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Created on Sunday, 21 July 2013 17:49

Packing Yourself

 

There are many strategies can be used to control costs of moving. Some are trying to do everything themselves:

• Renting a truck and moving equipment, such as dollies, blankets,
• Buying materials - boxes, tape, shrik and bubble wrap, packing paper, box cutters, marker and more,
• Packing boxes,
• Protecting furniture (with moving blankets),
• Disassembling articles,
• Loading the truck,
• Driving the truck,
• And finally, unloading, unpacking and reassembling the furniture.

 

If you are in great health and have young and willing friends, moving may actually be a "fun" experience.

However, most of us have a lot of other things that we need to take care of on the days leading to a move and on the move day itself. Most of us actually don't want to inconvenience our friends, and most importantly we have a few valuable items that we want professionally protected and moved to the new place. So we are left with choosing to do some of the services ourselves, while leaving the heavy and more valuable articles to be handled by professionals.

We end up packing majority of non-breakable articles ourselves, such items as:

Books and magazines,

DVDs and VHS tapes,

Tools and instruments,

Linens and other bed-ware,

Clothes and shoes,

And some small and less expansive appliances.

If you decide that you've figured the packing out and want to pack all of your belongings yourself, hare are some important suggestions:

Most importantly, do not pack hazardous materials to be transported with your household items,

Purchase various size boxes - as you should select special boxes for articles to be packed,

Pack one room at a time,

Label each box, carefully describing its contents and room it belongs to,

Be as specific as you can, indicate fragile items in bright colors and large print, to be easily recognized by movers or friends helping you move,

Keep the weight of your boxes reasonable, to avoid the carton folding or ripping from its own weight and becoming too heavy to carry (this goes for boxes with books and other paperwork), that's why movers recommend to use the smallest boxes (1.5 cubic foot) for packing books.

It is common sense to keep those heavy boxes on the bottom of the load for safety of other lighter boxes and the balance of shipment,

Stack the fragile, and light boxes on the top of your shipment, movers will know how to strap them for security inside the truck during transit to avoid shifting and possible damages.

Fragile items - pack in dish pack boxes, as they are thicker than regular boxes (double carton) and use bubble wrap to rap fragile items separately and use paper for cushioning.

As most people that do their own packing of household goods are trying to save money, however they should be aware that in case of breakage customer will have to show/prove that damage occurred due to mover's negligent handling and not customers poor packing. In case there is damage, always save the box, the contents and the packing materials to facilitate clam.

 

Never pack matches, flammables, acids, corrosives, explosives or other dangerous articles.

It's a good idea to defrost and dry the refrigerator and freezer.

Set aside jewelry, money, vital documents and other small valuable items in a safe place, non-accessible to anyone entering your old or your new residence. Do not ship valuable articles, such as jewelry with a moving company unless you make a written arrangement with the mover, it is best to transport those items on you.

It is customer's responsibility to prepare and disconnect major appliances, and providing special services (such as cleaning and drying them before the move day). Also it is client's responsibility to remove attached items from walls or floors, such as drapery or tuck down carpeting. Some movers may provide those services for extra fee, or will refer a local specialist to assist you with those chores.

 

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