packing boxes/cleaning as you go

[Dansta]

how do you do it?
i'm starting to pack up the kitchen and the clothes and i started packing two boxes and thought "am i doing this right" lol i've got some ceramic bowls for cooking and thus far i've put paper in them to stop them bouncing around (kind of lol) but pans i'm at a loss as to "restrain" them.
we still have 4 weeks until we move - so its stuff i wont use between now and then.

how did you pack up food items (this is for later down the track) like pasta/rice/flower? and how would be the best way to move CDs/records/tape? i know tapes can't go new speakers. but i'm worried about over-packing the boxes, so would it be an idea to pop a blanket or that over the top so i 'use' all of the box?

also would it be an idea to clean the cupbords as i go or wait until we have fully packed?

any other tips on packing would be fantastic as i've only ever moved from mum and dads to here...and now we're moving over 3 hours away!

[Jaycee]

I'm just about finished packing up our place to move this weekend.

To start with, I went room by room and packed up the things I knew I wasn't going to need in the couple of weeks leading up to the move.

From there I went through the kitchen and just kept basic essentials out. I also cleaned as I went, which has made it easier as all I need to do when we move this weekend basically is just the floors and run over the bathrooms again.

As for food items, all of my stuff like pasta, rice and flour are in plastic containers so I've just put them as is in boxes.

I also just popped our dvd's cd's etc in boxes, if you're worried about overpacking boxes, use smaller boxes or only fill them to 2/3 capacity.

The only other tip I can think of is to make sure you label your boxes with their contents

[Kazbah]

definately do as you're doing! With foodstuffs, no problem at all in packing what you won't be using. I always pack the whole box, I usually pop cushions or pillows, towels, linen in the top for padding. If you're packing candles, I suggest using a totally seperate box (shoebox is good) so you won't get wax over everything. And if you've any printer paper, notepaper etc, write what's on each box on that (but twice) and keep one copy in a folder separate to the box with a box number reference. And write the number on the box on 3 sides, and tape the list on the side or top of the box. That way if you particularly want something, you can look up your list in the folder (or computer if you want) and go to that box only instead of moving boxes around to find the list on each box.

Good luck!!!!

[~TT40~]

I do it room by room, starting at the least used room. I clean as I go too. I also use those green bags for books, as they get REALLY heavy, esp. all my textbooks. and yea, use towels blancets etc... as padding, for the breakables and box fillers.
good luck with the move!!!

[YoYo]

Yep room by room, and also what kaz said, use linen and cushions to pad the boxes. Keeping things room by room helps at the other side.

Clean when it's all gone so you can just focus on that and you won't feel overwhelmed.

Good luck! We are also moving today....back into a house after 5 long months, yayyyyyyyy!!

[Cranky Kitten]

Alternate suggestion - buying a fridge trolley is a marvellous investment if you have the money (they range from about $40-50 upwards) - we used ours to not only move the heavy furniture like the fridge, washing machine etc but also used it for shifting boxes of books and dvds around as we had 5 or 6 huge moving cartons full of just books. Plus another 2 or 3 of dvds. I say buying rather than hiring as you can then take your time unpacking at the other end but can still move stupidly heavy boxes

Definitely start packing the stuff you don't use regularly and clean as many cupboards etc as you go along - that way you only have to give them a quick once-over when the place is empty. If you have rooms that can be closed off and not used you can also start on washing walls and skirting boards etc, but if you've got kids in and out of them it's best to wait.

We were lucky enough with this last move that DH has his truck licence so we hire the biggest truck we can get and bribe our awesome mates to give us a hand. Mind you, next time I think we're just going to pay removalists - we were wrecked afterwards and have more big heavy stuff now!

Best of luck, hope it all goes smoothly.

[emc2]

I have only lived in a small unit, but I would try and pack room by room and then I would write with a marking pen either what was in the box or which room it went into.

I also packed clothes and linen in with other items.