How to pack for moving

Moving into a new property is an exciting life change, promising fresh beginnings with plenty to explore.

The logistics of moving all of your furniture, appliances, and personal belongings can feel daunting. It’s common for homeowners or renters to underestimate the amount of time they need to sort through and pack everything.

Preparation (plus some efficient packing techniques) are the keys to becoming a packing professional, so you can move house with ease. Here’s how.

Step 1: Planning and preparation

Planning and preparation are the essential packing tips for moving house. Put time and effort into mapping out a plan and organising tasks, step-by-step and room-by-room. This will save you time and improve your wellbeing, breaking down a large project into achievable tasks.

Create a moving checklist

Start by compiling a list of tasks you need to complete for packing and moving. This should cover the run-up to the big day, things you need to coordinate during the move, and things you need to arrange when you finally get to your new home.

Prioritise these tasks according to their urgency. What needs to happen immediately? (Booking in movers, for example.) What do you need to allow time for? (Like decluttering and changing your address.) What will need to happen just before the move? (Cleaning the property and packing last minute items, for example.)

The list should include broader key goals (sorting items, obtaining packing supplies, labelling moving boxes, and arranging transportation), with ‘sub’ tasks within them that will help you achieve your objective. The aim is to break things down to make the move process as manageable and stress-free as possible.

Declutter your home

Moving house is an excellent opportunity to declutter your home, selling, donating, or discarding items you no longer use. To make decluttering more manageable, create two piles – ‘keep’ and ‘discard’ – and sort through items room by room.

The ‘keep’ pile should include items you use regularly or need in your new home. The ‘discard’ pile should contain things you no longer use, or things that don’t offer any value. Be ruthless – use this opportunity to streamline, rather than simply packing these things up and lugging them to your new house, with the idea of sorting through them at another time.

If you’re feeling torn, create a third pile – a ‘maybe’ pile. This pile can contain items you’re uncertain about, and you can revisit it throughout the moving process.

Items in your discard pile can then be disposed of. Anything in good condition can be sold online or donated to a charity shop, while worn-down or broken items can be recycled, if possible, or added to garbage bags and thrown away.

Gather packing supplies

Start gathering essential packing supplies. Cardboard boxes are a must. Make sure these are robust enough for the items in each of your main rooms. Other supplies you will need include:

• Packing tape
• Bubble wrap
• Plastic wrap
• Packing paper
• Scissors
• Permanent marker
• Labels

To save on costs, try to source free boxes from relatives and friends, or repurpose shipping boxes you have received from retailers. You can also use online marketplaces to purchase cheaper or second-hand supplies.

Related: What is the cost of moving house in Australia?

Step 2: Start packing the non-essentials

The easiest place to start in the packing process is with the non-essentials. Pack up anything you are unlikely to need until you move into your new home, such as off-season clothes, holiday decorations (depending on the time of the move), and rarely used utensils.

By slowly packing up non-essentials, you can chip away at the task of packing without disrupting your day-to-day life.

Step 3: Room-by-room packing strategy

To prevent packing from becoming a chaotic mismatch of random items, opt for a room-by-room strategy. Each of these rooms should have colour-coded moving boxes with labels. Your organisation will be well-rewarded when you move into your new place and can easily find what you’re looking for.

Kitchen

• Pack smaller kitchen appliances (such as toasters, food processors, rice cookers, pots and pans) into boxes. Tip: use dish towels as your packing material to ensure these kitchen items stay together.
• Use bubble wrap or packing paper for extra protection around fragile kitchen items like champagne flutes, dishes, and other glasses and stemware.
• Use labels to inventory the contents of each box.

Living room

• Start with shelf space and add any books, plants, picture frames, vases, and decorative items to boxes. Use packing material to cushion the boxes.
• Start disassembling larger furniture where possible, and place pieces into boxes with blankets or pads to prevent scratches.

Bedrooms

• Pack your favourite clothing on hangers in wardrobe boxes rather than folding them away to make it easier to unpack them.
• Use vacuum seal bags to fold smaller clothes.
• Keep similar items (like shoes, accessories, and jackets) together in clearly labelled boxes.

Bathrooms

• Gather all toiletries, medicines, towels, and cleaning supplies.
• Add any essentials like daily hygiene products to an ‘essentials’ box for easy access when arriving in your new home.
• Place any products with liquids in plastic bags to avoid leaks.

Garage/basement

• Carefully pack potentially hazardous items such as flammable liquid, paint, and car batteries that are stored in the garage and basement.
• Heavy items like power tools and yard equipment should be wrapped in moving blankets or thick padding and secured with straps.
• Add smaller tools to original boxes and remember to label and organise all items.

Related: House renovation ideas to boost property value

Step 4: Moving day

Now that you’ve done the hard yards of getting items sorted, packed, and labelled, it’s time to focus on the move day itself. Clear communication is essential to keeping everything running smoothly and avoiding last-minute issues. To tackle the day efficiently, you should:

• Coordinate with local removalists: If you’ve hired a moving company, contact them one or two days before the move to confirm the loading and unloading process.
• Load the truck: On the day, load heavy boxes first (towards the front and beneath smaller boxes) to evenly distribute weight and avoid damage to fragile items. Secure all boxes with straps or rope.
• Transport pets and children: Arrange separate transportation for pets and child care for younger children to keep them safe.
• Create a final checklist: Before you leave, run through a final checklist (closets, cabinets, storage areas, sheds, etc.) to make sure nothing is left behind.

