5 Steps to Packing Purposefully
Moving can feel HARD. Taking the necessary time on the forefront to have a plan can make it easier. All too often people fall (head first) into that last-minute panic — a packing panic, if you will — throwing everything into whatever box is available and promising to make sense of it on the back end. Instead of lying to yourself and making the process more stressful, what you need to do is to PACK PURPOSEFULLY!
Thinking of moving as a whole, the most stressful part and the part that we often have the least amount of energy for can be the actual move-in. We, as organizers, want to make that part as streamlined and efficient as possible.
Here are the 5 steps you need to take to pack with a purpose.
1. CATEGORIZE
The very first thing you should do when moving is take everything out of cabinets, drawers, and containers and start with categorizing. Place your like-items together in different piles so that you can make sure you know WHAT and HOW MUCH you have. Doing this first allows you to wrap your mind around those forgotten items tucked away in the back of your space. Who knows what’s in there?!
2. THE PRE-MOVE PURGE
Remember that 1 step you should never skip when moving?! Here’s it is.
If you already forgot or missed it, go back to last week’s blog. This step is vital to your SANITY as you move.
3. INVENTORY
Once you've purged and made sense of all your items, you can gather an understanding of your inventory as a whole and make a plan for moving forward with the transition of your move. We like to come into our clients’ homes with a plan, asking the right questions for packing with purpose. Take the time to ask yourself those questions and make the most of packing to make your transition easier.
Where will each item go in my new home?
What items can I put together in the same box that will make sense?
What areas of my home are the most important for day-to-day life?
What does my timeline look like?
Pro Tip: If you are doing a quick, local move, a great option is reusable boxes - we’ve been using them on our projects, and not only are they environmentally friendly, but they also save you a lot of time building and deconstructing boxes.
4. PACKING
Not everything being packed is always going to your new home. Sometimes there is a temporary living solution or a storage solution — the more time you are putting into the packing of these items and not just stuffing things into random boxes, the more that you can get track of where everything is!
When we have a lot of time to do a packing project, we like to start with the lowest priority space first to allow for a family to use their important spaces for as long as possible. Then, we unpack in the reverse order, unpacking their important items first. (Keep an eye out; we’ll dive more into unpacking in a future blog).
Numbering your boxes and making a list of what is in each one is another way to keep track of your inventory if you’re working with a longer timeline!
Pro tip: Prepare a weekend/getaway bag for whatever the length is that you’re going to be without your packed items. This will help you feel like you at least have enough comfort items to get you through the transition.
5. LABELING
When labeling, you want to be thinking less about where the items are coming from and more about where they are going in your new home. Make sure you have very clear names for spaces in your new home to make placing items upon move-in easier!
Even micro-labeling helps the process, knowing in which drawer the bathroom items will go or in which cabinet in the kitchen items will live.
