How to pack for a move - packing and moving services

Moving Connections ideas for fast and efficient packing

• 1. Use a rigid box with flaps intact
• 2. Remove any labels, hazardous materials indicators, and other previous shipment markings
• 3. Wrap all items separately
• 4. Use adequate cushioning material
• 5. Use strong tape designed for shipping and seal every box
• 6. Do not use string
• 7. Assign every box with a magic marker to corresponding room
• 8. Create “Open Me First” boxes and label the side of each box so it can be easily found.
• 9. Pack one room at a time – Wherever possible, focus on packing one room at a time (instead of several all at once) to keep things efficient and organized.
• 10. Keep track of small parts – When taking apart items such as tables, securely tape screws and other small parts to the underside of the item. You’ll always know where to look and you’ll save time when putting items back together.
• 11. Save space – Use towels, pillows and t-shirts as extra padding around fragile items. Not only will you save space, you’ll also save money on packaging supplies!
• 12. The 30 pound rule – Whenever possible, keep each box at 30 pounds or less. Heavier boxes lead to injuries and are much more likely to fall apart or get dropped.
• 13. Scale – Keep a bathroom scale in the room you’re packing so you can keep the boxes below the recommended weight limit.

How to pack for your household or office Salt Lake City Utah move

Packing for your Salt Lake City utah move might just be the most time consuming part of the whole moving process. Moving Connections has assembled best packing practices to save you time while still protecting your belongings. So, find below the best moving and packing hacks for hassle-free moving.

1. You don’t have to empty out your dresser drawers if your clothes are not too heavy, and you can leave the drawers in the dresser and we will simply stretch wrap your dresser in stretch wrap.
2. Leave your clothes on hangers and hang them in wardrobe boxes.
3. Use your linens, towels, and other soft items as packing materials. Use these items to provide cushioning for fragile and difficult items like lamps, vases, knives and other sharp objects, securing them with tape or stretch wrap.
4. Use your kitchen pots and pans to hold and protect small fragile items.
5. Use stretch wrap around items that might spill including lids on things like soap, shampoo, cleaning supplies, etc.
6. Use your suitcases. You can get away with packing a lot of heavy things in suitcases since their wheels make them easy to move.
7. Color code boxes or use magic markers so, you’ll be able to identify what needs to go where.
8. Take pictures of box contents in case you need to spark your memory about what goes where.
9. Put together a moving essentials suitcase with the items you’ll need during your move including important documents, medications, chargers, basic toiletries, a couple changes of clothes, etc.

Moving Connections shows how to pack glass, artwork and other fragile items for household and office moves

Everything you move needs to be boxed, including plants, lamps, etc. The exception to this rule are very large things such as furniture, pianos, gun vaults, treadmills etc. which the movers will blanket wrap.

Of course, the overriding principle is to protect your valued item against damage. So the first thing you need to do is to protect the surface against scratching, abrasions, and other cosmetic damage by using liberal quantity of moving blankets.

Other items can be protected with stretch wrap directly over them. Use several layers of stretch wrap completely enveloping all sides, and then use packing paper or blankets around each item, from top to bottom and from side to side. Secure with stretch wrap or tape.

For paintings with glass, you should use painters tape (blue tape about two inches wide that resembles masking tape). Put an X diagonally across the glass, from corner to corner, with the tape, then apply tape (over the X) from side to side, or top to bottom, whichever is longer, until the glass is completely covered. Then use bubble wrap as described above.

Then slide or place the item inside an appropriately sized box. It should fit snugly, with none of the sides of the item itself (and especially the corners) touching the inside of the box.

If the item is loose inside the box, you can use a fill material such as Styrofoam peanuts to fill in the spaces. But be certain to put some peanuts in the bottom first, and then place the rest around the sides and over the top after putting the item inside the box.

When putting peanuts around the side of the item, you should press the peanuts down lightly with your hands as you go to make certain there are no vacant pockets. This should keep your fragile item snug in the center of the box where it is safe from outside bumps and thumps.

Then seal the top of the box with tape, and mark the box with a description of the item and which room it’s supposed to go into.

Please note that for heavy or large glass items, especially those with a large span (such as for plate glass desk or table tops), it is best to use a professional moving company with experience moving such items. The reason for this is that if handled improperly, such items can spontaneously break and severely injure or even kill those handling them. So be certain to hire an experienced moving company for such items.

How To start packing your Salt Lake City Utah move

First of all, box (almost) everything, including plants and lamps, etc. Furniture doesn’t have to be boxed, and neither do large heavy items such as pianos, gun safes, gym equipment, etc. But they should be stretch wrapped several layers thick, then wrapped all around in moving blankets to guard against scratching and dents.

While there might not be boxes designed for a bassoon or trombone, there are special guitar boxes, boxes for skis, wardrobe boxes, and boxes for mirrors and paintings and dishes and glasses and flat screen televisions.

A well stocked moving and shipping store like Moving Connections should have all the boxes you need. And the larger truck rental stores will have a variety of boxes that are sturdy and reasonably priced. Perhaps the best approach is to buy a half dozen each of various size boxes, and then see how much of your household items you can fit into them. From there, you can probably get a very good idea of how many boxes you need. And if you buy more than necessary, you can keep them for future use or return them for a refund at the store where you bought them. But do remember to keep the receipt.

Buy enough packing paper and bubble wrap for fragile items. For decorated (painted) items, or for porcelain and other such items, you should wrap them first in acid free paper, then wrap them in stretch wrap and bubble wrap, then put them in a box surrounded by foam peanuts.

Fragile items, including paintings with glass, should have at least two inches of bubble wrap around them to protect them from the bouncing and jarring that typically occurs in the cargo area of a truck. Then they should be put into a sturdy box in which they fit snugly, but not too tightly. You can use foam peanuts to fill in any voids. So remember to buy boxes that have interior dimensions that are at least two inches larger on every side than the length, width, and depth of your fragile item.

You should mark each box with what items are in them and what room they’re going to in your new home. You should also mark the boxes with “FRAGILE” labels as needed.

Dishes should not be stacked on top of one another (the way you put them in cupboards), but should be wrapped in paper or thin foam and set on their sides (as you would put them in a dishwasher or dish drainer) in a container designed for them.

Certain very fragile items can be wrapped in a blanket and laid carefully in the back seat of a car if they won’t roll around there. Very valuable items, such as jewelry and precious coins might be carried with you. Be certain to keep them with you at all times and never leave them unattended. Keep them out of view of others, also.

Posters can be rolled up and placed in special tube boxes designed just for this purpose.