Related: Renting a property in NSW FAQs

Packing techniques and tips

Efficient packing is an art form, one that every person can excel at with the right techniques. Here’s a few helpful packing tips for moving that can save you time, space, and stress.

Efficient packing techniques

Save on truck space and make unpacking easier by maximising space in boxes. Make sure items are snug. Any gaps can be filled with towels or rolled-up clothing.

Remember to pack heavier items at the bottom and lighter items on top to balance the weight. This will reduce the strain on your back and make it easier for you and the removal service to lift and handle boxes.

Labelling and inventory

Labelling is important when packing for a move. Don’t arrive at your new home with a jumble of boxes and no idea what’s inside of them.

Accompany the room-by-room strategy with colour coded labels so you know exactly where to place everything in your new home (and check it before you leave).

Having an inventory list at hand makes this task easier, so don’t forget to cross-check everything when you pack and then unpack. This will ensure that nothing is lost in transit.

Protecting fragile items

Fragile items are at higher risk of breaking during a move and require special care. Wrap all wine glasses, ceramics, electronics, and expensive goods in bubble wrap or packing paper, and make sure they are adequately cushioned in the box.

Save your sturdiest boxes for breakables and add a ‘fragile’ label to them to ensure they are handled with care during the move.

What are some important things to consider before moving?

Pack an essentials box

When considering how to pack for moving, keep the necessities you need close to hand.

Plan on it taking a few days to a week to unpack. Keep an essentials bag or box with must-have items like important documents, cleaning supplies, rubbish bags, toilet paper rolls, phone chargers, clothes, and key kitchen items.

Make sure to pack some drinks, snacks, and food for easy meal prep. And make sure the moving essentials box is accessible; don’t mix it with other larger boxes.

Managing stress on moving day

Moving days are stressful. To keep a clear head, try to get a good night’s sleep the night before. On the day, stick to your plan and remember you’ve put in most of the hard work.

Try to maintain a positive mindset, even if there are small blips, and take regular breaks to have a drink or snack to recover and stay hydrated. Consider doing 60-minute blocks where you work for 50 minutes and then rest for 10.

Hiring professional movers

Professional movers are experts. Hiring them will increase the likelihood of a smooth move, especially if you have large appliances like a washing machine or sofa. When selecting movers, research and compare companies online based on their reviews, services, and costs.

You can then gather quotes and talk to them - via phone or online messaging services - to get a feel for whether they will be reliable and fit your needs.

Moving with pets and children

Pets and children require additional planning. Make sure pets have everything they need (such as food, water, and toys) to ease their anxiety on the day.

How you look after children will depend on their age. It may be best for younger kids to be dropped off at daycare or with a close relative. Older kids might be excited and enjoy the move - just make sure you have enough activities in your essentials box to keep them entertained.

Related: How to show a landlord you’re a good tenant?

Summing up

Moving is no small task, but with careful planning and some efficient packing, you can take most of the stress out of a very big job. By breaking down each phase (decluttering, sorting, labelling and packing, to the logistics of the day of the move itself) you can enjoy a stress-free transition to your new home.

At DiJones, we understand that moving is a big life change. Having a trusted team at your side offering support can make a huge difference. We deliver personalised guidance and services for all aspects of buying, selling, and renting a property. Contact us today to find out more.

FAQs

When should I start packing for my move?

You should start planning your move as soon as possible. You’ll get a sense of exactly how much there is to do once you map out the process.

It’s advisable to start packing and moving at least a month before the deadline date. The amount of time you devote to the process should be dictated by the size of the move, the number of items you need to pack, and the amount of free time you have.

For example, a smaller move to a one-bedroom apartment might only take a few days.

Once you get going – creating a checklist and starting the process of decluttering your home – will you have a more realistic understanding of the time it will take to move house. Until then, it’s best to err on the side of caution and give yourself more time to reduce stress and to account for anything unexpected.

How do I decide what to keep and what to get rid of?

The Marie Kondo method of only keeping items that “spark joy” is a simple and effective method for decluttering before a move. You could also go through each room and decide which belongings hold any practical or sentimental value.

Create three categories: items to keep, items to donate or sell, and items to discard. For any items you are unsure about, start a ‘maybe’ pile that you can work through during the moving process. Remember: you can always hire a storage unit in the interim, especially for larger items.

To make the process easier, start with simple items like clothes, books, kid's toys, and games, and then progress to larger appliances and furniture. Create a checklist as you go to track everything you are keeping and getting rid of. This will be a great reference for when you start unpacking.

How can I make unpacking easier?

It’s impossible to unpack everything in a day. To access everything you need on the first night (and the next few days), create an essentials bag with important documents, basic toiletries, and comfortable clothing.

A good moving tip is to label boxes by room and contents, as it will make unpacking significantly easier. You can place these boxes in the bathroom, kitchen, bedrooms, and living room, and then unpack room by room. Referencing each item against your inventory list will provide much-needed structure to the process and ensure nothing gets overlooked.