At Ashtons Removals we have years of experience packing, moving, and unpacking everything from the smallest office to large family homes. We’ve used this experience to put together a list of handy packing tips for moving house.
By referring to this moving and packing checklist, you can ensure that your items reach their destination intact.
Click here to download this information as a PDF.
Simply follow the 18-step packing system used by our packing professionals:
- Take this opportunity to declutter and dispose of all your goods you no longer need.
- Select the right carton for the job – Book cartons for heavier items like books and bottles of alcohol. Wine cartons can also be used to pack bottles of wine. Fragile cartons for particularly delicate and fragile items. Standard cartons will hold just about everything else, like crockery, glassware, linen, clothing etc.
- Fold the opposite flaps and tape securely – do not interlock the flaps.
- As a rule, anything smaller than a carton should be packed into a carton.
- Line the carton with padding – use butchers paper as it doesn’t leave marks on your clothing or crockery like newspaper does.
- Wrap all glassware and china pieces separately, then stack them in the carton on their ends or edges.
- After each layer of china or glassware place another layer of padding. Ensure there is also sufficient padding on the sides of the carton and finally on the top.
- Fill all empty spaces on the sides of cartons with crushed paper. A good rule of thumb – any one carton should have two thirds china and one third padding.
- For ease of carriage, pack a mixture of light and heavier items in large cartons, with the heavier items on the bottom.
- Where possible pack items such as parts of sets or pairs of items in the same carton.
- Pack folded sheet sets inside a pillowcase to avoid losing part of the sheet set.
- Avoid packing excluded items like aerosol cans, paint or any flammable items.
- Remove batteries from remotes, appliances, toys etc. prior to packing them into cartons. This will help avoid any damage to items if the batteries start to corrode and will also prevent the items from accidentally being switched on.
- Pack the cartons right to the top to avoid crushing the box if something is placed on top, but ensure you avoid filling the box so full that the flaps can’t close.
- Fold the top flaps in the same way as the bottom and tape up securely.
- Label each carton with your name, what room you want the box put into at delivery and a brief description of the goods so that it’s easy to know where to put the carton when you get to your new house. We suggest you write these details on the tape using a permanent marker so you can use your cartons over and over again.
- Pack electrical equipment and crockery and glassware in the original box if you have them and then put small boxes into standard cartons.
- For those important items you need to find quickly and easily at your new home we recommend you use one of our ‘Safe Spot’ / Priority cartons which are a different colour making them stand out. These cartons are useful for important items such as casters, screws, tools to reassemble furniture, remote controls, keys to cabinets, toiletries, toilet paper, first aid kit, kettle, cups, tea/coffee, medicines etc.
Remember:
If you’re moving with Ashtons Removals and you want to arrange Full Cover Insurance in Transit on the items in your cartons, you’ll have to get Ashtons Removals to pack the cartons for you. To find out more about insurance in transit and having Ashtons Removals do the packing for you, phone 07 5527 9700 and talk to a removal consultant.