Packing Materials You Need for a House Move

When it comes to house removals in York the biggest job, after selling and buying property or jumping through the new tenancy hoops is usually the packing. It is amazing how much “stuff” people accumulate in a relatively short time and even after a good pre-move decluttering session there is still always plenty to pack.

In order to make sure that all of your belongings end up where they are supposed to in the condition you want them to it is important to ensure you have the right tools for the job. These tools come in the form of packing materials and this checklist will help you identify what you need to source so that you are organised and have what you need before the packing tasks get underway.

Packing Boxes

These don’t necessarily need to be fancy crates or “professional” moving cardboard boxes. Sourcing boxes from friends and relatives, via Freecycle groups or in supermarkets will save you money.

It is very important however that the boxes you use are fit for purpose. For an average sized house at an estimate you would have to find twenty or so smaller boxes, ten medium boxes, ten large boxes, some heavy duty boxes and some extra-large boxes. For moving clothing some use boxes, some suitcases and some fold garments into plastic bags (though there is a danger of them being binned by accident!). Garment bags for very important items of clothing may be picked up at a range of high street and bargain home stores.

Assess the amount of items you need to pack and move and alter this estimate accordingly.

Tape

Two types of tape are needed for moving home, strong sealing tape and “fragile” tape. For obvious reasons sealing boxes properly will safeguard both your belongings and keep those who are carrying them safe too.

Some people mark boxes containing fragile and precious items with marker pen however the easier to spot white and red fragile tape, available very reasonably from Ebay shows movers at a glance which boxes require extra care and also makes packing a van properly easier.

Make sure that you have plenty of tape as running out will cause a delay. Keeping a roll around on moving day to take care of boxes which need a little extra security is a good idea too.

Bubble Wrap

This is an essential item and shouldn’t be skimped on. Buy an extra-large roll or two, taking advantage of bulk prices online rather than paying over the odds for smaller packs from stationers and supermarkets.

Packaging Materials

Rescuing newspapers from recycling bins is a great way to keep the cost of packing materials down. To avoid the mess of newsprint some people choose to use tissue paper or similar between items and the newspaper or buy print-less packing paper. Which you choose will depend on your budget and how important a smudge on your dinner set which will likely be washed before use anyway is to you.

Bulk out packing boxes with old clothing. If an item isn’t considered precious enough to be transported in a garment bag use these older tops and t-shirts to cushion delicate items or add lightweight bulk to fill space and stop things rolling around.

Pens

Don’t forget to have a selection of permanent markers to hand. These are great for adding box contents information, “Books: heavy!” or for making sure the movers know which room boxes need to be deposited into at the other end.

Don’t waste money on expensive packing materials when moving house however do make sure that what you do use is the right size, quality and that there is plenty of it.