Top 10 packing hacks to help you move house
Make moving house a doddle with simple packing tips from our expert movers, Dustin and Sarah Michailov of Industrious Interiors.
1. Protect your jewellery
Jewellery can easily get lost or become tangled in a move. So follow Sarah’s top tips to keep it safe and secure:
- Thin necklaces and chains can be threaded through wide drinking straws and fastened
- Larger necklaces and chunky bracelets can be pushed through an empty toilet roll tube and fastened
- Brooches and earrings fit snugly into egg box compartments – just top them with a bit of cotton wool and tape the box shut.
2. Take photos of leads and cables
Cables, leads and wires can easily become jumbled, and it’s not always clear what goes where. So Dustin recommends taking photos of cables before unplugging them from electrical equipment, like TVs and games consoles: ‘It makes it easier to set up again in your new home.’
3. Keep cables tidy
Don’t throw out those used toilet roll tubes – they can help keep troublesome cables neat and tidy. ‘To store cables for the move, label them as you unplug them and poke them into toilet roll tubes with the label on the top’, says Dustin. ‘Then pack the tubes on their ends in a box.’
4. Don’t forget the little things
‘Some furniture will need to be taken apart to be moved,’ explains Sarah. ‘Make reassembly speedier by putting screws and fittings into sandwich bags with a clear label and taping them to the furniture.’
5. Make your own assembly instructions
We’ve all thrown out instructions before realising we still need them. So Sarah suggests taking step-by-step photos as you dismantle an item, then following them in reverse when it’s time to put it back together.
6. Turn furniture into ready-made storage boxes
Dustin says, ‘If a chest of drawers and its contents are light enough, leave everything where it is and simply tape the drawers shut.’
7. Be efficient with packaging
Sarah says, ‘Using what you’ve already got at home saves money on packing materials. Wrap breakables such as bottles and glassware in socks and put them into shoes. Or use blankets to protect furniture and pad out boxes of breakable items with pillows.’
8. Protect your mattress
Beds can easily pick up dust and grime on moving day, so follow Dustin’s top tip to keep things clean: ‘Prevent your mattress from getting dirty by putting fitted sheets on both sides – you can put the sheets into the washing machine afterwards.’
9. Be savvy in the kitchen
The kitchen is one of the biggest jobs when it comes to moving day. So Sarah gives her multi-tasking tips to make things easier:
- Wrap cutlery trays and their contents in cling film
- Fold sharp knives into newspaper and pop them into an oven glove
- Fill large pots and pans with herbs and spices then tape the lids on
- Take the lids off open bottles and jars, stretch over a layer of cling film and reseal to prevent leaks.
10. Protect yourself from injury
It’s important to lift and carry things safely to avoid back pain and injury. So Dustin suggests packing small, light items into large boxes and big heavy ones into smaller boxes: ‘Large but light boxes are easier to carry if you slice out holes on each side and fold the flap upwards to make improvised handles.’
Moving home? If you’re a British Gas energy customer, don’t forget to let us know – it only takes a few minutes.