Moving house means packing up your things, but for you, it also means breaking things, losing things and otherwise ruining the household items you really were trying to protect. For all of the great things there are about you, you’re just terrible at packing for a house move, and according to London Storage here are 5 reasons why that is:

1.   You Don’t Label

Labelling is the main way that you, and your friends, family or moving help know where to put your boxes. Don’t assume that you’ll remember where everything goes. Instead, add labels saying where boxes are for, and also if they are delicate or not.

2.   You Use Weak Boxes

Although it is tempting to use any box to pack, the fact is that not all boxes were made for this job. Ideally, you will use strong boxes for all your packing, or at least for the heaviest items. Supermarket banana boxes tend to be very strong and free. You can (and should) also reinforce most boxes with lots of packing tape.

3.   You Don’t Dry Your Things

When packing any clothing, sheets and other materials up (especially for long-term self storage) you should always ensure they are bone dry. If you don’t, you are highly likely to have an issue with mould, mildew and rotting that could even spread to the surrounding items.

4.   You’re Stacking Badly

Whether you stack the boxes at home, in your affordable self storage unit or in the new place, if you’re doing it badly you are putting the boxes and the people around the boxes in danger. Badly stacked boxes can crush the lowest boxes, and may fall from a height. Always stack boxes with the heaviest at the bottom and next to a wall, ideally using shelving if you can to create more stability.

5.   You Just Chuck Anything Into The Boxes

Are you guilty of just throwing anything into packing boxes without a thought? If that is you, you’re causing all kinds of chaos. You’re making unpacking very difficult, you’re potentially leaving sharp items uncovered, you’re allowing items that need to stay together to get mixed up with everything else, and you’re leaving room for certain things to leak and spill. Yes it takes longer to pack properly, matching items together, wrapping up sharps and toiletries, and being more methodical overall, but you will find that you thank yourself when your items get to the new house in one piece, and everything is more organised for unpacking, too.

 

Now you know why you’re so bad at packing for moving house, and why you keep needing to replace items/ clear up mess whenever you’re packing things up.

With the tips above, though, you have a great chance of improving your packing skills and getting everything into affordable self storage or your new home in one piece.