4 weeks prior to Moving day

Having one full month before the scheduled move-out day is a reason enough to consider yourself lucky, at least luckier than anyone who only has a few days to box all of their belongings. If you manage to keep things organized and succeed in keeping your focus when packing up your home for moving, then you should be able to finish the packing process comfortably ahead of time.

4 weeks or more prior to Moving day is all about one of the best packing hacks ever: pre-packing. Here are the things you can pre-pack and get out of your way very early in the packing marathon:

 

  • Out of the season stuff. Box any items that you know you definitely won’t need until it’s time to move out. Usually, those are out-of-season things such as clothes, shoes, clothes accessories, and so on.
  • Special tools. If you happen to own special equipment (usually stored away in your storage areas), then it’s time to get them ready for transportation. Such pieces of specialized equipment may include sports equipment, fishing tackle, electric power tools, lawn equipment, and so on.
  • Collectible items. You probably won’t be in the mood to marvel at your coin and stamp collections in the period leading up to your move day. Pack up all types of collectibles you have in your home – figurines, dolls, art collections, coins, stamps, and so on. Note that most of those things are very delicate and fragile, so pay special attention to their safe packing.

 

3 weeks prior to Moving day

Once you have taken care of all the items that can be safely pre-packed, turn your attention to the non-essentials found in your home – anything that you won’t really come to need in the next few weeks.

If you find out that you’ve fallen a bit behind schedule, you have a few viable options to choose from: 1) double your packing efforts, 2) ask a few friends for help, and 3) pay for professional packers to take care of the household items you can’t really pack safely on your own.

  • Kitchen items (what’s left of them). It’s a serious packing mistake to leave the kitchen for last, so leave only the absolute essential pieces of kitchenware and pack up the rest. Box up your small kitchen devices such as a toaster, a blender, a mixer, and so on. In most cases, it’s best to leave the microwave for the day before moving day.
  • Clothes (what’s left of them). Leave enough pieces of clothing for the next few days and place the rest of them in suitable boxes or arrange them inside clothes boxes. Figure out what you want to wear on moving day too.
  • Medicines. Go through your medicine cabinet and pack up all the medications you don’t need on a daily basis. The sorting process alone will take up a considerable amount of time, so act in a proactive way.
  • Furniture pieces. If you own large furniture that requires disassembly, this is about the right time to start thinking about how you will approach that issue. Re-assess the need to move the furniture pieces you intend to take with you because that is the moment that can save you loads of money in the long run. Consult professional packers or furniture store specialists if you’re not sure what to do.

2 days prior to Moving day

Okay, this is a really crucial period where the packing pressure can reach dangerous values. You should be finished or almost finished with packing up your house for moving. If not, you should definitely consider calling for backup.

  • Electronics. Most of the electronic devices in your apartment or house should be packed up safely in their original packaging with sufficient padding for extra protection. You can leave your portable computer un-boxed until the very end as you’ll be taking it with you anyway.
  • Bathroom items. Go into your bathroom and pack up everything that you’re taking with you to your new home. Your medicines and toiletries should be all packed up by now.
    Furniture and household appliances. All of them should be packed up by now and 100% for transportation. If not, contact a reputable moving company right away to get the qualified packing help you need.
  • Essentials box. The idea of preparing an essentials box (or boxes) is to have your absolute essentials by your side even when the rest of your earthly possessions are packed up in boxes – that is, inaccessible. Keep such Open-First boxes by your side at all times until you reach your new residence.
  • Miscellaneous items. Make one more exploratory trip around your home and make sure that everything you are taking with you has already been packed or will be packed in the next day or so.

Moving day

Your move-out day has finally come, maybe much faster than you would have wanted. The important thing to remember here is that you shouldn’t leave anything to pack for the Big day. At least not anything that will take you more than a few minutes to throw into a plastic bag and place into your essentials box, like your toothbrush and toothpaste. Just in case, keep one empty box close by for last minute additions. Finally, it’s time for the very last tour around your entire living space in search of forgotten items.

It’s moving day and your packing timeline for moving should now be over and done with. Hopefully, the packing checklist above will have helped you organize your packing process in a highly logical and systematic way.