination.

2. When you begin making your plans to move, make sure you have plenty of boxes and packing materials handy. This will keep you from having to stop in the middle of a packing job to purchase more boxes and materials. Being well prepared at the beginning of your move will save you much stress and time.

3. Items such as gasoline, bottled gasses, ammunition, explosives, cleaning fluids, detergents and other flammables are by law considered hazardous materials and can not be transported by moving companies. Please drain the fuel from all equipment such as lawn mowers, gas grills, etc.

4. Always begin by packing your non-essential items as soon as you can. This should include anything you know you will not need until you are fully unpacked at your new location. You can begin this task weeks ahead of time.

5. Valuables, family medical records, and legal documents should all be personally transported by you. You may want to set a box aside in a safe location for items that you want to be personally responsible for.

6. Try setting a packing deadline for the items that you are packing yourself. You'll want all the items you have packed to be ready for your movers to put on the truck.

7. Be sure to label all your boxes on the tops and sides indicating which room they should be placed in at the new address. Be as detailed about the contents of the box as you feel necessary. Try to keep all items from the same room in the same box or boxes.

8. The boxes labeled “OPEN ME FIRST” should be items that you will need immediately upon arriving at your new location. We will load these boxes last so we can unload them first.

9. Because the ink in newspapers can permanently stain things like lampshades it is always safer to use the correct packing materials.

10. Heat retained in items like TV’s, home computers and stereos can cause internal damage if these items are not packed at room temperature. These items should be unplugged at least 10 hours prior to being packed up.

11. Put heavier items in smaller boxes. A good rule of thumb to remember is: the heavier the item, the smaller the box. Save the larger boxes for the lighter items.

12. A good space saving hint is to pack clothing and linens in dresser drawers. You can reduce the total number of boxes needed. Do not pack things like magazines, books or any other heavy items in the dresser drawers. This will make them too heavy to lift and could damage the furniture during the move.

13. Be sure to secure all your boxes with a strong quality packing tape; do not use duct tape.